Body piercing is a realm of trends. New ones get hot, while old ones disappear into the past and are never seen again…. most of the time. Sometimes trendy piercings stick around to become classics, like the daith piercing. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s dangerous, poorly thought-out piercings that stick around and simply refuse to leave. A perfect example of this is the so-called “snake eyes” piercing.
The horizontal tongue piercing (or “snake eyes”, named for the way the ball ends look sticking out of the tongue) is one of those piercings that refuses to exit the stage. Despite having its moment in the spotlight, it has become far more widely known that this piercing has no business existing. The human tongue is made up of two separate muscles. By putting a barbell through the tongue horizontally, it prevents the muscles from working independently. This can have serious effects on the way one speaks.
Another major problem with this piercing is that the ball ends on the jewelry are located in such a way that they are almost guaranteed to hit and click against one’s teeth. This is virtually ensuring dental damage over time. Nearly everyone with an oral piercing can tell a story about the time they accidentally bit down on their jewelry or had some equally painful mishap. But while the constant clicking and tapping may not be painful, it definitely can lead to cumulative dental problems over time.
Even if you’re willing to take the risks and get a piercing that is likely to do permanent damage to your body, you then have to find your piercer. However, piercers know that this particular piercing is dangerous and shouldn’t be performed. So even if you do manage to find a piercer willing to do it, you have to wonder about their commitment to safety and customer health. Is this really someone that you want piercing you, especially in such a delicate area? There are large veins, known as lingual veins, within the tongue. These can make tongue piercings tricky as hitting one with a needle can cause serious problems.
Piercings wax and wane in popularity over time. Some that you haven’t seen for a while make a sudden comeback while some fade away from common view… and some fade away forever. While most of these changes can be attributed to things such as fashion, sometimes there is a very good reason why a piercing disappears. Sometimes there’s a number of reasons, even! The horizontal tongue piercing is one of those. Don’t roll the dice on this one. You’re liable to come up…. snake eyes.
