Body piercing
From SM201
Needle play is the practise of inserting needles under the skin of the submissive. Needle play is considered Edge play and care should be taken to follow all appropriate safety precautions when engaging in play in order to avoid injury or infection. Only use sterile needles approved for medical use, and not reuse them after they have been used. Used needles are dangerous and should be disposed in a sharps container.
About Needles
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The smaller the gauge, the larger the needle diameter. Common needle guages for play piercing are 26 through 18. Different gauges of needles have different color hubs, but these colors are not consistent across brands. On the needle package, the needles are commonly identified first by gauge, and second by needle length (in inches). Thus, a package labelled "22 1 1/2" would contain 22 gauge needles with a length of 1 1/2 inches.
The plastic disposable protection around the needle is called the sheath. The plastic portion permanently attached to the needle is called the hub. Needless to say, care must be taken in handling needles as they can easily cause injury to the handler and those around him/her. If you have not used needles before then it is strongly advised to learn from an experienced user first. You can also practice on a raw chicken
- Also see the page [ Needle gauge comparison chart ]
Basic Principles
The basic idea is that the needle should travel just underneath the surface of ordinary skin, to emerge through the skin a short distance from where it was inserted.
The needle tips have a bevel. With regard to the skin being pierced, the bevel may be up or down (it's personal preference).
Shallower = More Pain, Larger Diameter Needle = More Pain
Safety
Do not stick needles into internal organs, bones, eyes, etc. Again, the idea is that the needle should travel just underneath ordinary skin, passing only through skin and the subcutaneous layers just underneath the surface.
Play piercing involving the genitals is a special topic, with special precautions that must be followed to avoid causing permanent damage; don't try any sort of genital piercing without further training from someone who is familiar with and competent at genital piercing.
Temporary nipple piercing is enjoyed by people who like intense nipple play. The needle can be thrust through back of the nipple, taking care to include areolar tissue. An entire rosette of needles can be inserted. This of course can be dangerous, with potential exchange of bodily fluids and other infection.
Don't pierce wrists, hands, or spines, or near them. In general, piercing near a nerve tract (eg, near joints); avoid piercing where bones are close to the skin surface. Waist to shoulders is usually fine, though one should avoid the armpit and sternum.
The surface to be pierced should be disinfected first. There are three types of substances that may be used for this:
- Iodine.
- This is opaque (which may be a problem) and shouldn't be used on someone who is allergic to shellfish.
- Alcohol.
- This should be 70%-90% rubbing alcohol (isopropyl). One shouldn't use it on someone who is on Disulfiram or Antabuse.
- BAC.
- These kill a broader spectrum of pathogens than alcohol, and allergic/irritation reactions are rare. Allergic reactions (distinct from irritation) are characterized by pale skin, sweating, localized redness, and asthma-like symptoms.
Some people prefer to wear latex or nitrile gloves as they do piercing, and to use the needle sheath to press down the skin in front of the needle as it is going through so that their hand or finger is not in the needle's way. Although most gloves will not protect you should you stick yourself with a needle, they can protect your hands against any blood (of uncertain infectious status) that may flow from skin punctures.
The primary danger in play piercing is infection. Be sure that the person you are playing with would recognize the signs of infection should they occur, and if so to go receive proper medical care. Some people are in special danger from infection as a result of medical conditions. A common example is diabetes mellitus in which circulation is frequnetly imparired; diabetics often require much longer healing times for any injury, including neadle punctures.
After care
- The healing process and body piercing aftercare
A new piercing will be sore, tender or red for several days up to three weeks. Complete healing normally takes several weeks or more. Below are more specific healing time estimates. During this period, care must be taken to avoid infection. Touching—or, for genital and oral piercings, sexual activity—is usually discouraged.
Primary healing usually takes about as long as is listed below; the jewelry should not be removed during this period. The healing time should not be rushed. Very often a piercing that seemed to be healed will start to have problems when it is handled roughly, exposed to mouth contact or unwashed hands before it has truly healed.
Full healing starts after primary healing is complete and usually takes about as long as primary healing, during this period the skin thickens and starts to gain elasticity. An additional "toughening up" period takes place after full healing is complete, this "toughening up" period also takes about as long as the primary healing time. During "toughening up" the skin remodels itself developing an internal texture in the fistula tube that replaces the shiny scar-like internal surface.
Approximate primary healing times:
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Head
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Torso
Female Genital Piercings
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Male Genital Piercings
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Over time, after the piercing, the resulting wound is allowed to heal, forming a tunnel of scar tissue called a fistula. When the piercing has fully healed, the initial jewelry may be changed or removed for short periods.
Behavior that promotes healing
- Revisiting the piercer for an evaluation at any time, if needed;
- Practicing good hygiene;
- Following the recommended aftercare guidelines;
- Taking sufficient supplement tablets of iron and zinc.
