Frankly speaking, previously I had no idea as to why people loved to get their tongue pierced. I mean getting your nose, ear, eyebrows pierced...that's different, but piercing a tongue...don't know about you, but for me it sounded painful, as well as troublesome. But, my views changed when I saw my friend with a pierced tongue and realized how cool she looked and seeing her I wanted to get one too. Then I read about the various tongue piercing dangers involved and freaked. But she said that if proper ways of caring for your tongue piercing are followed, then those dangers can be avoided to some extent. Given below are some tips on care for tongue piercing, which will help prevent infection.
Risks in Tongue Piercing
There are people who love to pierce their tongue, and this is not a new concept. The history of tongue piercing goes back to the time of the Aztecs and the Mayan culture, where tongue piercing was a ritual. After you get your tongue pierced, if proper care is not taken, then the pierced area might turn infectious. So how to care for a tongue piercing? Before going into the details of care for tongue piercing information, let us see what are some of the tongue piercing risks involved.
- One problem is that you will not be able to talk properly, as your tongue will swell up. But this is a temporary problem and once the swelling reduces, your speech will be back to normal.
- Sometimes, the person might also suffer from a severe nerve problem in the tongue.
- Person faces difficulty while swallowing and also while eating, and this happens due to excessive swelling of the tongue.
- The spot might also become infectious and sometimes the infection might remain for so long that the piercing might have to be removed.
- There are also chances of the jewelry being swallowed, by the wearer, if it ever comes out.
Caring for Tongue Piercing
Carrying out proper tongue piercing care is important, otherwise it might lead to various problems. If you are wondering what are the various ways to care for tongue piercing, then this section will tell you all about it. Just follow the instructions and they might reduce the chances of infection, as well as other risks involved, to a great extent. The various caring tips are as follows:
- Avoid touching the pierced part for few days and if you have to touch it, then make sure that you wash your hands properly before touching it.
- The tongue takes at least around 6 to 8 weeks to heal completely and during those 6 - 8 weeks, you should not play or even touch your tongue. Always rinse your mouth after drinking or eating something. Take care not rinse your mouth with any listerine or mouthwash, as it might cause some sort of irritation. If you do however use listerine, then you must be ready for some irritation as well as discoloration of the jewelry.
- Avoid alcohol (drinking as well as cleaning the pierced part with it. Do not take in hot or spicy food, and use salt water to rinse your mouth as they are also good for killing any kind of infection.
- For the first few weeks after piercing, you have to depend on soft food items and avoid anything hard or something that you have to chew a lot. Go for bananas, soup, soft rice, or drink juices. DO NOT forget to rinse after every meal.
- Smoking is a big NO NO, and if you have to smoke, then rinse your mouth properly before and after smoking.
- In order to reduce the swelling you can place a piece of ice cube on the pierced part and let it melt. The swelling will reduce in few days.
- Make sure that the jewelry is tightly placed, otherwise you might swallow it accidentally while eating or sleeping. And do not try to take out the piece by yourself.
