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The area around the new piercing must be kept clean and allow the body to heal around the jewelry. Piercing sites that are covered by clothes such as nipple, navel, or genital piercings may become infected because of perspiration and rubbing of clothing. Piercers stress the importance of not fingering the jewelry to prevent infection.
Guidelines for care of new piercing sites: Clean the piercing area with an antibacterial soap twice a day. This is enough to keep the piercing clean and allow the body to heal. Gently wash the area surrounding and including the piercing with the soap. Remove all crusty formations from the piercing and jewelry. Rinse off the soap, making sure that all the soap and crust formations are gone.
Salt water soaks are good to loosen up crusty formations. You can make salt water by adding 1/4 teaspoon of salt to one cup of clean water. You do not need strong cleaning agents if the area is infection-free. Do not use alcohol or Peroxide to clean the area at any time. They will dry out your skin. Betadine will discolor gold jewelry. Wash your hands with soap before touching or cleaning the pierced part during the healing process. Don’t let anyone else touch the pierced part during the healing period. Avoid contact with other people’s body fluids. (saliva, sweat, etc.).
Even your own sweat may irritate the piercing. Be sure to rinse the area after all exercise to remove all sweat. Always wear clean clothing and change bed-sheets every week during healing. If the piercing is an ear piercing, clean your telephone and sun or eye glasses with Lysol spray or alcohol. Wash the part of eye glasses that touch your ear with soap and water. Check any threaded jewelry in your mouth (such as barbells) twice a day to make sure the ends are tight. You may swallow the barbell or damage a tooth if it comes loose. For ear and cartilage piercings, avoid make-up and powders around your face and neck during the healing process.
Cover the pierced part with a tissue when using hair spray. No tight clothes. For navel piercing, don’t wear large belts, stockings, body suits, and do not sleep on your stomach. Good air circulation is important for healing. Be careful where you swim. Avoid public pools and hot tubs until the piercing has healed. For mouth care following tongue or lip piercing, choose an antibacterial mouthwash that does not contain alcohol and rinse your mouth after all meals and snacks. If you notice bad breathe and an off-colored tongue the mouth wash may have killed the mouth’s own bacteria. If this happens switch to salt water rinses instead of mouthwash. |