Behavior that hinders healing
- Contact between the new piercing and another person's skin or bodily fluids;
- Excessive and unnecessary touching of the piercing, especially with unwashed hands;
- Failure to take proper aftercare measures;
- Smoking and drinking alcohol (in the case of oral piercings, if not cleaned properly and rather close to the time of drinking or smoking)
- Exposure to irritating substances such as cosmetics, perfume, lotion, some topical ointments, etc.;
- Immersion in chemically-treated swimming pool water, or natural water (i.e. lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans) which contains bacteria, protozoa, and parasites;
- Cleaning with tea tree oil, as it keeps the wound open;
- Lack of sleep or low health.
Changing of initial jewelry to allow for swelling
For some piercings (in particular tongue piercings) changing the initial jewelry is an essential step. In the case of tongue piercing this is because the initial jewelry is significantly longer than the jewelry for a healed piercing, to allow for swelling.This should be changed down about 7 to 10 days after the initial piercing. Most piercers will include this piece of jewellery in their price and ask you to return.
Discharge on the jewelry
During the primary healing process, it is normal for a white or slightly yellow discharge to be noticeable on the jewellery. Provided there is no pain or swelling, it does not usually signify an infection. This is the dead skin cells and body fluid, blood plasma, It can look unsightly, and may be a little difficult to remove as it can set solid very quickly. Another name for such discharge is "lymph" which is a fluid produced by the body's lymph nodes—this tends to be a regular occurrence in the healing of a piercing as well as long as there are no signs of pain or swelling.
Risks associated with body piercing
Body piercing is an invasive procedure and is not without risks. When properly performed, these risks can be minimized, and most individuals who receive their piercing from a professional piercer, and who take care of their new piercing as recommended by their piercer, will enjoy a safe and healthy piercing experience.
Risks of note include:
- Allergic reaction to ingredients of products used to clean the new piercing, or of ancillary products used in proximity to the piercing (e.g., soap, hydrogen peroxide, isopropyl alcohol, antibacterial products, antiseptic medicines, makeup, hair spray, swimming pool chlorine, etc.). This risk can be minimized by cleaning the piercing as recommended by a professional body piercer (different piercers will have differing recommendations), by not contaminating the fresh piercing with irritating products, and by not swimming in chlorinated water.
- Chlorine from swimming pools may cause the pierced area to dry out, which may cause the piercing to be torn out very easily.
- Allergic reaction to the metal in the piercing jewelry, particularly nickel. This risk can be minimized by using high quality jewelry manufactured from surgical stainless steel or similar inert metals.
- Bacterial infection, particularly from Staphylococcus aureus. However, this risk is greatly reduced when the piercing is performed by a professional body piercer using best practice piercing techniques, and when appropriate steps are taken during the aftercare period to avoid infection. Blunt force piercing, such as that associated with the use of ear piercing instruments, increases the chance of a bacterial infections. For that reason, among others, piercing guns should never be used to pierce any part of the body other than earlobes.
- Parasitic and protozoan infections may occur by swimming in lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans during the healing period. The best way to reduce this risk is to avoid swimming in these locations.
- Excess scar tissue, which can be caused by improper piercing, cleansing, and stretching. This may result in loss of sensation and difficulty piercing and stretching that area of skin in the future.
- Keloid formation can sometimes occur, particularly among people who are pre-disposed to this condition through heredity.
- Physical trauma, usually associated with unintended entanglement of the piercing jewelry with another object. This risk is greatest for fresh piercings, but is always present. It can be reduced by using jewelry appropriate for the piercing, and covering or taping over jewelry during sports activities. Also, larger gauge piercings will tend to resist tearing better than smaller gauge piercings.
- Viral infection, particularly from hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. However, it is important to note that although hepatitis has been transmitted through the practices of ear piercing, body piercing, and tattooing, there have not been any documented cases of HIV transmission associated with these procedures. As with bacterial infections, the risk of viral infection is minimized when proper piercing techniques are used, particularly by the use of autoclaved disposable piercing needles and the autoclaving of jewelry prior to installation.
- Erosion of gums (in lip and tongue piercings). In some cases, gum bleeding can be induced. In extreme cases, teeth may fall out if there isn't enough gum to hold them in place.
Removal
Proper removal of piercings is rather simple. Carefully remove the jewelry making sure not to pull or irritate the piercing. Once removed the piercing should heal on its own, although it may leave a hole, a mark or a scar. It is not advised to remove jewelry when there is an infection present, and doing so may result in trapping infectious waste in your body if the hole closes, causing an abscess. Once the infection has passed, then it is safe to remove the jewelry if it is no longer desired.
| This article is about Body Piercings and their care See Piercing for an index of other articles |
| Articles related to Body Modification | |
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| Addition to Tissue | Body art • Breast implants • Pearling • Tattooing • Scarification • Branding • Cutting |
| Modification of Tissue | Piercing • Corsetry • Tightlacing • Anal bleaching • Foot binding • Tongue splitting • Genital bisection |
| Removal of Tissue | Amputation • Liposuction |
| Genital Modification | Male Circumcision • Female circumcision • Castration • Penectomy |
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