[HumanSiv]

I am going to get my tongue pierced in like 5 days and i was wondering if there were any tips or anything that i could get that might help me take proper care of my piercing. I've done heaps of research on tongue piercings and aftercare instructions but any more advice would be great.

Cheers.

[discodanielle3]

I am going to get my tongue pierced in like 5 days and i was wondering if there were any tips or anything that i could get that might help me take proper care of my piercing. I've done heaps of research on tongue piercings and aftercare instructions but any more advice would be great.

Cheers.

Its going to get really swollen. So eat a lot of ice...
A lot of ice.
;]

[nauticalstar420]

Make sure you eat a well balanced meal and you are properly hydrated before you get the piercing. The night before you get it, take an ibuprofen, then take another one when you wake up that morning. This will help with some of the pain that you may feel.

After the piercing, do not eat any overly salty or spicy food. This will severely irritate your new piercing. Eat a lot of ice, popsicles, etc. Anything that is cold. And you can take ibuprofen for the pain you may feel after the piercing.

Clean it with non-alcoholic mouthwash. A lot of piercers will recommend to wash your mouth out with salt water, but I do not feel it is necessary. The mouthwash is enough to get the job done.

There are a couple of things to watch for that you may find alarming, but they are harmless:

-your tongue may turn white and feel pasty. This simply means you are overdoing it a little on the mouthwash.

-you may see a white gooey substance coming from the piercing. This is just white blood cells trying to patch the hole in your tongue. Remove it gently with a Q-tip or soft bristled toothbrush.

-you may see an indent in the top of your tongue. This is caused by the top ball on the barbell and will eventually go away as the swelling goes down.

Wait at least 6 weeks before changing the jewelry. Good luck with your piercing and let us know how it goes! :)

[letmetellu]

[F][F] I am going to get my tongue pierced in like 5 days and i was wondering if there were any tips or anything that i could get that might help me take proper care of my piercing. I've done heaps of research on tongue piercings and aftercare instructions but any more advice would be great.

Cheers.

I have a serious question for you, so don't give me the brush off with your answer, please. Why would anyone want to pierce their tongue. And would this not be a lifelong place for infection to occur?

[nauticalstar420]

I have a serious question for you, so don't give me the brush off with your answer, please. Why would anyone want to pierce their tongue. And would this not be a lifelong place for infection to occur?

I know you weren't asking me, but I have my tongue pierced so I can answer. :p

I don't know the OP's personal reason for wanting a tongue piercing, but when I got mine it was my way of expressing myself. I know it sounds stupid since everyone has it nowadays, but when I got it done it wasn't seen a whole lot like it is now.

As far as the infection part, any piercing can get infected if not taken care of properly, but believe it or not the tongue is actually not the most prone piercing to infection. From what I have seen the bellybutton and the cartilage are at the top of the list. :)

[HumanSiv]

I have a serious question for you, so don't give me the brush off with your answer, please. Why would anyone want to pierce their tongue. And would this not be a lifelong place for infection to occur?

I realise the infection chances but they aren't very high... Being 15 years, I have had an obsession with piercings since I was 9 years old and have thought very highly of them since then. Since the age of 10 I have had my ears pierced 5 times(both professionaly and myself) and my naval pierced. I also intend on getting my nose pierced for my 16'th birthday. I understand why you would ask me why I would get my tongue pierced in the first place and my answer is because I adore piercings and probably always will. I feel that if I get my tongue pierced then I can have my own way of expressing myself and to be different from other people around me.
Hope this answers your question... :)
Cheers.

[HumanSiv]

Make sure you eat a well balanced meal and you are properly hydrated before you get the piercing. The night before you get it, take an ibuprofen, then take another one when you wake up that morning. This will help with some of the pain that you may feel.

After the piercing, do not eat any overly salty or spicy food. This will severely irritate your new piercing. Eat a lot of ice, popsicles, etc. Anything that is cold. And you can take ibuprofen for the pain you may feel after the piercing.

Clean it with non-alcoholic mouthwash. A lot of piercers will recommend to wash your mouth out with salt water, but I do not feel it is necessary. The mouthwash is enough to get the job done.

There are a couple of things to watch for that you may find alarming, but they are harmless:

-your tongue may turn white and feel pasty. This simply means you are overdoing it a little on the mouthwash.

-you may see a white gooey substance coming from the piercing. This is just white blood cells trying to patch the hole in your tongue. Remove it gently with a Q-tip or soft bristled toothbrush.

-you may see an indent in the top of your tongue. This is caused by the top ball on the barbell and will eventually go away as the swelling goes down.

Wait at least 6 weeks before changing the jewelry. Good luck with your piercing and let us know how it goes! :)

Thank you very much for your advice and tips and I will take them all into consideration and watch out for any of those little white pasty blood cells :)
Very much appreciated
Cheers.

[letmetellu]

To all of the girls above that have had the piercings or are going to have them, I hope you have no problems as far as infections go but I can not help but think about the future years. Like when you go to apply for a job or if you already have a job and get a chance for a good promotion I hope the face that you have a piercing does not hold you back. I know this happens because I have seen it from experience, and the excuse for not promoting the person with the piercings is that they did not show good judgment. I have seen the same thing happen with people with tattoos, but good luck to you all.

[thereisno4evr]

Stay away from indian and chinese food for a while.
Believe me I made the mistake of eating some chinese dish that was packed with chili, not the most pleasant experience of my life.

[Alty]

To all of the girls above that have had the piercings or are going to have them, I hope you have no problems as far as infections go but I can not help but think about the future years. Like when you go to apply for a job or if you already have a job and get a chance for a good promotion I hope the face that you have a piercing does not hold you back. I know this happens because I have seen it from experience, and the excuse for not promoting the person with the piercings is that they did not show good judgment. I have seen the same thing happen with people with tattoos, but good luck to you all.

