Belly Button Piercing

 General

A navel piercing (also referred to as a belly button piercing or an umbilical dip piercing) is a type of piercing located in, or around, the navel. It may heal quickly and with no problems, like an ear piercing, or may heal more like a surface piercing with the associated extended healing time. Healing usually takes less than six months, and as long as it is cleaned, it will heal nicely.Unlike most body piercings, this is one of the few that do not normally reject, although the rejection rate is higher than non-surface piercings, such as ear piercings.
The actual navel is not pierced when a navel piercing is performed. The most common form of navel piercing is through the upper rim of the navel.

Jewelry

Navel jewelry has become more extensive in recent years. Many new designs, such as the ancient Bali jewelry designs, have been added to everyday navel cultures. Barbells remain the most common, however. Most kinds of ring or bar jewelry can be worn in a navel piercing. Navels are most often pierced with a curved barbell, which is recommended to be worn until the piercing has fully healed. A wide variety of decorative jewelry is available for navels - simple curved barbells, barbells with dangling pendants, and captive bead rings are common examples.
There has been a special standard established for navel barbells (also called "bananabells" or "bananabars", a reference to their curved shape). The standard barbell is 1.6 mm (1/16") thick and 9.5 mm (3/8") or 11.1 mm (7/16") long and is most commonly referred to as a 14-gauge post. The silver caps on the barbell post usually measure 5mm in diameter for the upper and 8mm in diameter for the lower.
Although navel bananabells are different from full rings, such as captive bead rings (CBRs), which can also be worn in navel piercings, internet body jewelry retailers and wholesalers tend to refer to these barbells as belly button "rings".
A new version of navel jewelry is on the market for those without pierced navels, which is based on the idea of clip-on earrings.

Risks

Although navel piercings are fashion symbols and may make the navel and midriff look more attractive, they carry the many risks of body piercing, notably:

• Infection: A new piercing may take up to 6–9 months before it can be taken out, during which time sweat and bacteria may cause infection. Bacterial infections can result in cysts.
• Scarring: Skin tissue rarely heals to match the surrounding tissue. It heals in varying thickness, in different ways for different types of people, and forms different types of scarring for different kinds of 'damage'. It is likely that any piercing worn for a significant time (months to years) will leave a scar if removed.

 Aftercare Guide

1.When you first get home, do NOT touch or move your piercing at all. It may still be a little sore because your body is getting used to the metal object in your skin. Just leave it under your top. 

2.'Steam clean' your belly button. After a few hours of having it done, you can get some salt (sea salt is best) and boiling water in a small glass. Allow the water to cool slightly and then lean forward and put the glass on your stomach, then lean back. If you do it right, you will get a seal between your skin and the cup so nothing will leak. It can be tricky at first but after a while you will get the hang of it. Now with it on, wait 10 to 15 minutes, and the salt will clean it.

3.After you have cleaned it with the salty water, rinse it off with running water from the tap. afterwards you need to dry it. Don't use a towel or dishcloth because these carry lots of bacteria. Instead use a clean paper towel and gently dry it. You must do this for about 3 - 4 months until it has healed completely.

4.Bathing / showering. It is best if you take a shower, because it's a stream of clean water constantly. However if you must bathe, do not put any bubble-mixture, strong bath oils, or soap in the water because this will irritate it. Instead have the water clean, and bathe as you would usually. Do not wash your hair in the water (because your hair carries a lot of germs too) and do NOT shave any part of your body while in the bath, because the small hairs may get caught in your piercing. Instead, shave and wash your hair after, without getting your piercing wet.

5.Be careful how you sleep. If, like many people, you find yourself sleeping on your stomach (which is a problem) you can try this trick I used. If your bed is a single bed - Grab some spare pillows, and pile them up on one side. You can do this better if you lie on the bed. Put enough space for you to lie on your back, and then put the pillows on the remaining space. Now in your sleep, if you try and roll over you will be stopped by the pillows, or you will stay on your side. You have to try it a few times to get it right for your body shape, but it's a good trick.

