Body piercing means making a hole in some parts of your body and inserting a piece of shining jewelry in it to give a sparkling look.
With style ranging high in this a-la-mode world of fashions, body piercing is fast becoming a trend amongst both the young and the old.
When you were piercing these various parts of your body like ears, nostrils, tongue and eyebrow, then belly button is considered to be trendy in today’s world.
Why do people pierce their bodies?
People pierce their bodies, and before you do yours, there should be a reason why you are doing so too.
Piercing can be as a result of;
- Culture and tradition: This kind of piercing is a common practice among the Alaskan tribes, Ancient Egyptians, Native Americans, Mayans, and New Guinea.
Widespread practice for thousands of years and signifies different things in each culture, which could be riches, beauty, rituals and much more.
- Religious belief: There are some religions that practice body piercing. And one of the common ones is the Church of Body Modification.
It is a new religious movement in the United States which abides in the modification of their bodies, which could be piercing, dyeing of hair, corsetry, tattoos, and so on.
- Self-expression: Piercing of the body could depend on one’s ability to express his or her self through it.
As they believe that it will help provide them with the identity that they want, and that can indicate who and what they are.
Skin piercing is popular among rock stars, young adults and adolescents.
- Addiction: Is likely that people who pierce their bodies may develop a habit to it.
Especially, for those who derive pleasure in pain, as the brain releases adrenaline, endorphins and others during piercing.
The pleasure resulting from the reactions may likely make one to do it again. Addiction may also be due to transformation purposes, or for anything.
- Aesthetic Value: Body piercing is done for beautification, as some see it as a means of decorating the body, and nothing else.
Usually, one of the reasons behind some traditional piercing, as well as for everyone who thinks it’s attractive and cool to do so.
- Sexual pleasure:This is for those who pierce the nipples and genitals.
They could derive pleasure from it during intercourse, foreplay or masturbation due to its ability to cause, and increase stimulation.
How do I pierce my body?
Body piercing is coming into excellent vogue everyday. You can either pierce yourself in the privacy of your own home or visit professionals for such.
And unlike tattoos, piercing isn’t permanent as you can easily remove it anytime. But it still comes with its level of pain which is dependent on the site of the piercing.
Since this is a part of the body, and you must visit a professional piercing artist, for better and safer piercing.
To avoid any kind of bleeding and infection while body piercing, you should follow some specific tips below to be perfect after piercing some part of your body you choose.
Here are essential body piercing steps to follow:
- Clean the area to be pierced carefully with an anti-bacterial soap of your choice.
- Sterilize the needle well, mainly, the end of the gunpoint before using it in any part of your body.
- Precautions should be a consideration while piercing mouth, nose, tongue, cheek and lip for it tends to create infections or other ailments such as allergies, diabetes and teeth issues as the case may be.
- During piercing, try to leave that particular area open for air exposure as to promote rapid recovery.
- In a case whereby it’s require that the piercing area should be open, put on a loose garment during the initial days.
- To avoid infecting the pierced part of the body, do not touch with dirty hands. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly with medicated soap to clean off specks of dirt, including viruses and bacteria from your hands.
- Oral piercing requires extra care. So, if you have pierced incident on the tongue, lip or cheek, try to keep the place always open to allow air passage.
Piercing in such areas, especially in the mouth, takes time to heal because of millions of bacteria living there. So, if you have such a person, take extra care.
- If you haveto pierce on your lip and tongue, make sure that you gargle with mouthwash or an antiseptic mouth wash to prevent any type of infection.
- Place a block of ice on the pierced area, if you experience severe pains after piecing. It’s a recommendable medical healer that does not just offer a cooling effect, but, impede throbbing and bleeding.
- If you notice continued fever, soreness, swells, or any other symptoms after piercing, do not waste time to see a health practitioner as soon as possible.
Make sure to take appropriate steps to get the right kind of piercing for yourself. Taking the correct form of piecing with proper actions helps you heal faster.
To get the best results in healing methods after body piercing, you should regularly rub alcohol and peroxide to prevent any damages to the skin.
Risks involved in body piercing
In as much as body piercing looks trendy and glittering, it would seem nice telling you also the potential risks that might be involved.
So that when you choose to do it, you wouldn’t be ignorant of what is to come.
The most severe risks involved in body piercing are;
- Infections – This could lead to the pains, pus discharge and inflammation of the skin and if one is prone to keloid, he/she is likely to develop one at the site of the piercing.
- Bleedings – This may seem familiar for piercing, as the ring or jewelry is inserted deep into the body.
And if care is not taken, like not sterilizing the equipment or tools for piercing well, the person may contact diseases like HIV and hepatitis.
- Allergic reactions – Your body can react with the metals used to make the jewelry, and that can cause irritation, rashes, and redness and so on.
- Teeth damages – This is peculiar to those who pierced their tongue, as it will not only disrupt eating and breathing but also cause a crack on the teeth.
Another risk of piercing can be due to the use of the wrong jewelry on a specific part.
However, if the jewelry is too small, it can cut off the blood supply to the tissue causing unnecessary pain and swelling.
Precaution tips for body piercing
Merely leaving the pierced part to the air will not heal your wound in any way.
Following are the body piercing tips in cleaning:
- Remove the crusty skin from the pierced site and wash the jewelry with warm water.
- Rinse off all the soap, crusty discharge, blood and puss from the area.
- Do not leave the area wet. Use a soft towel or plain white napkin to dry the area.
- Do not wear leotards, belts, tight clothing or pantyhose in case of navel piercing.
Eat healthy foods as vitamin, protein, and minerals rich food helps your body to heal very fast.
Body piercing could be due to choice or fashion. There are many reasons why people can pierce their bodies.
With the world changing faster, piercing tends to be on the rise. But even at that, there are some countries or groups of people who do not fancy it.
While some piercing artists make more money in some places, some don’t, as that could be attributed to the norms, values and beliefs of the people.
Last Words
Consequently, whatever reason it is you have to pierce your body, know that there are also associated risk that may follow if proper care isn’t taken.
