Ear and Other Piercings

Body modifications, like ear piercings, have been going on for thousands of years. When the first Neanderthal put a bone in the ear and received some grunts of enthusiasm from his tribal friends, the trend likely began.

I pierced my daughter's ear when she was just two, much to the horror of her grandmother who felt that piercings made girls look "cheap". My daughter was certainly not cheap, and she sure looked cute in those little earrings.

Little did I know, twenty years later, I would be looking at my daughter with pierced eyebrows, nose, lips, belly-buttons, and tongue (and perhaps piercings in areas that Dads never see). She even worked for several years as a piercer.

I once visited her at the tattoo place and was absolutely horrified at the place people get pierced. I saw their catalogue of piercings: the penis (various locations), scrotum, nipples, the labia, the clitoral hood, etc. You name it, and someone will put a hole and some jewelry in it.

Piercings are done without local anesthesia as part of the experience. Screaming, apparently, is frowned upon. Since I am not a big fan of intentional pain, it never entered my mind to have a pierced anything. I will leave this world with the same number of natural holes that I had when I was born, and without jewels or chains hanging from anything.

Behind the confidential door of the examining rooms, I have seen many, many piercings; just about everything in the catalogue. A medical provider quickly learns to be non-judgmental in these situations. On the outside you either ignore it, or you might say, "Oh, I see you have a pierced _______."

Inside, you are saying, "Oh my God! She has a pierced ______!"

Most piercings done in reputable establishments are done under sterile conditions. Since hepatitis B, HIV, and other blood-borne diseases are a definite risk, this is nice to know.

The human skin, unfortunately, cannot be adequately sterilized, so infections are quite common until the piercings heal. Minor infections in the earlobe are easily treated; infections in the ear cartilage are more problematic. Unless ear cartilage infections are properly and promptly treated, the person could end up with a deformed, cauliflower ear.

Keloids, or hypertrophic scars, can also occur. Keloids are another thing that can permanently deform the outer ear. At least once or twice a month, I am fishing out an infected and embedded ear post in a child's ear.

I see a lot of nipple piercings in both men and women. Surprisingly, these do not get infected very often. Tongue piercings, painful as they are to have inserted, rarely get infected since they are constantly washed by protective saliva. The nasal mucosa is not the cleanest place on our body. Subsequently, nasal piercings get infections. Umbilical piercings take several months to heal, so infections are much more common in this area. Lastly, you take the most risk with genital piercings.

My daughter is thirty years old now, more mature, and has gone back to just having pierced ears again. Whew!

By the way, the picture is NOT my daughter.

Related Topics: Tattoo Trends: It's Not Just Sailors, ADA Dental Channel: Oral Piercing

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