Piercing Aftercare

• WASH your hands thoroughly prior to cleaning or touching your piercing for any reason.
• SPRAY with sterile saline wound wash while healing. Moving or rotating jewelry is not necessary during cleaning/rinsing and may actually irritate the piercing.
• DRY with clean, disposable products like gauze or cotton swabs, gently removing any crusty debris or build up. Cloth towels should be avoided as they can harbor bacteria and snag on jewelry.

• Initially: some bleeding, localized swelling, tenderness, or bruising.
• During healing: some discoloration, itching, secretion of a whitish-yellow fluid (not pus) that will form some crust on the jewelry. The tissue may tighten around the jewelry as it heals.
• Once healed: the jewelry may not move freely in the piercing; do not force it. If you fail to include cleaning your piercing as part of your daily hygiene routine, normal but smelly bodily secretions may accumulate.
• A piercing may seem healed before the healing process is complete. This is because tissue heals from the outside in, and although it feels fine, the interior remains fragile. Be patient, and keep cleaning throughout the entire healing period.
• Even healed piercings can shrink within minutes after having been there for years! This varies from person to person; if you like your piercing, keep jewelry in—do not leave it empty.

• Wash your hands prior to touching the piercing; leave it alone except when cleaning. During healing, it is not necessary to rotate your jewelry.
• Stay healthy; the healthier your lifestyle, the easier it will be for your piercing to heal. Get enough sleep and eat a nutritious diet. Exercise during healing is fine; listen to your body.
• Make sure your bedding is washed and changed regularly. Wear clean, comfortable, breathable clothing that protects your piercing while you are sleeping.
• Showers tend to be safer than taking baths, as bathtubs can harbor bacteria. If you bathe in a tub, clean it well before each use and rinse off your piercing when you get out.

We strongly encourage you to use a sterile saline, labeled for use as a wound wash. Your saline ingredients should list .09% sodium chloride as the only ingredient (sometimes purified water will be listed). Additives like moisturizers and antibacterials should be avoided, as well as similar sounding products like contact lens saline, nasal spray, or eye drops.
Wound wash saline is available as a spray at Relic Moon

• Avoid moving jewelry in an unhealed piercing, or picking away dried discharge with your fingers.
• Avoid cleaning with Betadine®, Hibiciens®, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, Dial® or other soaps containing triclosan, as these can damage cells. Also avoid ointments as they prevent necessary air circulation. Click here to download information on triclosan dangers
• Avoid Bactine®, pierced ear care solutions and other products containing Benzalkonium Chloride (BZK). These can be irritating and are not intended for long term wound care.

• Avoid over-cleaning. This can delay your healing and irritate your piercing.
• Even healed piercings can shrink or close in minutes after having been there for years! This varies from person to person; if you like your piercing, keep jewelry in—do not leave it empty.
• Avoid undue trauma such as friction from clothing, excessive motion of the area, playing with the jewelry, and vigorous cleaning. These activities can cause the formation of unsightly and uncomfortable scar tissue, migration, prolonged healing, and other complications.
• Avoid all oral contact, rough play, and contact with others’ bodily fluids on or near your piercing during healing
• Avoid stress and recreational drug use, including excessive caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol.
• Avoid submerging the piercing in unhygenic bodies of water such as lakes, pools, hot tubs, etc. Or, protect your piercing using a waterproof wound-sealant bandage (such as 3M™ Nexcare™ Clean Seals). These are available at most drugstores.
• Avoid all beauty and personal care products on or around the piercing including cosmetics, lotions, and sprays, etc.
• Don’t hang charms or any object from your jewelry until the piercing is fully healed.

• Rinse after eating or drinking anything other than water. This should be done for 30-60 seconds.
• To minimize swelling place a small amount of ice in your mouth and let it melt. Do not suck on the ice, or use straws for drinking. This stresses the tongue.
• Avoid these for all oral piercings: Oral contact including wet kissing or oral sex.
• Do not pull, tug or play with your piercing. This means: no clicking against your teeth, rolling along your lips or sticking out your tongue to display the piercing.
• Reduce your intake of warm beverages as well as spicy foods and tobacco. • If threadless or push fit jewelry, remember to make sure no gaps are visable between the bar and top. If threaded jewelry, remember to check the tightness.

• You can protect your piercing from excess irritation, physical trauma from activities like sports, or tight clothing with a hard, vented eye patch (sold at pharmacies). To avoid irritation from adhesive/medical tape, you can secure it over your piercing using tights/stockings or using a length of elastic/ace-type bandage around your body.

.

• The support of a tight cotton shirt or sports bra may provide protection and feel comfortable, especially for sleeping.

• Genital Piercings – especially Triangles, Prince Alberts, Ampallangs, and Apadravyas – can bleed freely for the first few days. Be prepared. Additional cleaning after urination is not necessary • Wash your hands before touching (directly or near-by) a healing piercing.
• In most cases you can engage in sexual activity as soon as you feel ready, but maintaining hygiene and avoiding trauma are vital; all sexual activities should be gentle during the healing period.
• Use barriers such as condoms, dental dams, and waterproof bandages, etc. to avoid contact with your partners’ body fluids, even in long-term monogamous relationships.
• Use protection on sex toys, too.
• Use a new container of water-based lubricant; do not use saliva.
• Showering after intercourse is suggested.

These piercings require maintenance during their entire lifetime because matter can build up underneath the threaded top causing the piercing to become irritated. Saline and/or shower rinses may be helpful with removing matter from underneath the threaded top.
Avoid putting makeup on these piercings even after healing.
Even with proper care, surface anchors may be less permanent than other body piercings.