Tongue Piercing Causes Brain Abscess

Parents now have another reason to frown on tongue piercing - a potentially fatal brain abscess suffered by a young woman in Connecticut.

The woman's tongue became sore and swollen two or three days after it was pierced, and she reported a foul-tasting discharge from the pierced region. The infection healed in a few days after she removed the stud from her tongue, but a month later she suffered severe headaches, fever, nausea and vomiting.

A scan at the Yale University hospital revealed the brain abscess, which physicians drained. She recovered after six weeks of intravenous antibiotic treatment.

"This sort of brain abscess is very serious," Richard Martinello of Yale's medical school told New Scientist. Modern medicine can kill the infecting bacteria, but he says "in the past, there was a very high mortality rate."

Such brain abscesses are rare, and normally linked to sinus or ear infections. The patient showed no sign of sinus problems, and Martinello said the bacteria that cause the brain abscess "were those typically found in persons' mouths".

The blood commonly picks up some bacteria from infections, but normally the immune system wipes them out. In this case, he thinks the blood carried enough bacteria from the tongue infection to cause the brain abscess.

Infections at the sites of body piercings are relatively common, but this is the first brain abscess linked to any piercing. The tongue is particularly vulnerable to infections because the mouth is warm, moist and full of bacteria.

Martinello says it is important to realise that such infections have the potential to cause dangerous complications.

I have become increasingly aware of some of the predjudices that affect people who choose to step outside the line of what is considered the norm. I believe that if you do not understand a subject you should familiarize yourself with it first before you decide to make judgement. In the case of the girl who's tongue piercing caused her brain absess she was probably not taking proper care of it. One of the most basic rules of piercing is that you must not remove your jewelry before the piercing is healed. The girl in question obviously did just that. People choose piercings for different reasons, many young people are in a time of their lives in which alot of things don't make sense and they feel out of control, piercings can be a positive way of taking control or just another form of communication. Piercing can also be a way of taking on more responsibility, a step toward adulthood. A lot of people who judge pierced people just have not gotten to know someone who chooses that life style. I know several people with multiple piercings and they are bright examples for most of thier peers. I am a junior and an A+ honor student in the top 10% of my class,a Twirler, Band Member, Beta Club Member,Junior Chamber of Commerce Member, in One Act Play, UIL events, and several other activities my school offers. I am not a trouble student. It just so happens that I have 12 piercings that include a nose ring and a tongue ring that were never infected. Yes, some people who have modified themselves do not set a good example for the rest of us, but you can't always judge a person on how they look. “If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other cause for prejudice by noon.”

- George Aiken

“The more restrictions and prohibitions in the world, the poorer people get.”

- Lao Tzu

I hope in having read this you have gained some insight into piercing.
Here is a link if you would like to become more educated about body modifications:
www.modifiedmind.com/editorial/return.html - 4k

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