Posted on 02/24/2005 8:11:44 PM PST by traumer
Many people who experience health problems after having an intimate body piercing do not seek medical help, research suggests.
Pittsburgh's Carlow University focused on 146 men and women with nipple and genital piercings.
They found a majority of people developed problems such as infections and changes to urine flow, but only 3% sought medical advice.
The research is published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing.
When people experience problems with intimate body piercing they are reluctant to consult healthcare professionals - Professor Carol Caliendo
Of those who took part in the study, 43% had nipple piercings, 25% had genital piercings and 32% had both.
The team found that 66% of people with nipple piercings and 52% of those with genital piercings had developed health problems.
The most common problems with nipple piercings were sensitivity (37%), skin irritation (21%) and infections (21%).
For male genital piercings the top problems were urinary flow changes (39%) and sensitivity (31%).
While more than half of people (54%) discussed their problems with their piercer, only a tiny fraction sought professional medical advice.
Despite the problems, most people liked their piercings - ranging from 73% to 90%, depending on piercing type - while 87% said their partner was positive about it.
Reluctance
Professor Carol Caliendo, of Carlow University in Pittsburgh, said: "It's clear from our study that when people experience problems with intimate body piercing they are reluctant to consult healthcare professionals and we need to encourage people to come forward.
"We are particularly concerned about the urinary flow changes reported by men after genital piercings.
"It's clearly an issue that needs to be highlighted with men who have had, or are considering, piercings and the people who carry them out."
Kathy French, a sexual health advisor for the Royal College of Nursing, said people should only go to an accredited practitioner to get a body piercing done.
"There is probably a fair level of embarrassment about problems that may arise, and probably a fair amount of ignorance among health professionals as well," she said.
"We need to raise awareness of this issue. It is not just about things that might go wrong.
"For instance there are issues such as whether it is safe to use condoms with pierced genitals."
Social Darwinism alert.
See, imitating third world cultures is all fun and games
until someone loses an eye, or a breast, or a...
Reading the article made me cringe... I was taught to point sharp things away from my body!
Ya think?
All right, just exactly what types of "changes" do they see?
Cheap shower spray effect? Passage gets inflamed & closes up?
I can think of a lot of things, all negative, but inquiring minds want to know.
Oh right- it's a public health issue... despite that they pierced their privates.
"For instance there are issues such as whether it is safe to use condoms with pierced genitals."
Ya know, maybe it's just me, but I really doubt safe and effective condom use is forefront in the minds of people that mutilate their genitals to the point of obstructing their urine flow. I mean, if you're pierced twelve ways from Sunday, you're gonna want to show it off, right?
You're not gonna cover it in latex!
Gross.
There was a thread on a related mental illness going on called "cutting".
...because they're pretty sure that they're going to look like stooopid idiots!!!
Well trying to think as a liberal, here is the answer "The right of others to pierce their body and cause medical costs, supercedes your right to keep the money you earn".
Very logical, huh?
You've summed this problem up quite well.
Good grief when a man gets a prince albert, he better know the risks.
This article only needed one short sentence..."People experience some health problems after sticking metal into their skin."
Wow. Who'd have thunk it?
The "culture" of piercing could not exist without antibiotics. The people who practice it better hope they don't get infected with superbugs that are resistant to all the known antibiotics.
God made holes where they were needed and none where they weren't. Form meets function. I don't understand the piercing phenomenon, its not like we're pit bulls needing ear trims and tail docks.
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