Rachel Kubicek
Joplin, MO — Amber Porter’s daughter, Kammi, was 8 years old before she came to her mom and asked to get her ears pierced.
“Her friends had their ears pierced and she would go into the boutiques and see the cute earrings. We waited to get her ears pierced until she asked on her own,” said Porter, of Carl Junction.
Kammi had her ears pierced at a local boutique.
Mike Roland, owner of Body Accents, says there isn’t an age that is too young.
“It is legal to pierce people under the age of 18 with parental consent according to Missouri law,” he said.
But once your ear, nose, navel or any other body part has been pierced, it’s important to know how to care for it.
Understanding sterilization
Roland warns against taking a do-it-yourself approach to piercings.
He says trying to do your own piercing can result in scarring, infections or disease.
Roland says that customers should also ask about a facility's autoclave, the machine that sterilizes the piercing instruments.
“Make sure it reaches the proper temperature,” he said. “A big threat with improperly sterilized instruments is hepatitis, a germ that is protected by a spore. The only way to burst the spore and kill the germ is through heat and pressure.”
Roland says his autoclave reaches at least 280 degrees and has 30 pounds of pressure.
Body Accents does not use a piercing gun because they cannot be sterilized.
He says that if you go somewhere that uses a gun, it should be in an unopened package that is dated and color coded to show sterilization.
Care instructions
When Kammi Porter had her ears pierced, she was instructed to turn the earrings three times per day and clean them two to three times per day with the large bottle of ear-care solution the boutique gave her.
“So far we haven’t had any problems. We don’t change them too often and we always keep earrings in so the holes won’t close,” said Amber Porter.
“The solution can be used on any piercing with the exception of an oral piercing. For a tongue piercing, we recommend keeping crushed ice with them for 24 hours and rinse three times a day with a salt water solution,” says Roland.
He says to avoid flavored mouthwash or toothpaste with hydrogen peroxide.
“We recommend a specific dental rinse but if they can’t afford it regular Listerine can be used for a tongue piercing,” says Roland.
Amber Porter said that she was told to wait six weeks before changing her daughter’s earrings.
Roland says that a navel piercing has the longest healing time.
“It depends on the person’s chemistry. Some take only four months while others take up to a year to completely heal,” says Roland.
Irritations and infections
“People used to say to use hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol (on piercings), but both are definitely bad for a piercing,” says Roland, who has been in business for 17 years.
Hydrogen peroxide can close the hole, while alcohol can cause an irritation, he said.
Roland also says that with navel piercings, care should be taken to not let shampoo or body wash drain into the piercing.
“The alcohol and fragrances can cause an irritation that some mistake for an infection when it is not. They want to grab for the hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol and they should not do that,” says Roland.
“By all means, avoid soaking a piercing in a bath,” says Roland. “Regular soaps can cause irritation.”
Body Accents carries a solution called Dr. Piercing’s Aftercare, designed by physicians for piercing.
If you are not able to determine whether you have an infection or irritation in your piercing, you might check with the shop where you had the piercing done.
To swim or not to swim?
Roland says that the most common question he is asked during the summer is if it’s OK to swim with a new piercing.
He says that swimming in a chlorinated pool is fine as long as you follow normal care instructions after you are done.
“As far as lakes go I would say no, especially Grand Lake,” he said. “It’s just asking for an infection.
Rachel Kubicek writes for the Joplin (Mo.) Globe.
