Is there any danger in having your navel or nipple pierced

asks Modge:
A. Yes, there is, according to a recent survey of 454 students at the Pace University in New York, where there is high percentage of students with body piercings. Researchers found that 17% of them had a medical complication as a result of piercing.

�

Q. What kind of complication
A. Mostly it was a bacterial infection. Other problems were bleeding and injury or tearing of the piercing.

�

Ouch!
Exactly.

�

Q. Is the problem as bad in the UK
A. It could be. Two years ago, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health carried out a survey of GPs in Bury and Rochdale. It found that half of all local piercing centres left their customers with problems which need medical attention. As a result, the Institute called for tougher hygiene controls and regulations for tattooists and body piercers, including strict controls for sterilising equipment, a ban on body piercing for under-16s, and a minimum age of consent for piercing.

�

Q. Are there any regulations at all
A. At the moment, only London boroughs have the powers to license and inspect body-piercing businesses. Outside London, absolutely anyone can set themselves up as a body piercer without having any formal training at all. They are only required to register and follow local bylaws.

�

Q. Is ear piecing safer, then
A. No. The fashion for having ears pierced at the top has left many teenagers disfigured for life. A report published in the British Medical Journal last year says that in the last ten years, the number of teenagers who end up with misshapen 'cauliflower' ears has doubled, affecting 1,400 people a year.

�

Q. Why does that happen
A. Doctors blame beauty parlours for using the wrong equipment - such as piercing guns - for piercing the top part of the ear. This is not the appropriate way to piece cartilage, says experts, because it leaves it open and prone to infection.

�

Q. How can I make sure I have a piercing done safely
A. Choose somewhere that specialises in piercings only and who has a good reputation. Visit the premises first and talk to the person who'll be doing the piercing - do they and their premises look clean Ask if they belong to a professional body, such as the Association of Professional Piercers. The piercer should use a new packaged needle and wear latex gloves to protect against infection. You should be told how to look after your piercing afterwards: wash it in a saline solution or antibacterial wash every day. Piercings take from four to 24 weeks to heal, depending on what you've had pierced.

�

Do you have a question for Body & Soul Post it here

�

By Sheena Miller