DIY oral piercing is risky!

(The craze for facial piercing in Himachal Pradesh, India, is increasing day by day but it’s not professional piercing, rather it is DIY piericng. Concerned about this issue I got down to write.) 😕

A low-waist jeans with tight bottoms, baggy pullover, a bandanna for gelled locks and a face with some piercing…this is the appearance of our youth slipping in the shoes of Rap Style, frequently seen freaking out on the Mall Road.

This is mainly not the fashion for under-graduates but it’s our school going children trying their level best to add some funk to their style.

This is the new cult into which our ‘future of nation’ is moving sleathily. Recently, on the occasion of Valentine’s Day many youngsters were seen parading in this fashion.

To be in latest fashion is good but following it blindly is the matter of concern!

The craze for facial piercing is growing day by day but with a heavy heart it is to be mentioned that people are not aware of its side-effects. Any part of our body can be poked but for every piercing special assistance as well as aftercare is required.

Focusing on oral piercing a person may experience regular irritation with oral soft tissues like lips, gums, etc. Piercing can have bacterial stagnation due to poor oral hygiene and may form deformities in soft tissues and teeth.

A young government school student in the town, who has himself pierced labret, said that he poked his labret himself with a sewing needle and for over a month the piercing was very painful with bleeding and pus in it. With the passing of over three months now, however, the piercing has healed but still at times it gets painful with pus in it.

Has he ever thought what is the reason behind this prolonged healing and pus? No! He takes it to be a normal process.

The reason behind this is the unhygienic method of piercing. Returning of pus means existence of bacterial infection as it’s actually a collection of dead skin cells, white blood cells called neutrophils and some bacteria that are still putting up a fight.

However, it do takes about 6-8 weeks for a lip piercing to fully heal but do-it-yourself piercing is hazardous.

The ratio of people going to hospitals for body piercings is very less, therefore, it is recommended to get yourself pierced by a doctor as they have the proper knowledge of human body and can provide proper hygienic conditions that are required for body piercing. DIY piercing can at times be highly risky as you might poke a nerve, which may also lead to health crisis or ones death.

Along with getting yourself poked by a doctor, you need proper aftercare follow-up. As mouth is the gateway to anything we eat, it can sometimes be more prone to infections. The infection can be due to inappropriate method of cleaning. Therefore, rinse 4-5 times a day with non-alcoholic antimicrobial or antibacterial solution, even over rinsing can be harmful. Don’t think that your saliva can be harmful to your piercing as it has some anti-bacterial qualities which help in preventing the infection to some extent. Don’t play with your piercing jewelry during the process of healing and don’t touch it with uncleaned hands.

As per my knowledge there is no law for body art in Indian Constitution like most of the western countries, who have now understood well the consequences of unsafe body piercing or tattooing. If you know about any laws for body in India, please share it with us.