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Always wash your hands before you touch the piercing or its area.
Soak your piercing twice a day and wash it once a day in the shower/bath for the first month. Do this before you go to bed, after school/work and when you wake up. After one month clean your piercing in the shower and still soak it once a day for at least another month. Clean all dry, crusted matter off the jewellery before you move it. This dry matter is composed of dried white blood cells, which your body uses to fight bacteria. To remove this dried matter you may soak the jewellery in warm water before you move it. If you do not take the time to do so, the dried matter can scratch and/or re-open the piercing.
Wash your piercing in the shower using a mild soap. For soaps we recommend Spectro jel , Neutrogena, Dove, Ivory, Phisoderm. Lather the soap on the piercing area (including the piercing) using a clean hand. Turn the jewellery so that what was inside the piercing is now outside the piercing and what was outside the piercing is now inside. In other words move all the jewellery back and forth threw the piercing without actually removing the jewellery. Rinse the piercing thoroughly using clean water in the same manner as it was washed. Make sure to remove all soap matter. DO NOT TAKE THE JEWELRY OUT!
To soak the piercing (twice/day) use a cup filled with warm water (8oz) and a ½ tsp of sea salt or epsom salts. You are making a saline solution to soak the piercing with, more salt is not good. Do not use table salt, you want non-iodized salt. Suction/hold the cup and its solution to the area for at least 5 to 10 minutes, longer is not bad. This will also remove all crusted matter from the jewellery. You can find sea salts at any pharmacy. DO NOT turn or touch the jewellery or piercing again until the next time it is washed. ONLY touch a fresh piercing with clean hands.
Rinse the inside of your mouth each time after you eat, smoke, drink or put anything in your mouth, except water, with LISTERINE mixed ½ water ½ Listerine for the next TWO WEEKS.
During the first few days you can suck on ice cubes. If you like you can also make ice cubes out of your favourite teas. You might also alternate from hot to cold drinks, as well, to reduce the swelling (like a hot/cold compress).
Important:
There will be a lessened chance of the barbell coming undone if you tighten the balls on the barbell before and after you eat and sleep. After ten days start brushing the balls on the top and bottom of the barbell when you brush your teeth, (you may brush your teeth right away. This avoids a tarter build-up from forming on the balls, which makes it impossible to remove them. Once the swelling in your tongue has gone down, wait two weeks, and then purchase a shorter barbell. Shortening the length of the barbell will reduce the chance of biting the balls and provide added comfort. Hence, you can change your barbell after 3 weeks of having your tongue pierced. Avoid: Oral contact of any kind for three or four weeks following an oral piercing. Remember you have and open sore in your mouth and are at higher risk.
Avoid drinking beer or wine for two weeks, hard liquor is OK.
There may be a white mucus like substance that will come from the piercing. This is normal and it is just white blood cells and dead bacteria. This will not be a permanent feature of your new tongue piercing and should cease within a couple of weeks. There could also be the formation of `dents' in the swollen tissue of the tongue from where the balls of the barbell rest. These may remain after the swelling has gone down but will become less obvious in time.
Always wash your hands before you touch the piercing or its area.
Clean your piercing for least one month 3 times per day. Use one of the recommend soaps when washing and Bactine when not. Spread these cleanings out over the day; make sure they include mornings and bedtimes. After one month clean your piercing once a day in the shower/sink with a soap for at least another month.
Clean all dry, crusted matter off the jewellery before you move it. To remove this dried matter you may soak the jewellery in warm water before you move it. If you do not take the time to do so, the dried matter can scratch and/or re-open the piercing. Wash your piercing in the shower/sink using a mild soap. For soaps we recommend Spectro jel, Neutrogena, Dove, Ivory, Phisoderm. Lather the soap on the piercing area (including the piercing) using a clean hand. Turn the jewellery so that what was inside the piercing is now outside of the piercing and what was outside of the piercing is now inside. In other words move all the jewellery back and forth threw the piercing without actually removing the jewellery. Rinse the piercing thoroughly using clean water in the same manner as it was washed. Make sure to remove all soap matter. DO NOT TAKE THE JEWELRY OUT!
Use the Bactine several times daily as an astringent to clean the area. You can spray Bactine directly on the piercing or use a Q-tip. Make sure not to double dip anything back into the Bactine container. Bactine can be found at any drug store in the first aid aisle. For Lip/Labret/Marilyn piercings the mouth side of the piercing must be kept clean too. Rinse the inside of your mouth with Listerine mixed ½ and ½ with water or a salt-water rinse at least 4 or 5 times a day for the first 2 weeks. DO NOT touch the piercing or jewellery again until the next time it is washed. ONLY touch a fresh piercing with clean hands. Do not turn a piercing unless it is being washed.
Do NOT
Do NOT surf the web or listen to your sister’s friend’s cousin about what you should be doing to look after your piercing. We have been doing this for over 20 years and have seen and tried everything. The reasons we recommend these things are based on what generally works best for most people. If it is not working well come in we can tailor something that will work better for you.
Do NOT use alcohol, peroxide, iodine, aloe vera or Band-Aids. These products are too harsh for a fresh piercing; they harm your healing skin cells and slow healing.
Do NOT touch your new piercing with dirty hands or let anyone else. Moving your piercing when you are not cleaning it just puts air born and surface bacteria into the fresh tissue.
Do NOT use Polysporin or other ointments. If your piercing is not infected these products will only hinder healing and if you need them at a later date they will have a lessened effect.
Do NOT wear clothes that will not allow your piercing to “breath”. Fitted clothing is fine, not restrictive.
Do NOT allow oral contact with the piercing. Yes that is rite mouths are dirty.
Do NOT play rough with a new piercing. This includes changing it too soon!
Do NOT ever remove the jewellery unless you want to make the removal permanent! Even if it looks infected, call us first. If you think you have had the piercing long enough to take it in and out, call us first. (After a year some piercings can heal over within an hour without the jewellery in them.)
Do NOT Change your nose/ear piercing to silver for ONE YEAR. Unless you want a PERMANENT little grey mark.
Do
Keep your new piercing clean and follow the instructions given. Be careful with your new piercing. Bumps and bangs can tear the healing tissue and possibly off set the piercing.
Take care to remove dry matter off the jewellery by soaking it before moving the jewellery.
Eat right while trying to heal a piercing, even if the piercing is a tongue piercing.
An infection is always possible, but not typically.
Bacteria are introduced by excessive handling, dirt and/or sweat just to mention some of the ways it can get in to a piercing.
Sometimes, a piercing can display certain symptoms of infection, but not be infected. This is an “inflammatory response”. These are small red slightly swollen areas that occur around pierced areas occasionally during the healing process. There can also be a white discharge, slight itchiness and mild discomfort. These signs can all be part of the healing process and do not necessarily mean your piercing is infected
The entire area is hot, sore, extremely itchy and/or excreting greenish discharge.
If you get an infection, the first thing to do is to relax. Getting upset just makes things worse. Call us or come in, we can usually help if not we would be more than happy to work with a physician to help make it better, this does not have to be the end of your piercing.
Average healing time for most piercings is well over 3-6 months. Do not become discouraged. This does not mean that your piercing will act up the entire time it just means be careful with it.
A professional piercer should do any type of jewelry removal or change until the piercing is fully healed. We highly recommend a check-up visit within 2-3 weeks after your piercing has been done or at anytime you would like some advice. We would be happy to help you with any healing issues that may arise.
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