After Care

Cleaning & Care Of Your Piercings & Tattoos

(Info freely available)

Infection Control

Preventing the transmission of infection is essential in skin piercing practice, as there is risk of blood-borne virus transmission (for example, HIV, hepatitis B and C)-if infection control measures are not observed. There have been outbreaks of hepatitis B infection associated with tattooing and piercing in the past. The Health and Safety Commission Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) is a joint body. ACDP have produced a publication, Protection against blood-borne infections in the work place: HIV and hepatitis, HMSO 1996, ISBN 0 11321953 9, and the HSE (Health and safety executive) has recently produced a booklet Blood-borne viruses in the workplace: guidance for employers and employees. These are useful general guides for LAs ( Local Authorities) and skin piercers.

The Working Party of London Consultants in Communicable Diseases Control and Community Infection Control Nurses have also produced a comprehensive publication Guidelines for control of infection in special treatments (tattooing, body piercing and acupuncture, see

 http://www.krha.nhs.uk/publication/guidelines.pdf

Many LAs have prepared guidance on appropriate practices related to general infection control measures, and a summary of these is given below. Where appropriate, other authoritative sources of information have been used and are stated. LA enforcement officers may wish to seek advice of the local Consultant in Communicable Disease Control or the local community infection control team.

Check with your LA for local regulations as they change regularly.

Proper Cleaning Products

Cream should never be used on piercings as this clogs the entrance and exit areas which does not allow the area to drain.  There will always be a discharge from a piercing.  This is normal and vital.  Use a saline solution to the clean the pierced area, or a mild solution of an antiseptic solution.

Tattoos should be cleaned with warm water and soap, but not soaked for too long as the tissue will absorb the water and cause the scab to detach too soon.  The tattooed area should be kept moist with an antiseptic cream until the area is smooth and all scabs have detached.

Sterilization (Autoclave)

Steam sterilization is the preferred method as it is both rapid and effective when used correctly. Hot air ovens, glass bead sterilizers, water boilers and UV light boxes are not reliable methods of sterilization and must not be used. The cleaned items must be rinsed thoroughly before being sterilized. Liquid chemical agents have a variety of disadvantages that make their use impracticable in a non-clinical area. These are classed as disinfectants as opposed to sterilants and as such they should not be used for invasive devices. A standard bench-top steam sterilizer will sterilize items that are not hollow, not tubular, and not packaged.

Healing Times

For body piercing, expected (complete) healing times are difficult to predict because individuals' healing abilities vary, but a client should be told what to expect. The healing time is the time required for the jewellery 'tunnel' to become dry and healed after the initial tissue damage. General guidelines are scarce in this area, but those from the US Association of Professional Pierciers are:

· Ear lobe, eyebrow and nasal septum: 6 - 8 weeks
· Ear (cartilaginous region) and nostril: 2 months to 1 year
· Tongue: 4 to 6 weeks
· Lips and cheeks: 6 to 12 weeks
· Genital (female and male) including inner labia, clitoral hood: 4 to 12 weeks
· Nipple, scrotum, outer labia: 2 to 6 months
· Navel, ampallang (a transverse penile piercing): 4 months to 1 year

Examples of recognised problems following piercing and tattooing include:

Jewellery embedding - where part or all of the inserted item sinks beneath the skin surface after piercing. This may occur if the area is not cleaned properly which will cause the pierced area to swell after piercing. This may also commonly happen after inappropriate use of ear-piercing guns on other body parts, e.g. navels.

Allergies to jewellery - this is often the result of nickel allergy, poor gold plating or the use of 9 carat gold materials. It is now law that piercers use low nickel titanium to avoid this problem. Eighteen carat gold is less likely to cause allergic responses than 9 carat, but is much softer than steel and so is avoided by many piercers.

Migration of jewellery - can happen to any pierced area, and may be through no fault of the piercer. It may results due to jewellery being too thin or is agitated before healing. This can also be a problem with implanted (subcutaneous) items used in scarification and piercing procedures, and result in jewellery migrating through or under the skin, away from the original point of insertion.  This is also a common problem with eyebrow piercings as the eyebrow and nipple piercing due to the placement of the piercing and weight of the jewellery.

Scarring - when not a planned part of the treatment, this is sometimes the result of the piercing being snagged and pulled, causing a rip in the surrounding tissue, (eyebrows are a frequent problem), poor jewellery insertion, jewellery migration or of infection and poor healing generally.

Severe localised swelling - can happen if the area is not kept completely clean and free from infection. This may occur anywhere following tattooing or piercing, but particularly dangerous with oral piercing (proximity to airway), e.g. the tongue may swell to 3 times its normal thickness after piercing and this must be accommodated by the correct choice of jewellery.

Localised infections - usually caused by opportunistic skin bacteria, e.g. Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and Propionibacterium spp. Usually subsides with good aftercare, but may become systemic.

Septicaemia - a serious systemic infection, i.e. affecting the whole body. May be life threatening and requires immediate medical intervention in the form of antibiotics.

Bleeding - Must be expected for most piercing and sometimes occurs following tattooing, but may become excessive. High-risk areas include male genital piercing (Prince Albert / ampallang) and tongue piercing. Lips (labret) may also bleed profusely. These areas have rich blood supplies that may lead to haemorrhaging after piercing.

Always ask questions from your Piercer / Tattooist