Even though piercings have been around for a long, long time, there are still a lot of myths and pieces of misinformation floating around. They lurk in dark corners of the internet, just waiting to give you bad advice. Today we’re going to review some of these myths so you can avoid accidentally following them and the unfortunate consequences of doing that.
MYTH #1: Red and Crusty = Infection
FACT: This is just not how infection works. Red and crusty are not only vague, but also a normal part of the healing process. You had a needle passed through your flesh. It’s going to be red afterwards, for quite a while even. While your body is healing from this trauma it oozes something called lymph, which is clear and yellow. If your piercing is red and has clear yellow crusties, that is not a sign of infection. Pus is opaque and usually either yellow or green. That is when you need medical attention. If it is also warm, painful, and has redness that keeps spreading outwards, you need medical attention. Please do not post a picture of it on the internet asking if you need medical attention, just go get seen. Also, the healing process is not a straight line. Piercings start to heal, flare up, settle down, flare up, and settle down again. This is totally normal and not something to panic over.
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MYTH #2: Your Piercing Will Close Instantly Without Jewelry
FACT: This is entirely dependent on your body. If you have had your piercing for a long time, you might be able to go for hours to days or even longer without jewelry and still have an open piercing. If your piercing is fully healed but you got it done recently, you likely have considerably less time. But your piercing is not a door that slams shut the minute the jewelry is out and heals closed instantly. That said, don’t go taking your jewelry and assuming that it will all be fine but at the same time, if your jewelry falls out or breaks don’t panic. If you go see your piercer that day or the next, they should be able to use an insertion taper to put your jewelry back in. You don’t need to force it back in, let the piercer do it for you so you don’t accidentally hurt the tissue in the fistula. The body just doesn’t heal that fast.
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MYTH #3: You Have To Rotate Your Jewelry
FACT: No, you actually don’t. Rotating the jewelry is a good way to keep your piercing from healing properly. That kind of movement can injure the delicate new cells forming inside the fistula and extend the healing time. There is a persistent urban myth that your skin will grow onto the jewelry, making it impossible to remove. This is physically impossible because properly done piercings are performed with titanium jewelry and titanium is not a porous material. There is no way for your skin to grow onto it. Rotating your jewelry can also introduce bacteria from your hands into the piercing which is a really great way to get an infection. (See myth #1) It’s outdated and unnecessary. Don’t do it.
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Sadly, we’ve only begun to cover the myths that are lingering about piercings. This is just part one. Keep an eye out for our next part in which we will cover things like “Yeah, you can totally clean that with rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide.” (Spoiler: No, you can’t.) Remember, your trusted, trained piercer knows what they’re doing, and they are a far more reliable source of information than social media. When in doubt, do what they told you to.
Happy piercing!
