Belly rings are among the most popular body piercings today. They are also one of the piercings most susceptible to infection. Learn how to care for a navel piercing to help it heal properly.
Belly Ring Healing Process
Belly piercings have a long healing process. A piercing can take six months to a year to heal. Due to the location of the piercing, the slow healing and the tendency for the area to get sweaty, infection can occur very easily. Piercing aftercare is very important to keep the area healthy and help it heal faster.
Navel Piercing Aftercare
The first thing you should do to prevent infection is go to a reputable piercing professional. Make sure the piercer wears clothes, clean equipment and has a sterile work environment. Regulations on piercing vary by location. Find out what your local requirements are for piercing professionals and make sure you choose one who meets those standards.
Always follow the aftercare instructions from your piercing professional. Here are some general guidelines to help keep belly piercings healthy:
- Clean the piercing twice a day with antibacterial soap. It may be necessary to clean the site more frequently if it gets dirty or sweaty from working out or sports activities. Use a cotton ball to apply a small amount of antibacterial soap to the piercing and gently remove any debris or scabbing.
- After the general cleaning, place a drop of antibacterial soap on the piercing, and carefully rotate the jewelry back and forth to keep the hole open and healing smoothly without scabbing.
- Rinse the soap off and dry carefully. You can also apply a little hydrogen peroxide or rubbing alcohol to the area for extra protection again infection.
- Use a saline soak once a day or every other day to promote healing and fight infection. You can use contact lens saline solution or make your own by adding salt to boiled water. If you make your own, make sure it cools before use. Pour a small amount of saline solution into a small cup and bend over the cup until the piercing makes contact with the solution. Keep the solution on the area for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Do not remove the original jewelry until the piercing is fully healed.
- Only touch the piercing with clean hands. Limit touching the area to cleaning sessions to avoid risks of infection.
- Taking a multivitamin daily can help promote healthy wound healing.
General Belly Ring Care
After the piercing heals, you will still want to take steps to protect the pierced area from injury and irritation.
Here are some tips for general belly ring care:
- Protect the piercing from catching on clothing. Extra care should be taken to prevent it from catching on things when jewelry is uncovered, especially when you are not use to having jewelry in that area.
- Do not wear jewelry that feels uncomfortable, itchy or gives you a rash. The jewelry should feel comfortable and not cause any stress to the skin. If you have a metal allergy, be sure to only wear gold, surgical steel or other hypoallergenic nickel-free jewelry.
- After doing any activity that makes you sweat, such as exercising, wash the belly button area carefully because sweat can collect there.
- Always remove navel jewelry playing sports, doing heavy chores or any other rough activity that could pose a risk of ripping out the jewelry.
Now that you know how to care for your navel jewelry, enjoy exploring belly ring fashions.
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Adrienne Warber - Adrienne Warber is a professional freelance writer with more than ten years experience. She has expertise in a variety of topics ranging ...
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