6.Clothing - Most clothing will be fine, but stay away from tight, restricting clothes. Big belts are bad, because your body needs to get air, and the belt will not only put pressure on your piercing, it will limit the fresh air getting to it. Try and wear cotton or other soft fabrics, because these will irritate your skin less. If you know you are going to have to wear some kind of itchy clothing (P.E uniforms for school can sometimes be irritating to your skin) you can buy an eye-patch and put it over the piercing and then take it off after you have gotten changed. 

7.With all this said, just use common sense. If the piercing is hurting you badly, or looks infected, then it probably is, and you should go have it checked out before it gets worse. If you feel you might have an infection, go to your piercer and ask for advice. If they cannot help you, go to your doctor. Never take out the piercing yourself if you feel it is badly infected, as this can seal in the infection causing an abscess. you may use some soap on it as this will keep it smooth and soft

Tongue Piercing

Tongue piercing

A tongue piercing is a body piercing usually done directly through the center of the tongue. While tongue piercing remains a popular site to pierce in the Western world, it has declined in popularity since 2011, going from the seco!Standard tongue piercings, or one hole in the center of your tongue, is the most common and safest way to have your tongue pierced, and as such it has gained in popularity and is no longer considered an "extreme" piercing.

nd to the fourth most popular body piercing for both men and women.

Procedure

Piercing

The piercer will check the underside of the tongue for large blood vessels, sometimes with a bright light, and mark a safe placement for the piercing. The tongue is then clamped with forceps and pierced with a needle, usually from top to bottom with a piercing needle or from bottom to top with a cannula needle. Initial jewelry should always be considerably longer than will ultimately be required to allow for swelling, which is common following the piercing. Within two days of getting the piercing the tongue can swell up to double its original size. This can lead to pain when speaking and eating, but this is not permanent. Piercers often recommend drinking cold beverages and sucking on crushed ice to help reduce the swelling. Some people find that taking Ibuprofen or similar anti-inflammatory drugs can greatly reduce the swelling associated with a tongue piercing. It is advisable not to drink alcohol, smoke, or eat spicy food until the piercing is at least partially healed (around two weeks), and alcohol-free mouthwash should be used after eating or smoking.
After the swelling calms down, a period of mild tongue and oral mucosa irritation can follow, sometimes discouraging the recently pierced person from keeping the piercing. Appropriate mouth washing, care during meals and some patience will usually be sufficient to come to a sufficiently healed state. After full healing the pierced person is advised to replace the initial long barbell (to accommodate the initial swelling) with a shorter barbell. This second barbell is sometimes included in the price of the initial piercing procedure. It can be difficult for an inexperienced recently pierced person to replace the barbell with a shorter version, so often the help of the piercer is asked for. The second barbell is usually 2 mm – 4 mm shorter than the initial barbell, but should be adapted to the individual anatomy. After this replacement a second (short) healing period is observed. In case of absence of irritation, the further stretching procedure can be started.
Because of the tongue's exceptional healing ability, piercings can close very fast. Even completely healed holes can close up in a matter of hours, and larger-stretched holes can close in just a few days. The length of time for the hole to heal varies greatly from person to person – some people with larger-stretched holes (greater than 4 g (5 mm)) can still fit jewelry (albeit smaller) in their piercing after months or even years. It is generally recommended to avoid piercing in bodies under development or in people not capable of taking care of a recent piercing.

Placement of the tongue

The traditional placement for a tongue piercing is along the midline of the tongue, in the center of the mouth. It is often approximately .76 inches (1.9 cm) or so back from the tip of the tongue. It is placed with the top a little further back than the bottom, which allows the top of the jewelry to lean slightly back, away from the teeth, and toward the higher part of the upper palate where there is more room in the mouth. It is also usually positioned just in front of the attachment of the lingual frenulum.
A tongue frenulum piercing is a piercing through the frenulum underneath the tongue, known as the frenulum linguae, and commonly the tongue web piercing. "Venom bites" is the term given to two tongue piercings placed side by side on the tongue, which are considered to be more painful than a regular tongue piercing through the tongue's center. Although the term "angel bite" is sometimes referred to as two piercings in the tongue with one placed right in front of another, the term is much more common for two Monroe piercings on either side of the face. There is also the "snake-eyes" which is one curved bar going horizontally through the tip of the tongue, it is mostly painless other than a mild amount of pressure. It is possible to use a (stretched) tongue piercing as a first step to tongue splitting.