Most people are not as biased anymore, they realize that body piercings and tattoos are a form of expression. If I was turned down for a job because of my tattoo then you better believe that I would raise some serious heck. I don't understand the fascination with tongue piercing, but I do believe in a persons right to have one. Besides, the tongue is one of the fastest healing parts of the body so you're not stuck with a piercing forever if you decide in future that you'd rather not have it. Even a tattoo isn't forever, it just costs a lot of money to remove and the skin will never be the same.

[Alty]

Letmetellu you stated that" tattoos are not the reason for not getting a job it is the fact that is does not show good judgment." Why, because you don't agree with tattoos? Allot of people have tattoos nowadays, they have become very common place. I don't think that it is bad judgement, just a personal choice and I don't think you should be discriminated against because of the way you choose to express yourself. Like I said before, I would never get my tongue pierced, my personal preference, but I would never begrudge someone else their right to get their tongue pierced, and I would hope that choosing to do this would not cost them gainful employment because of someone else's close-mindedness

[HumanSiv]

Letmetellu you stated that" tattoos are not the reason for not getting a job it is the fact that is does not show good judgment." Why, because you don't agree with tattoos? Allot of people have tattoos nowadays, they have become very common place. I don't think that it is bad judgement, just a personal choice and I don't think you should be discriminated against because of the way you choose to express yourself. Like I said before, I would never get my tongue pierced, my personal preference, but I would never begrudge someone else their right to get their tongue pierced, and I would hope that choosing to do this would not cost them gainful employment because of someone elses close-mindedness

I got that problem when I told my best friends(who are adults) that I was getting my tongue pierced... I wasn't expecting the 'it will affect your choices for employment' lecture but I chose to disreguard it. I figure that if the employer is dead set on not letting me have a job just because I have a tongue piercing then they obviously aren't worth working for.. I also should think that if the regualr barbell isn't a good look employer-wise then improvements could be made such as flat-top clear bars... I really don't see the problem...
Some people I guess...

Cheers

[J_9]

Piercings can and are reflective when it comes to employment. I am currently in nursing school, and no piercings (other than 2 holes in ears) are allowed. No visual tattoos, etc. Many of the students had to take their tongue rings out.

You are thinking in the now when it comes to piercings, but when you are older and looking for professional employment, it will most definitely hold you back.

[nauticalstar420]

I also should think that if the regualr barbell isnt a good look employer-wise then improvements could be made such as flat-top clear bars

Actually hun those already exist. Here you go if you should ever need one:

10 gauge clear tongue piercing / nipple piercing retainer with clear O-ring

:)

[HumanSiv]

Actually hun those already exist. Here you go if you should ever need one:

10 gauge clear tongue piercing / nipple piercing retainer with clear O-ring

:)

Thanks very much but my mum doesn't let me buy stuff that's like over seas, I'm an Australian, but now I know what to look for I'll be sure to find some of those thingys in aus :)
Thanks.

[nauticalstar420]

Thanks very much but my mum doesnt let me buy stuff thats like over seas, im an australian, but now i know what to look for i'll be sure to find some of those thingys in aus :)
Thanks.

Ohhh I'm sorry I didn't even realize you are Australian! Well now you know what it looks like anyway :p

[HumanSiv]

Ohhh i'm sorry I didnt even realize you are Australian! Well now you know what it looks like anyways :p

Hehehe yeah thanks anyway... still appreciate it just as much

Cheers

[letmetellu]

I did not say I was against tattoos or piercings of any kind, but that does not keep me from knowing that persons with certain tattoos or with certain piercings will not be given jobs or promotions with certain compinies. I have a friend that removes tattos and most of the ones that he removes is because of a job situation.

[stonewilder]

I have a serious question for you, so don't give me the brush off with your answer, please. Why would anyone want to pierce their tongue. And would this not be a lifelong place for infection to occur?

I had my tongue pierced about 3 or 4 years ago (midlife crises). I had no problems with any pain when it was being pierced. After about 4 days there was no swelling left and very little discomfort. The worse part for me was just getting use to eating with a foreign object in my mouth. I have yet to have any problems at all with my piercing. Most of the time I forget it's even there. At the time it was get a piercing or a tattoo. It's much easer and cheaper to rid myself of a tongue piercing I might grow out of than a tattoo. If at any time I decide I no longer want it, I can simply remove it and it will grow back up with no more than a little dot as a scar on the bottom side of my tongue. I have heard of more people with other piercing including ear piercing becoming infected than I ever heard of tongue infections. The tongue heals it's self extremely fast. So fast in fact that if you take the tongue ring out a few minuets even weeks after having it piercing it will start growing back up to the point that you have to force it back through. Now I know from experience that hurts like h*ll! Some people may seem a little judgmental about it when they first realize my tongue is pierced especially when I’m 42 years old but they soon forget it’s there and realize I’m not the wild woman they might have thought. As with guys, some love it because of the misconception that it’s a sexual thing and other guys hate it. Either way I’m not one to care much what people think so I’m OK with it. I have no regrets having my tongue pierced.

[stonewilder]

The night before you get it, take an ibuprofen, then take another one when you wake up that morning. This will help with some of the pain that you may feel.

I wouldn't advise taking any medications before having your tongue pierced. The guy who pierced my tongue said that it can cause the tongue to bleed more than it might normally and it's actually the worse thing you can do. He wasn't even going to pierce my tongue if I had took anything. Besides that it really doesn't hurt. If anything it's your nerves that might get to you rather than any pain.