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A 43-year-old Louisiana woman charged in Collier County with aggravated child abuse for piercing the pubic area of a 13-year-old girl as a way to keep her from having sex received a year in jail Tuesday and agreed to testify against the girl’s mother, who also is charged in the case. Tammy Jane Meredith, of 4250 Blount Road, No. 50, Baton Rouge, La., gave the girl the body piercing against her will and at the request of the girl’s mother, who is charged with two counts of aggravated child abuse. She could face up to 30 years in state prison...

A teenage boy died of blood poisoning after getting his lip pierced, an inquest was told yesterday. Daniel Hindle, 17, an A-level student from Richmond, Sheffield, had a ring put through his lip and his girlfriend had her eyebrow pierced. His mother, Christine Anderson, broke down in the witness box as she told the inquest in Sheffield that the first she knew about the piercing was when her son walked through the door. "My first reaction was shock. 'Eurgh,' I thought. I suppose it's a normal motherly reaction." Mrs Anderson said she called a doctor when he developed a fever...

State law requires children to get their parents' permission to obtain an aspirin at school, but not to get a two-inch, 12-gauge needle run through their tongue at a piercing shop. Assemblywoman Sharon Runner claims the lack of regulation over piercing is ludicrous, and that California has a vested interest in protecting minors from putting holes in themselves. "I think parents need to know exactly what their children are doing when it's something that might affect their health and welfare for the rest of their lives," the Lancaster Republican said. Runner has proposed legislation, Assembly Bill 646, that would ban...

DOES THIS LOOK PAINFUL?: Adam Aries spins while attached by a metal beam and hooks through the skin of his back to another person during the Suspension Convention in Providence, USA. Reuters PROVIDENCE: Tony Troiano grimaced as he was lifted off the floor by giant fishhooks pierced through the skin on his shoulders. Within minutes, he started to spin, swing his feet and declare the painful experience "the greatest thing" ever. "I was on Cloud Nine," the Wethersfield, Connecticut teenager said as he joined fellow body suspension practitioners at an annual convention over the weekend. "It was euphoric. It was...

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A woman who was fired by Costco in 2001 for refusing to remove her eyebrow ring has accused the company of religious discrimination, saying she is a member of the Church of Body Modification. Kimberly M. Cloutier said she wears her eyebrow ring as a sign of faith. She has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider hearing the case. The church, established in 1999, counts about 1,000 members who participate in practices such as piercing and tattooing, according to a December ruling by the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld a trial judge's...

I remember when elephant bell bottoms were the craze..

Wyo. May Ban Facial Piercings in Eateries   Mon Mar 14, 7:09 PM ET   By CURTIS B. WACKERLE, Associated Press WriterCHEYENNE, Wyo. - As if the hair in your salad wasn't bad enough, a city health inspector said there had been "several cases" of tongue rings and other facial jewelry found in the food in the city's restaurants.   It was enough to persuade the Governor's Food Safety Council to recommend banning facial jewelry for restaurant workers who prepare food — perhaps becoming the first state in the country to do so. But despite his testimony, when contacted...

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...

OLYMPIA, Washington (AP) -- Rebellious teenagers may soon have another reason to curse the establishment now that a lawmaker wants to add Washington to the list of states that require parental permission before minors can pierce a body part. Some professional piercers have taken advantage of loose regulations in more than a dozen states that let youngsters come home with a tongue stud, navel ring or pierced eyebrow without approval from Mom or Dad. "We have teens coming in here who have issues, their piercings are all infected," said Jacob Willardsen, the main piercer at House of Tattoo in Tacoma....

The advent of "poke and stick" parties is causing a stir as more of our nation's youth are choosing to have their new tattoo or piercing done by a teenage friend, rather than a professional. Since these parties could be happening in your community, the Pennsylvania Medical Society cautions that this fad not only may violate a new state law, but it also could spread infectious diseases, like HIV and hepatitis. The organization's member doctors recommend that parents and teens carefully consider safety measures to protect themselves from serious health consequences. The ancient arts of tattooing and body piercing appear...

MIAMI (Reuters) - Law enforcement officials in the Florida Keys are mystified by a bizarre new pastime -- young people dangling themselves from meat hooks on a popular sandbar.

<p>The death of a university student who contracted a fatal heart infection after having a swirling tribal tattoo pricked into his forearm this summer, has revealed a gaping hole in California's regulation of tattoo and piercing parlors. Despite passage in 1997 of a law designed to ensure cleanliness and safety, the state Department of Health Services has never drawn up regulations for oversight, leaving the body art industry less regulated than other cosmetic professions that involve noninvasive procedures.</p>

Medical Board of California Arrests Santa Clarita Resident For Unlicensed Practice of Medicine SACRAMENTO—The Medical Board of California's Operation Safe Medicine (OSM), in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, served a search warrant on December 19, 2002 at the Santa Clarita residence of an unlicensed person, Todd Cameron Bertrang, for agreeing to perform female circumcisions. The procedure is an extremely painful, traumatizing mutilation of females that leaves them permanently disfigured. He also performs a similar procedure on males. He was charged with violating Business and Professions Code section 2053, a felony, by risking great bodily harm, serious injury...

SKOWHEGAN — A Skowhegan man accused of stealing thousands of dollars worth of body-piercing equipment and jewelry from a Water Street shop was arrested Thursday night with the goods on him — literally, according to police. Police said Friday that when they arrested Wayne M. Blanchard, 21, of Cross Street, his body was pierced in numerous places with jewelry stolen from Detail Color and Tattoo."We removed a dozen pieces off his body, bar bells on his face and ears," Skowhegan Detective James Ross said.He said Blanchard had even pierced his genitals.And, said Deputy Police Chief Rick Bonneau, some of the...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - So your teen-ager comes home with her eyebrow pierced -- should you be worried, or glad that she didn't do something worse? A report released at a conference this week suggests a parent should be very worried because high school students with body piercings tend also to have smoked, used alcohol, had sex, skipped school and gotten into fights. The study, by Dr. Timothy Roberts of the University of Rochester in New York, shows clear links between body piercings -- other than the ears -- and risky behavior. "It's just like hairstyle, cosmetics, jewelry -- these are...

(Columbia SC) March 25, 2002 - Lexington authorities raided a Lexington County piercing business saying the business was a haven for crime. Police say Easy Piercing, Tanning, and Tobacco in Lexington housed big problems such as drugs, illegal body piercing and possibly even child pornography. The Lexington County Sheriff's Office launched a sting operation on the business after a parent called the department and reported her 15-year-old daughter was pierced without her permission. Carrie Murphy, a neighboring business owner, says she's not at all surprised by the arrests, "A lot of traffic constantly and most businesses call for something next...