Body piercers 'suffer in silence'

BBC ^ | 25 February, 2005

[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."

[cyborg]

I had a tongue ring. After the tenth inquiry for a date, I was glad I swallowed the thing by accident.

[Jokelahoma]

Other things this "important" survey shows:

People who carve off their genitals with rusty pocket knives report bleeding.

People who repeatedly hit themselves in the head with hammers report increased instances of headache.

People who refuse to bathe suffer increased incidence of foul odors.

People who insist on swimming in vats of acid report a marked increase in skin problems.

In all serousness, how are these people surprised that when you poke holes in parts of your body where none existed before, when you mangle your body's largest organ (the skin), that the body would react to that, and not always in a favorable way? Amazingly, stunningly stupid.

[Popman]

The team found that 66% of people with nipple piercing and 52% of those with genital piercing had developed health problems.

Gee, you would think that live tissue would be real accommodating to being pieced and subjected to all types of bacteria.

[Brett66]

Awwww, they're suffering, maybe we should have a national health plan that could pay for any medical treatment they might need.......

[cyborg]

Well...I'm not sure but I think they're the same, though getting a hood ornament is supposed to hurt more because the needle goes right through the thing. That's a favorite among ho's and lesbians.

[TheForceOfOne]

Paging Dr. Lorraine Bobbits, you're needed in surgery!

[Texas Songwriter]

Just a few medical and surgical thoughts on body piercing. The tongue is often pierced with a stud placed thru the mid section. All of these idiots talk like idiots. Now the oral cavity is one of the nastiest areas of the body, from a micorbiological perspective.....aerobeic bacteria, anaerobic bacteria, bacteria that are known to cause serious disease reside in the mouth. Now comes some idiot and runs a small to moderate sized nail thru the tongue and stents it with a stud. Have you ever bitten your tongue. It swells. I have seen people almost obstruct their airway by piercing their tongues. The tongue is one of the most vascular structures in the body...it bleeds like hell. As the tract with the stud in it heals, it forms a fistla. A fistula is a tract lined with epithelial cells, in this case from the mucosal surface of the tongue. If it closes off or seals over, it will 100 % of the time become infected requiring a drainage proceedure and possibly an airway emergency. Remember,I cannot as a licensed surgeon remove a mole off of that persons butt without parental permission, but they can go to the mall and have a potentially lifethreatening proceedure done piercing their tongue.

Nipple piercing, genital piercing is done with the hope of achieving a patent fistula which will get obstructed is it is not kept clean. This is not to mention holding some idiot still when he elects to shove an icepick thru the glans of his penis. Now we get into lower genitourinary problems with outflow obstruction. If he wants a midurethral obstruction, just go out and get a good case of the clap. You will rue the day you ran a metal rod thru your pecker.

I am perplexed but not yet pierced. Thank you.

[cyborg]

great post!

[gas_dr]

Texas Songwriter surgeon here is one for your files. I am an anesthesiologist and have seen a couple airway emergencies due to a foreign body (piercing). But what REALLY cracks me up are the idiots who want to keep the tongue stud in during surgery...that takes a lot of brains. And for the oddest piercing I have ever seen -- a uvula piercing...go figure.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

IDIOCY HURTS!!

[Toto_for_breakfast]

I never want to see the words "icepick" and "penis" used in that context again. I'm gonna be walking hunched over till next week from the thought.

[Eagles6]

Agreed.
Although an authentic flint tipped Cheyenne war arrow through the head may be cool for parties.

Doofus: "Doc, I've had trouble peeing since I drove a 16
penny nail through the head of my penis."

Doc: "And you expected what...?

[Texas Songwriter]

I wonder how they suppress the cough reflex when doing a uvula piercing. I have never seen that. I have seen some other strange things. Once, after a married couple watched a porn movie depicting one partner placing a small potatoe on a garden hose, then place it in the rectum of the male, and then turn on the garden hose with a good head of pressure, he came to the ER with an acute belly. We opened him and I shoveled shit out of the peritoneal cavity for 2 hours. Unbelievable. You know, that pervert never ran a fever over 99 1/2. I did put 8 one inch penrose drains in. But I digress.

[Sender]

I consider that I was born with all the holes I'm entitled to...and if metal is added to my body, it will be because a bone is missing.

[FreedomCalls]

[FreedomCalls]

[gas_dr]

I wonder how they suppress the cough reflex when doing a uvula piercing.

I suppose a topical anesthetic spray would do the trick. The potato story is unbelievable -- you found the potato in the cecum? I have given anesthesia for some exlaps for FB, but NOTHING like that -- LOL. It is amazing what our patients will do -- and even more amazing what they will admit.

[Sender]

I hope she never has an MRI.

[gas_dr]

We opened him and I shoveled shit out of the peritoneal cavity for 2 hours

Ahh yes, the glamerous life of our jobs -- usually at 3 in the morning. There are just some stories that I do not tell my wife or parents :)

[Palladin]

It usd to be you only saw these guys in the sideshow at the circus.

Now they're in your family.