• Almost 100% safe if done by a PROFESSIONAL using sterilized tools and jewelry.
• NEVER get a piercing from a professional who works out of a van or a house.
• NON-PROFESSIONAL piercing can result in infection, disease, permanent injury, or even death.
• Hepatitis B is one of the diseases that you can get as a result of non-professional piercing. Hepatitis B causes inflammation of the liver. Its symptoms are: jaundice (yellow colour of the skin and eyes), fatigue (feeling tired), lack of appetite, nausea, and fever.
• HIV is another disease that you can get as a result of non-professional piercing. HIV can eventually lead to AIDS.
• If the pierced area gets infected, you may notice pus, redness, swelling, or tenderness.
      1.  DO NOT remove the jewelry because holes could close
           trapping the infection.
      2.  Have the site checked by a qualified health care provider.
• For most people body piercing involves a small amount of pain.
• Good body piercing will cost $20.00 or more, plus the cost of jewelry.

• DO NOT try to remove an unhealed piercing yourself, you could pull germs into the wound, causing a major infection to occur.

Piercing Steps

1. Sterile gloves should be used at all times

2. Appropriate clothing should be removed and the area cleaned with an antiseptic.

3. A marker will be used to mark the point of entry and exit.

4. The body part will be secured with sterilized forceps.

5. The piercing SHOULD be performed with a STERILIZED, SURGICAL needle and STERILIZED jewelry should be inserted.

6. You should receive written aftercare instruction.

Questions To Ask Your Piercer

1. How did they learn to pierce?

2. How long have they been piercing?

3. Approximately how many piercings have they performed?

4. Do they have a portfolio?

5. Do they have written aftercare instructions? Who wrote them?

6. How long has the studio been in existence?

7. Do they have a covered ultrasonic cleaner and a working autoclave for sterilization?

www.safepiercing.org/choose.html

Allergies
Body piercings can cause problems if you are allergic to the material the jewelry is made of – entrance and exit holes will swell and secrete a clear discharge.

For more cool info on piercing see: www.coolmd.com/piercing/index.html