by Heather M Davis

Created on: February 23, 2007   Last Updated: April 25, 2007

Prepare for a long read. I'm not even going to really address the aesthetics of this issue. In India, body piercing is seen as a sign of beauty. In some African cultures, various body piercings are signs of beauty, fertility, strength, and so on. In some cultures, a specific piercing designated you as a slave or a criminal. So don't bother talking about this part. It's personal preference, and I don't know about you, but I live in a free country, and if I don't like it, I'll just have to deal with it. Same for the Canadians. They get freedom of expression. Express yourself. With or without new holes.

I will address health risks though. I am a trained professional. I pierce people for a living. I'll go piercing-type by piercing type, from top to bottom. Read it, think about it. Piercing can be dangerous. It can cause permanent damage. It can cause scarring. It can heal with no scars later in your life if you don't want it anymore. It can have no negative affects. That depends on you, on your body, on your piercer, on a lot of things. To save time, rather than state this in each section, one of the most important parts of getting a safe piercing is a good piercer. Check their portfolio, check their sterilization standards. A good, clean, piercer will eliminate a lot of the possible problems of a piercing.

Another thing that is important to know: Infection is *much* rarer than you think. A healing piercing can be confused with an infected one by a doctor who isn't familiar with piercing. Your piercing will be red, and tender, and have a little bit of a clear/white/light yellow discharge while it is healing. That is not infection. Sometimes a piercing can become irritated, which makes it red and sore and may come with discharge. Again, not an infection. Proper care will put it right again. A metal allergy can show some of the symptoms of an infection, many of them, actually. The difference between an infection and a metal allergy? The skin will start to pull away from the jewelery. A jewelery change and a week or two will take care of your problem. MOST INFECTIONS ARE CAUSED BY THE PEIRCEE, NOT THE PIERCER. Playing with your jewelery will almost certainly give you an infection. don't do it. If you think your piercing is infected, talk to your piercer first.

Ear Piercings: Most ear piercings are very low-risk when done with a needle. A needle will remove the lobe tissue, or cartilage elsewhere in your ear, and replace it with metal. With proper care, these will generally

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