Navel Piercing Care is Important to Avoid Disfiguring Infections

A belly ring can be a fun way to adorn your body and get people to notice you. However, you must be diligent about navel piercing care, or else infection or scarring could make something fun into something painful.

You should apply sea salt or a mild antibacterial soap in the shower two times a day. Make your hand into a cup beneath the piercing and soak it for up to two minutes. Always turn the ring when you are washing, or your skin will attach to the ring when it heals, and will tear when the jewelry moves. Here are some additional Do's and Don't's:

- DO dry your navel completely after you clean it. Use a paper tissue or let it air dry, because bacteria can lurk inside towels. If your navel is deep, you should use a clean cotton swab that has sat in warm water to clean it daily. Then, use a dry swab to dry it out.

- DO put tea tree oil in the wound, because this will lubricate it and make it heal faster. Put a tiny amount on a cotton swab, and then put it onto the wound. Move the ring around gently to work the oil into the wound. Continue to use tea tree oil daily even after your piercing has completely healed, to keep bacteria at bay.

- DO wash the piercing thoroughly after you have exercised. Sweat is acidic and could irritate your wound.

- DO expose some skin to the sun, but not the piercing site. Sunshine makes your body generate Vitamin D, which will make the wound heal faster. Use sunscreen if you're going to be out for more than 15 minutes.

- DON'T yank up the skin above your navel so you that you can see the piercing. This will hurt your wound. If you want to see it, stand in front of a mirror.

- DON'T put mentholated liquids or alcohol on the wound. Liquids like that can damage the wound. Also, stay away from betadine or hydrogen peroxide because they kill the cells that will build scar tissue. Ointments and creams will attract bacteria, so stay away from those as well.