Risks With Choosing Your First Navel Ring

Although we refer to it as navel piercing, the actual navel is not pierced, except in the case of a true navel piercing. Instead the skin on the upper rim of the navel is pierced in the procedure that we commonly refer to as a navel piercing. Navel piercing is a relatively safe procedure. However there are a few precautions that should be taken to speed recovery as well as some health risks of which to be aware.

By focusing on 3 areas following your initial piercing you will be able to reduce the chances of experiencing problems. 1) Get the piercing done by an authorized professional, 2) Get pierced with a navel ring made from appropriate material, 3) Follow basic maintenance steps until the wound heals.

Firstly, you want to get off to a good start so get an authorized piercing professional to do the job. They will have the appropriate sterilization procedures and the piercing will be performed with a minimum of trauma to the surrounding skin. Navel piercing is never done with a piercing gun. If the person doing the piercing tries to do it with a piercing gun, leave immediately.

Next, the kind of navel ring you choose as your first will have a direct effect on the length of time it will take for the piercing to heal. It will also affect the chances of whether your body will reject the navel ring. It comes down to being sensible about the material your first navel ring is made from. Here are some options that will minimize the risks somewhat.

Bioplast is acknowledged as the best material to use for initial piercings. It is a biopolymer material that is biocompatible, flexible and can be sterilized in an autoclave. All of these features make it perfect as a navel ring material. Broadly speaking, people who have been pierced with Bioplast experience less swelling and infection and their wound heals faster than other materials. Bioplast navel rings are a great option to try first up.

Titanium is another excellent option for your first navel ring. Like Bioplast, Titanium is biocompatible and will not be rejected by the body. It is also a particularly strong, yet lightweight metal that rarely produces an allergic response. Titanium has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of any metal, so you have a light piece of jewelry that is very unlikely to break. If you prefer the look of metal over Bioplast, titanium navel rings are an outstanding choice.

Steel is also a lower-risk choice of material. The steel is treated with a hypo-allergenic alloy to reduce the risk of infection. Steel doesn’t quite have the same properties as Bioplast or titanium but does give you a low-risk material to use. Surgical steel can be autoclaved to ensure sterilization and so there should be few problems with wearing a steel navel ring.

No matter how careful you are or how diligent your daily cleaning and bathing, every person’s body is different and some people will react differently to others. All piercings attract risks to some degree or another. Complaints to be aware of include infections, allergic reactions, bleeding and nerve damage. You also leave yourself open to more serious problems such as hepatitis, HIV or tetanus, particularly if the person doing the piercing has not taken necessary sterilization precautions. You might also find that wearing tight-fitting clothing will irritate the wound and so the healing time may be prolonged as a result.

As with any change to your body that could potentially bring a health risk with it, the best advice to follow is to consult your family GP. This will ensure that you are at last properly informed about what you can expect. From then on it should be a matter of practicing a sensible care regimen to keep your piercing infection-free.