Risks:
	1. Chipped or Broken Front Teeth The majority of patients we see with tongue barbells wind up with chips, cracks or fractures in their front teeth. These have to be repaired with fillings or crowns. And re-done repeatedly when those wear out - over and over for the rest of your life.
	2. Gum Surgery We've had to refer patients to periodontists for surgical correction of damage caused by rubbing tongue barbells.
	3. It can go down the wrong way. The barbell can come un-screwed and wind up in a lung. (If you're lucky it can be removed by passing a bronchoscope down your throat, avoiding chest surgery.)  Here's a case. Going down the other way isn't necessarily great, either. The ball end should pass through harmlessly if swallowed. However the long part would carry the risk of lodging or causing internal tears in the intestine.
	4. Infection and, just possibly,  death The mouth is moist and full of bacteria, and the tongue has major blood vessels ideal for spreading infection to the brain and elsewhere. This can disfigure or kill you.
	The case at left was a local girl who almost died from a brain abscess following a tongue piercing. She had part of her skull removed to relieve pressure caused by the infection. She can still feel the soft spot where the skull is missing. This is rare, but it is real.
	5. Losing blood - possibly lots of it. The tonguecontains large blood vessels, and you're in trouble if one of them is perforated. You could end up having to have the vessel closed surgically in hospital. There is also the possibility of hitting a nerve, and damaging that.  Imagine life with a tongue that doesn't work properly.
	6. Lingering Pain.  Tongue piercing has been associated with cases of neuralgia  - severe, long-lasting nerve pain.
	7. Hepatitis or HIV Unsterile instruments are a great way to spread these and other infections. If you must do this, be sure to go to a reputable clinic, and be very sure that they do things properly: autoclave sterilization and gloves.
4 Reasons to have a Tongue Piercing: 1.Its cool 2.Parents HATE it 3.Everybody is doing it 4.Having a teenage brain Is it Worth It? You decide the price of fashion. The best advice we can give you: keep it outside the mouth. Do we recommend safe practices and a qualified operator?  Of course. (We also recommend light cigarettes and cutting down for those who smoke, and helmets and mouthguards for those who choose extreme sports. No sense making things more risky than they already are. ) Do we recommend oral piercing?  Obviously not. The risks are a bit high for a medically unnecessary procedure.

Tragus piercing

 Tragus reference

Tragus Piercing refers to perforation in the tragus that actually appears in front of an ear canal. The perforation is used for wearing various kinds of jewelry. Piercing is done by the use of a small gauge hollow piercing needle where jewelry in shape of a ring is inserted.!!

Do’s

• The moment you get your tragus pierced it needs to be cleansed by the use of a saline solution. This actually acts as an agent which minimizes the intensity of pain to a considerable level. It would be wise to consult the piercer regarding the type of saline solution which would suit you, rather than going for any predetermined brand.
• Follow the piercing with cleansing of the tragus for at least twice or thrice every day. This facilitates reduction of the intensity of pain over the next few days.
• Make sure you use one cotton ball which has been soaked inside a disinfectant to be used as a cleaning material around the pierced area.
• It is also recommended or important to clean your hands with any antibacterial solution while changing your earrings. Maintenance of high level of hygiene is very important indeed.

Don'ts

• One should avoid playing around the pierced area or with the tragus jewelry. Even though there might be some irritation, it is recommended to leave it untouched for at least 5-7 days or till the day it gets healed.
• It must be said that tragus is one of the most vulnerable areas where infection might occur. So protect it as much as possible by not letting anyone touch the area.
• One of the critical things to avoid would be experimenting with different jewelry till pain is reduced.
  
  

  Getting your Tragus Pierced(very important)

  Before you get your tragus pierced, ensure that you are aware and confident enough about the piercer who is going to pierce your tragus. It is not something which everybody can do and requires experience. An experienced pierce would hollow using a low gauged needle which would pierce in a straight or a curved manner. This is completely dependent upon the piercer. The best part is that the entire process of Tragus Piercing is not that painful as there are very few nerve endings around the area.
  

