Belly Button Piercings by www.Drnumb.com
Do you think belly button rings and belly button piercings are a new idea or a custom that can be traced back in ancient times? Well given the weird and wonderful range of body adornments I’ve seen among tribal people, I was surprised to learn that whilst they were definitely around, belly button piercing was not quite so common back then.
It was written in history that Latin American warriors wore belly button rings, as did ancient Egyptians. In these cultures, the purpose of which is not to adorn or decorate the body but a symbol of achievement, or standing in the community. In Egypt, button rings were exclusive only to the Pharoahs (Egyptian Gods), anyone else found to wear one was rewarded with a death sentence!
Having a belly button ring has become widely accepted in the last number of decades (and particularly so in the last ten years).
piercing (also known as belly button piercing) is a type of body piercing. It may heal rapidly and with no problems, like an ear piercing, or may cure more like a surface piercing with the associated rejection complete healing time. Healing of this piercing can also be complicated by irritation and harm caused by clothing, especially waistlines or tight clothing, or the position of the navel relative to the bend of the waist.
The real navel is not pierced when a navel piercing is performed. The most common form of navel piercing is through the greater rim of the navel. A true navel piercing need the person being pierced to have an “outie” navel to various degrees, and is extremely rare. Although there is an urban legend that an infection in a true navel piercing can travel innermost to the liver or peritoneum, there are no identified cases of this occurring.
History and culture
This piercing is one of the most frequent and popular body piercings today. Popular culture has played a great role in the promotion of this piercing. The navel piercing initial hit the mainstream when model Christy Turlington showed her navel piercing at a fashion show in London. The popularization of the piercing, but, is accredited to the 1993 Aerosmith music video for their song “Cryin’”, wherein Alicia Silverstone has her navel pierced. It also played a main role in pop culture after popular singer ‘ navel piercing appearance. The easy concealment of a navel piercing with clothing, even in the lengthy healing process, has contributed to the widespread adoption of this piercing, especially by young people at the ages of twelve to fifteen, the adoption of this piercing however is generally much more popular with females but also males with gay men more likely to adopt this piercing than heterosexual men according to polls.
Jewelry
Most type of ring or bar jewelry can be worn in a navel piercing, although navels are most often pierced with a barbell, which is recommended to be worn until the piercing has fully healed. A wide range of decorative jewelry is available for navel – simple navel barbells, navel barbells with dangling pendants, and navel barbells with attached belly chains are a few of the options.
There has been a particular standard established for navel barbells (also called “banana bells” or “banana bars”, reference to their curved shape). The standard banana bell is 1.6 mm (1/16″) thick and 9.5 mm (3/8″) or 11.1 mm (7/16″) long, most usually referred to as a 14-gauge post. The silver caps on each side of the simple barbell post usually measure 5mm in diameter for the upper and 8mm in diameter for the lower.
Even though navel banana bells are different from full rings – like captive bead rings (or CBR) that also can be worn in navel – there is tendency by the Internet body jewelry retailers and wholesalers to refer to these barbells as belly button “rings”.
A new side of navel jewelry is on the market for those without pierced navels, which is based on the idea of clip-on earrings.
Body Piercing – A guide for Teens
different culture have pierced their bodies for centuries. If you look in a past history book, you will find that Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans did body art, such as piercing and tattooing. People pierced their bodies for beautification to show the person’s importance in a group, or because they thought it protected them from evil. Today, we know much more about the risks of body piercing. Body piercing is a serious decision. Before you make a decision what you want to do, ask your friends, parents, and trusted adults what they think
What are teens saying about body piercing today?
Ask other teens that have been pierced what they thought of the whole experience. How much did it cost? Was it hurting? How long did it take to heal? If they had the chance to do it over again, would they?
Some tips teens have passed along to us:
- YOU do NOT have to pierce your body to “belong.”
- YOU can ALWAYS alter your mind or WAIT if you are not sure.
- If YOU do make a decision to have your body pierced, NEVER pierce your own body or let a friend do it because you can run into very serious health problems.
What are the risks with body piercing?
The most serious risk is infections, allergic reactions, bleeding, and damage to nerves or teeth. Infections may be cause by hepatitis, HIV, tetanus, bacteria, and yeast. If the piercer washes his/her hands and uses gloves and sterilized equipment and you take good care of your piercing, the risk of infection is lowered (but still exists).
Did you know that…
- You CAN get and/or broaden a serious infection including HIV, if the piercing equipment hasn’t been sterilized properly.
- Infections caused by bacteria getting into the pierce of the piercing may also happen later, even after the piercing has healed.
- If the studios use a piercing “gun” to do body piercings, LEAVE!! Piercing guns cannot be sterilized and should NOsiT be used for body piercing.
Another cause of problems from piercings is the wrong type of jewelry for the area pierced. If the jewelry is too small, it can really cut off the blood supply to the tissue, causing swelling and pain. If the jewelry is also too thin or too heavy or if you are allergic to the metal, your body can sometimes reject the jewelry (your body reacts against the jewelry because it is a “foreign object”).
