Have you ever wondered why you have to remove your piercings when you go in for an x-ray?

When you head in for some radiology, your nurse or technician might tell you that you'll have to remove your piercings before receiving an x-ray. What if you have piercings that can't be taken out, or jewelry that you've never actually taken out before? Eyebrow rings, tongue rings, nose rings, you name it - this can be a frightening experience, especially if it's on-the-spot sprung on you. Will the x-ray irradiate your jewelry? Will it burst into flames into the machine? Will some strong, magnetic field forcefully rip it out of your body?!

In most cases, the answer is a little less scary than you might think... Body jewelry appears as a solid black (or white) object on an x-ray. This opacity can obscure the x-ray from capturing important medical information related to your condition. For example: your ears/nostrils may hide important information about your jaw or nasal passages; tongue, lip, and medusa piercings may block the view of your mouth, teeth and gums; and belly/nipple piercings may block information related to your internal organs.

Disclaimer: Body Candy is only here to give you fun and helpful advice and information when it comes to getting pierced. Your health is more important than a piercing - always listen to your doctor's advice and always ask a professional piercer for help if you know you'll be heading in for an x-ray sometime soon.

X-Ray 1:

Looks like this individual has a whole face full of piercings! In this x-ray:

- A septum ring is visible in the nose - there may also be nose rings here.

- A tongue ring is visible running vertical through the patient's tongue, mid-mouth.

- A "smiley" or lip frenulum piercing can be seen to the right of the tongue piercing.

- Two lip piercings can be seen here - these are most likely either labrets, a monroe and a madonna, or some variation of a "bite" piercing (snake bites, cyber bites, etc.)

X-Ray 2:

This x-ray is printed out on a well-loved piece of paper. In this x-ray:

- Plugs (most likely 0 or 00 gauge) can be seen visible in both earlobes.

- A tragus, conch, or daith piercing is visible above the plug on the right.

- A tongue piercing is visible in the center of the mouth.

X-Ray 3:

This is an interesting case - this individual happens to have a pacemaker implanted in their buttocks. We certainly don't consider that a piercing, but also included in this x-ray:

- A VCH (female genital) piercing can be seen in the lower middle of the x-ray.

X-Ray 4:

This patient has had some dental work - a top and bottom retainer can be seen on the teeth. Also included in this x-ray:

- A cartilage stud worn in a tragus piercing can be seen on the right.

- A small nose ring can be seen in the left nostril.

- Another hoop can be seen faintly on the left - most likely worn in a daith or conch piercing.

X-Ray 5:

This is a close-up x-ray of a patient's. In this x-ray:

- A nose ring adorned with a tiny cross can be seen quite visibly.

X-Ray 6:

This is a simple one. In this x-ray:

- A nose hoop with a small charm or ball can be seen inserted in the patient's nostril piercing.

X-Ray 7:

This one is a picture taken of the computer screen in a dentist's office. In this x-ray:

- The patient's tongue ring can be seen in the middle of the x-ray. In this case, it looks like the patient moved their tongue while the x-ray was being taken, resulting in a bit of distortion in the image.

- A small nose bone can also be see in this picture, slightly above the tongue piercing.

X-Ray 8:

This patient has a lot of modifications! In this x-ray:

- A plug (potentially a cheater plug) can be see on the right side of this x-ray.

- A "smiley" or lip frenulum piercing can be seen in the center of the mouth, in front of the teeth.

- This patient is wearing a horseshoe ring in their septum piercing, visible directly above the smiley

- A small nose stud/nose bone can be seen in the nostril

X-Ray 9:

In this x-ray:

- A barbell can be seen in this patient's nipple piercing. If you look closely, you can see the ribcage beneath the breast tissue.

X-Ray 10:

This one comes straight out of the Body Candy Archives! This is one of our first customer-submitted x-rays. In this x-ray:

- A navel ring can be seen in the belly button. It appears in front of the patient's spine.

- We labeled this one very clearly.