Piercing Tongue
Important Tongue Piercing Information
If you’re thinking about getting a tongue piercing, what you are doing what’s right by researching the benefits and drawbacks first. Tongue piercings are very popular for plenty of reasons… be it for shock value, appearance, or pleasure enhancement (to name just one or two reasons). If you’re considering a tongue piercing – included but not limited to piercing of the tongue, tongue web, or uvula – there are lots of important factors you must consider before getting pierced.
Before we delve into the universal risks, each piercing possesses his own set of aftercare and precautions to know. The most frequent oral piercing is of course the tongue piercing, which to a professional piercer is among the easiest piercings to perform. Usually performed directly through the biggest market of the tongue (although the tongue can be pierced in other places – but talk to your piercer first!) and the jewelry of choice is always a barbell. The barbell jewelry is used because tongue piercings will become swollen for a couple days to a week after the initial piercing, and the barbell can accommodate the swelling. Over time of 4-6 weeks, the jewelry can be replaced.
After a tongue piercing, it is STRONGLY advised not to smoke, engage in oral sex, or kiss. Proper cleaning ought to be done frequently, because the mouth is filled with bacteria. Although saliva is the body’s natural way of combating harmful bacteria, with an open wound like a piercing, the odds of infection do increase. With an open wound like a tongue piercing, the potential risk of diseases being transferred is greater too, including the Hepatitis strains and HIV. Heed the advice given to you by your piercer to prevent serious and unhealthy scenarios!
The tongue web, formerly called the frenetic linguine, is located beneath the tongue. It is a piercing that isn’t applicable to everyone – some folks don’t have tongue webs pronounced enough to pierce! Many piercer refuse to get this done piercing, not because of any extraordinary risks per say, but because most folks don’t clean their tongue web piercing frequently enough (which leads to plaque buildup) or can’t keep their tongue on top of their mouth during the piercing. If you undertake get this piercing, clean it regularly since it is an open wound in the mouth and therefore prone to infection. If the piercing is not deep enough, the body will “reject” or “push out” the piercing – not particularly harmful, but unpleasant and should be avoided still.
The final piercing that is wholly located within the mouth is considered an extreme piercing which is still very rare (and some may argue, completely impractical even by piercing standards). The Uvula, informally known as the “dangle thing” or “punching bag” located at the rear of the throat by the tonsils, can be pierced. Most piercers will not perform this, even though the procedure is simple. Many people don’t have their gag reflex controlled enough to successfully has the piercing (just imagine the hazards of gagging with a sharp needle in your mouth!), and the uvula is very active pierce of tissue hence the opportunity of the body rejecting the piercing is very real. Jewelry that is rejected will almost definitely be swallowed, which can pose health risks.
This information is not to put you off getting a piercing of the tongue, tongue web, or uvula, but it’s not wise to trapeze into a piercing parlor (and side note: don’t even THINK about getting an oral piercing anywhere other than a sterile professional piercing parlor) to get an oral piercing impulsively. To prevent infection or rejection, consider your lifestyle: Do you smoke? This alone will definitely harass your new piercing and prolong the healing process. Are you orally fixated, therefore prone to tinkering and playing with your jewelry? Constant playing with tongue piercings can cause irreversible damage to the gum and teeth. Are you getting surgery soon? Your oral piercing must come out – surgeons insist on it to prevent surgical complications – and once you come out of anesthesia, your piercing will be completely healed. Have you had a tongue pierced before and wish to get it re pierced? Some piercers will refuse on the basis that scar tissue is very difficult to pierce through. Listen to your intuition. If your gut feeling is saying not to get an oral piercing, avoid them! If you undertake get an oral piercing, seriously consider your body. If something is wrong, your body will show you!
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