Know the risks before you have your body pierced…
- Bacterial infection (where you had the piercing)
- Excessive (a lot of) bleeding
- Allergic reaction (especially to certain kinds of jewelry)
- Damage to nerves (for example, you may lose sense at the area that gets pierced)
- Keloids (thick scarring at the piercing site)
- Dental damage (swelling and infection of tongue, chipped and busted teeth, choking on loose jewelry)
Does it matter where on my body I get pierced?
Healing time is dissimilar depending on where on your body you get pierced. Some places are more likely to get unhygienic or have problems. Piercings on your ear lobes generally take about 6-8 weeks to heal. But piercings on the area of your ear, which is cartilage, can take anywhere from 4 months to 1 year to heal. The cause for this is that the type of tissue in each area is different and the amount of pressure on the pierced area while you are sleeping is different.
Tongue piercings swell up a lot at first but heal fairly quickly if the right type of jewelry is used. However, metal jewelry in the tongue piercing may injure gums and chip the enamel surface on your teeth. In fact, the ADA, which stand for the American Dental Association (a group of dentists that set professional standards for dentists in the United States), is against any type of oral piercings because of all the risks. In some cases, nipple piercings can injure some of the milk-producing glands in a young woman’s breasts. This can cause infections or troubles later if the woman decides to breast-feed her baby. Some pierced areas, similar to, navel (belly button) piercings, are more likely to become infected because of irritation from tight clothing. A pierced site needs air to help the healing process.
| Pierced Body Part | Time it Takes To Heal |
| Ear lobe | 6 to 8 weeks |
| Ear cartilage | 4 months to 1 year |
| Eyebrow | 6 to 8 weeks |
| Nostril | 2 to 4 months |
| Nasal septum | 6 to 8 months |
| Nasal bridge | 8 to 10 weeks |
| Tongue | 4 weeks |
| Lip | 2 to 3 months |
| Nipple | 3 to 6 months |
| Navel | 4 months to 1 year |
| Female genitalia | 4 to 10 weeks |
| Male genitalia | 4 weeks to 6 months |
If I decide that a piercing is vital to me, where should I go?
You should ask friends and family with piercings where they went and if they liked the place. Look for a place that do a lot of piercings and that only employs piercers with piercing licenses. Some states make piercers obtain a license, while other states do not. So there are truly people who are doing body piercings with very little training! As you can imagine, this can be very dangerous for you. though, the APP, which stands for the Association of Professional Piercers (a professional organization of piercers), makes safety rules for people who do piercings. Make sure that there is a credential on the wall that says the piercer is registered with the APP. You may need to bring a copy of your birth certificate. If you are under 18 years old, you will require your parents’ or guardians’ permission. Your parent/guardian will require going with you to the piercing salon and signing a consent form. Since the law is unlike from state to state, you will need to find out what the law in your area says about whether or not you need parental permission to have a piercing.
What should I look for in a piercing salon?
When you go into a salon, look around. Is the place dirt free? The shop should be kept clean and sanitary. The lighting should be good quality so the piercers can see well while working. Do they wash their hands and use sanitized gloves and instruments? All the instruments should either be brand new and disposable (meant to be thrown away after one use) or be sterilized in pouches. If the piercer uses not reusable needles, you should see him/her open sealed packages of the needles! The piercers should throw away the needles in a biohazard container after using them.
What kind of jewelry should I buy?
Implant rating stainless steel jewelry is normally reasonably priced and safe to use for new piercings. Both 316L and 316LVM types of stainless steel meet the standard for “implant grade” that has been approved by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), an organization that is not related to the government but sets high standards for all kinds of materials that are manufactured in the U.S. The European Union that is similar to the ASTM is called the “ISO.”
Implant grade stainless steel is least probable to produce a foreign body reaction or infection in the skin. Other choice for new piercings is metals such as gold (AT LEAST 18 karat), titanium, or niobium. All of these prices more than implant grade stainless steel but are safe.
Silver is not a poor choice for new piercings because the tarnish from silver gets deposited into the skin. The deposit often darkens the skin around the piercing which can be permanent. Sterling silver jewelry can be carefully worn on most healed piercings but it should not be worn in the mouth or genital area where the skin is moist.
Gold jewelry should be 18 karat (75% gold) for new piercings and at least 14k gold for healed piercings. Gold-filled or gold-plated jewelry be supposed to never be used in any piercings because the metal is very thin. The finish wear away easily and it chips even with the slightest contact with the body. Some people have complexity with white gold, because white gold contains “nickel” – a metal that many people are allergic too.
Titanium is not only worn for jewelry but also for surgical implants in the body. For example, titanium implants are used for shoulder substitute surgery because it is lightweight and porous. There are really tiny pores in the metal that allow tissue in the body to attach to it. For this reason, it is suggested that Titanium jewelry be highly polished to reduce the “porosity” (pores or very tiny holes in the metal).
