Body Piercing

Body Piercing

Take Aways

• Make sure the piercing equipment is sterilized properly.
• Serious risks include infection, allergic reactions, bleeding, and damage to nerves and teeth.
• If you decide to get pierced, go to a licensed piercer who uses sterile products.

Many different cultures have pierced their bodies for centuries. If you look in a history book, you will find that Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans decorated their bodies with piercings and tattooes. People pierced their bodies to show the their importance in a group, or because they thought it protected them from evil. Today, we know much more about the risks of body piercing. Body piercing is a serious decision. Before you decide what you want to do, ask your friends, parents, and trusted adults what they think.

What are teens saying about body piercing today?

Ask other teens who have been pierced what they thought of the whole experience. How much did it cost? Was it painful? How long did it take to heal? If they had the chance to do it over again, would they?