  Tragus Piercing Pain

  Coming in fashion in the recent times, Tragus piercing involves wearing fancy jewelry on tragus. Tragus Piercing pain mostly occurs while piercing is done. It is entirely on the tolerance level of the individual which determines the level of pain and its impact. The pain could be prevalent over the next few days but a good aftercare can make the entire process much bearable.
  

  Tragus Piercing Infection(in case you get infected)

  Piercing of any kind has the possibility of getting infected. The only reason for this is improper aftercare or even getting the piercing done from an inexperienced piercer. Although pain as well as swelling are pretty common in the
   initial days, you might need to worry if it does not subside after about 7 days. During the process of piercing the tragus bleeds and has a tendency to bleed after a few hours. It would be a wise idea to consult a doctor when something unnatural occurs. This m
  ay include redness or soreness in and around the pierced area. On some occasions the area might turn yellow or even green in color. Many people have complained about a foul smell coming out of the pierced area which is a cause of concern as well.
  While many would panic once they observe these infection or situations, it is recommended to be calm and consult a specialist. Also, do not remove the jewelry yourself as this might result in the hole area closed and trapping the infection within. This would certainly result in more problems and pain.
  

  Tragus Piercing Aftercare

  Aftercare is among the most vital things in any of the piercings which people may undergo. Similarly, it would again be recommended to follow the steps mentioned above i.e. clean, clear and makes sure of not touching the pierced area or even the jewelry.
  

  1. Clean the area with saline water solution by the use of cotton for at least twice every day. While doing so one should ensure that the area behind the tragus is also cleaned with the solution. This will ensure that the solution reaches deep inside the hole. While cleaning the area you should rotate your jewelry very slowly and softly while avoiding any direct touch of the hands.
  2. Don't touch the area at all. Leave the area untouched and clear as tragus has a big problem of being infected in a situation when it comes within contact of bacteria or germs.
  3. Avoid answering phone calls from the pierced ear, sleep over the pierced ear, etc. Any kind of injury in the pierced area might displace the jewelry.
  4. There are instances where the body rejects or pushes the jewelry so proper care of cleaning should always be ensured.
  5. Changing the pillow covers daily and washing hands with an antibacterial soap on a regular basis could be the other aftercare recommendations.

Eyebrow Piercing

Definition: This can be a piercing anywhere along the brow line on either side. It can be vertical (the most common) or horizontal.
Brow piercings do have a habit of migrating if they're not pierced deeply enough or the jewelry is too thin or heavy. They can be irritated by eyebrow hairs, so plucking the hairs closest to the entry points of the jewelry can be very helpful, especially if you're experiencing swelling or tenderness in a healed piercing. Don't use waxes or any other hair removers while you're healing your piercing.

Recommended Starter Jewelry: 16-12 gauge captive bead ring (CBR) or mini curved barbell. The soft tissue of the eyebrow swells quite a bit at first, so your piercer should pierce you initially with a larger piece of jewelry to accommodate that swelling.(CBRs are the most popular starter jewelry choice for this reason) Many shops include smaller replacement jewelry in the price of the initial piercing, so after about 6 weeks you can have them change it out for you at no additional charge. Make sure you understand exactly what you're getting when you get your piercing and what the shop's policies are.

Healing

After the piercing is completed, the healing process takes a minimum of six weeks to eight weeks for the wound to close properly around the piercing, and it may be six months to a year before the jewellery can be removed for any length of time without the hole closing. It is common for an eyebrow piercing to produce a sticky white discharge or a crust around the jewellery during the healing process. Complications, when reported, are usually fixed with a short-term round of antibiotics. A light bruise is common, due to the high amount of capillaries in the eyebrow and the proximity to the surface of the skin. Sudden pain in the area of the piercing could be a potential sign of infection, and should be checked by a professional immediately.

Notice  

A piercing of underneath the eye is known as an anti-eyebrow piercing. A horizontal piercing of the eyebrow is known as a horizontal eyebrow piercing.

Extra Facts:
1. It doesn't matter which eyebrow you pierce. The location of the piercing does not indicate one sexual orientation over another. It's just personal preference.


2. Hairdressers have an uncanny knack for combing over brow piercings. It's a good idea to cover it with a bandage to protect it while having you're hair done.