Pros and Cons of Belly Button Piercings: The Price of Fashion

Navel piercings, commonly known as belly button piercings, seem like a low-risk, highly fashionable piece of jewelry to invest in. It is a piercing, usually worn with a curved barbell-style jewelry piece, which extends through the upper edge of the belly button, not actually through the belly button itself. Although this seems like a fairly safe piercing to have done, when deciding whether a belly button piercing is for you, it is incredibly important to remember that that there are some risks to consider.

So what are the main dangers of belly button piercings? According to the Children's Hospital of Boston's Center for Young Women's Health, the risks vary widely. These include bacterial infection, excessive bleeding, pain, scar tissue (including thick, discolored Keloid scars), nerve damage, and/or allergic reactions to the metal in the jewelry. If you decide to go ahead, there are ways to avoid these dangers to belly button piercings.

Choose a clean and reputable shop licensed for piercings and tattoos.

First, and most obvious, reason to go to a reputable shop is to reduce the risk of infection and nerve damage. Having a friend pierce anything on your body, or doing it yourself, is never a good idea. To find a reputable shop, ask the people you know (and trust to have sound judgment!) where they went for their tattoos and/or piercings. Once you have an idea of the names of a few shops in your area that are highly reputable, look on-line to see if they have a web site and/or good reviews from previous customers. Good web sites to search for business web pages are www.google.com and www.yellowpages.com.