Body Piercing Health Facts & Tips

Body piercing is a way of expressing oneself, to some, a way to keep up with the latest fashion trend. Getting pierced can be fun, exciting, and for some, an adrenaline rush. No matter the reason, millions of people get pierced every year, but how many know all the risks? Even though body piercing has been known to be a "Painful Pleasure," the dangers are quite significant. Itis important for people to know just what risks are involved with getting a body piercing; these risks include sicknesses, diseases, and a variety of health problems. In addition, it is essential to know how to take care of a piercing; the knowledge of aftercare can help to prevent complications. Understandably, piercing has become very popular over the years, unfortunately,way more popular than the knowledge of the dangers. Although many people think body piercing cannot cause any harm, there are many factors that make body piercing dangerous.

First, individuals may have the assumption that all the body-piercing employees in a studio are trained professionals, however, this is not always the case. Smith (2004) reported, "Advocates say body piercing is safe if done in a professional environment." A professional environment does not mean there will be no problems. It is not recommended that a person walks into a random studio and gets work done by any random person. There may be untrained piercers working in the parlor, and piercers who are not professional are extremely dangerous, and may cause harm to the client. This false assumption, that all employeesare trained professionals, is just one reason piercing becomes dangerous.