For people who are extremely aware to metal, Teflon or nylon piercings may be used.
| Look for a salon that has a great choice of jewelry. The salon should not tell you to use a certain type of jewelry just because it’s the only kind they have. |
What’s up with all the different kinds of jewelry?
- Bars, which are the kind of jewelry used in some piercings like the tongue, are calculated in length (how long the bar is). When the piercing is first done, a longer bar will be used. When the piercing heals, a shorter bar is used.
- Ring jewelry is measured by diameter, or how wide the ring is.
- Gauge means the thickness of the jewelry. The smaller the gauge number, the thicker the jewelry. The APP says that jewelry no bigger than 14 gauges should be used below the neck. This is because of the danger of a foreign body reaction and the possibility of the ring cutting the skin.
How are piercings done?
A skilled piercer uses a hollow needle to create a hole by passing the needle through the body part you want pierced. The body jewelry is then inserted through the hole. Sometimes there can be a small amount of bleeding. You should not get aspirin or any pain medication that contains aspirin the week before any piercing is done, since these medicines may cause you to bleed a little bit more than usual. Remember, piercing guns should never be use since it can damage tissue and cause infection.
How much will a piercing cost?
There are in fact 2 costs with piercings – the site cost and the jewelry cost. The site cost depends on where on your body you get pierced. For example, ear and nose piercings usually cost less than tongue, nipple, or genital piercings. Gold jewelry cost more than stainless steel or another metal. You should shop around and check prices at different piercing shops before you decide on where to have your piercing done.
How should I clean my new piercing?
Follow these steps to prevent infection
- Wash your hands first with soap and water before touching or clean-up the pierced area. (Don’t let somebody else touch the pierced area until it is healed.)
- Remove any crusty material from the site and from the jewelry with warm water.
- Gently wash the area around the piercing with antibacterial soap (liquid soap works the best).
- Gently rinse off all of the soap and crusty discharge.
- Gently dry the area with a paper towel or plain white napkin. (Bacteria can stay in cloth towels.)
- Do steps 1-5 twice a day until the skin heals. (Over-washing or over-scrubbing can irritate the area.)
- Do NOT use antibacterial ointments since they don’t allow air to get to the area and they trap bacteria.
How can I prevent infections after I get pierced?
Preventing infections is really not hard. It should not take a lot of your time to keep your piercing clean and the good news is, you won’t have to worry about complications if you keep it clean.
- Do NOT use alcohol or Peroxide to clean the area. (Both products will dry out your skin.) Other strong solution such as Betadine will discolor gold jewelry.
- Rinse the pierced skin after exercising seeing as sweat may irritate the piercing.
- Keep the pierced area from next in contact with other people’s body fluids, such as saliva and sweat. (Do not have oral sexual contact for 4-6 weeks if you have a tongue, lip, or genital piercing).
- Keep things clean that come in contact with the body part that has been pierced. For example, keep your phone clean if you have an ear piercing, keep your glasses clean for ear and eyebrow piercings, cover your ear lobe with a tissue if you use hair spray, and try not to apply makeup close to piercing sites.
- Wear clean clothing with soft fabric for navel piercings. Avoid wearing jeans because the material can be irritating.
- Don’t wear pantyhose, leotards, belts, or tight clothing while a navel piercing is healing.
- Wear loose fitting clothing with a navel piercing, to let the air help with healing.
- Check your jewelry many times during the day to see if any parts have become loose, especially if you have a tongue piercing. If a bar becomes wobbly, you can accidentally swallow it or damage a permanent tooth.
- Do NOT use a hot tub or swim in public pools until your piercing has healed.
- Rinse tongue or lip piercings after every meal or snack. Rinse for 30 to 60 seconds after eating with an antibacterial, alcohol-free mouthwash, or a warm salt water rinse. Or, alternately, make a mix with one part water, and one part hydrogen-peroxide, and apply it directly to the piercing site with a cotton swab. The bubbling peroxide can help out remove food stuck in the site.
- Throw out your old toothbrush and acquire a new, soft-bristled toothbrush if you have a tongue or lip piercing. This is to keep away from exposure to bacteria from your old toothbrush.
- See your dentist for regular checkups and if you think you have a problem. Studies have exposed that people who have piercings in their mouth are much more likely to have injuries to their teeth and gums.
- Eat healthy foods. Foods rich in vitamins and minerals help your body heal.
| Be on the watch out for signs of infection that may include one or more of the following: redness, swelling, discharge, bad smell, a rash at or around the piercing site, or a fever. If you believe you have an infection, DON’T try to take care of it by yourself. Make an appointment to see your health care provider. |
Body piercing is a big decision. After understanding the risk, we hope that this information will help you make a decision that’s best for you. If you do decide to get a body piercing, we hope that you will follow the procedure in this information sheet. Go to a trustworthy salon/piercer, buy good jewelry, keep the place clean and away from irritating materials, and see your health care provider if you have symptoms of an infection!
To know more about the most safe and purest numbing cream that does not interfere with any kind of permanent ink, tattoo ink or piercing process, log on to our website at http://www.drnumb.com. Or call our toll free number 1-877-786-2001






