Thursday, October 19, 2006

Tongue Piercing Info.

PIERCING

The actual piercing of the tongue is not painful in itself because the tongue is a muscle with striations, the needle slips between them just like pushing a needle through a piece of fabric. However the tongue can swell and become tender afterwards, sometimes quite dramatically, that's why it's usual to pierce the tongue first with a longer barbell, which is replaced for the proper size when the swelling goes down (usually 8-10 days). The further back from the tip of the tongue the piercing is done, the more swelling there is usually. Some people have a dimple on the front of the tongue this is usually the ideal place to do the piercing.

Tongue piercing is not for the faint of heart, you wont be able to eat solid foods, or talk properly for several days; this can sometimes lead to a short period of depression. Make sure before getting the piercing that you have all the things that you wont be able to have for a week such as steak, chips, chocolate, etc. A last meal for the condemned!



JEWELLERY

The most common form of jewellery in tongue piercing are barbells, which are available in surgical steel, gold-plated surgical steel and coloured plastic. The initial piercing must have a longer barbell with larger balls but once it's healed you can wear a barbell with smaller balls. Labret studs and tongue retainers may appeal to those who need to hide their piercing, they have a flat top which makes them less visible and totally invisible if they are painted with flesh coloured nail polish.



HEALING

Tongue piercing usually take between 10-14 days to fully heal, it is almost impossible to develop an infection because the mouth contains an enzyme "Ptyalin" and Lingual antimicrobial Peptide (LAP) which kills bacteria. Overuse of mouthwash destroys these which can cause the tongue to go green or brown, if this happens reduce the amount of mouthwash you use.

You will experience swelling the first day you get the piercing, but the worst swelling will be from 2-5 days after the piercing, during which time your tongue will be very uncoordinated and you may find it very hard to talk. The only food you will be able to eat during the first 3-5 days are things like mashed potatoes, canned spaghetti mashed up etc. or fruit and milk drinks made in a blender.



During the healing process you may experience one or several of the following problems, don't be alarmed they will all stop once the piercing is healed. Your salivary glands will overproduce saliva and this will cause you to constantly swallow, this may last for up to 5 days during which the salivary glands (under the chin) can become swollen. The tastebuds on the end of your tongue may become tender and you might experience a tingling or burning sensation. You may experience tenderness where the balls on the barbell make a depression on the palate of your mouth and on the lower inside gum of your mouth. You may see a white fluid being excreted by the wound, don't be alarmed is just dead white blood cells it's a normal part of the healing process, all wounds heal by secreting plasma which forms a scab, but because of the saliva in the mouth a scab can't form.



After 3-5 days the swelling will start to reduce, and between 7-10 days after the piercing you will have to insert the shorter barbell inserted. Usually the shorter barbell can be inserted after 8-10 days, although some people's tongue may heal quicker. The amount of swelling depends on how long your tongue is (longer tongues swell more), where the piercing is placed (the further back from the tip, the more swelling) and how well you follow the aftercare instructions.



DO's & DON'Ts
TO CARE FOR YOU TONGUE PIERCING


DO use Difflam-CT throat lozenges (or some other antibacterial/anti- inflammatory lozenge) until you have the smaller barbell inserted. They perform two valuable functions, firstly, they are anti-bacterial which prevents infections; secondly, and most importantly they are anti- inflammatory which helps relieve swelling and promotes healing. Using these will greatly reduce the period your tongue will be swollen for.

DO rinse your mouth with a disinfectant such as Listerine or cepacol after eating any food (for 14 days), the mouthwash must be diluted to 1/4 of normal strength with water, using undiluted mouthwash reduces the mouth's natural enzymes and peptides which help healing.

DO wait a minium of 10 days before attempting to change over to the shorter stem, if you do so before that period your tongue can swell up all over again.

DO remove plaque which can form on the jewellery, remove this very gently with a soft toothbrush during the healing period. After the piercing is healed use an antiplaque mouthwash, and you may remove the jewellery to clean it once a month.

DO check that the jewellery is screwed on tight once a week, clean hands with a germicidal soap before handling. The ball that screws off should be on the bottom, and it must be turned clockwise to tighten it.

DO be careful when you first start eating solid food to take very small bites and be careful when you chew to keep your tongue level in your mouth while eating, so the jewellery doesn't knock against your teeth, and so you don't bite the barbell and shatter a tooth! This is less of a problem after you get the smaller barbell.

DO keep cold water in the fridge, and add lots of ice to make it really cold, drink this when you first wake up in the morning. The swelling will be worse than usual because when you lie down more blood goes to your head, sip the iced water very slowly, this will help alleviate the swelling.

DO eat lots of cold foods i.e. ice cream, frozen yoghurt, suck on chipped or crushed ice, or very small ice blocks and drink lots of ice water this will alleviate pain and reduce swelling. Frozen ice blocks in packs from the supermarket are cheap and you can suck on them all day.

DON'T talk too much while you have the first (longer) barbell in, because the barbell is longer (to accommodate swelling) excess movement will cause the barbell to cut the top of the wound. This problem will get better once the swelling goes down and a shorter barbell is inserted.

DON'T eat food that's hot in temperature ie. coffee, tea, soup as this can be painful during the healing phase. Don't eat spicy hot food ie. chilli, curry because this can increase the swelling during healing.

DON'T use undiluted mouthwash as this destroys the mouth natural enzymes which promote healing and it can cause ulceration.

DON'T put anything dirty in your mouth such as fingernails, pens, etc. And you must refrain from oral sex for the first 10-14 days, this includes kissing even if you are in a monogamous relationship.

DON'T play with the piercing or chew on it during the healing period as this can lead to excess scar tissue formation and delayed healing.

DON'T remove or replace the jewellery during the healing period, as the hole closes up very quickly and it's painful to reinsert the jewellery once this happens. Even after the piercing is healed it will close up within a day if you remove the jewellery.