Piercings are undoubtedly becoming more and more popular, but if you’re an athlete, there are several things you need to know. Since sports activities involve contact, there’s a high chance your new piercing can get irritated or, worse, infected.
But, if you’re willing to take the risk, you must be mindful of the healing time, know when to remove your jewelry, be mindful of the healing time, and have the discipline to do piercing aftercare to ensure that your piercings are safe and infection-free.
How Long Does it Heal?
Before deciding on your next piercing, discuss it with your piercer. Every piercing has a different healing time. The healing time is dependent on its location, and it also relies mainly on how well you care for your new piercing. Keep in mind that a piercing is an open wound.
While it’s still healing, the wound is susceptible to infection. Therefore, you must follow your piercer’s instructions on caring for your new piercing, especially if you’re an athlete since you will be participating in sports activities.
When Can You Remove Your Jewelry?
The initial jewelry for your new piercings has to stay in place throughout the healing period.
For navel and cartilage piercings, you are advised to keep the initial jewelry in place for at least six months from the day you got the piercing. Oral piercings heal much faster.
You’ll find athletes changing jewelry in a little over a month. However, even if you think your piercing is healed, we recommend that you ask your piercer to assess the area, and if your piercer gives you the signal, that’s the time you can change your jewelry. The bottom line is you shouldn’t rush it.
How Do I Clean It?
How do you keep your piercing site clean? First of all, when you’re playing sports, you’ll be sweaty and dirty. If you don’t remove your jewelry while playing, there’s a high risk of bacteria traveling to the site and causing infection. Therefore, the best thing to do is to remove it before playing.
To expedite the healing, you must be diligent in cleaning the site. Professional piercers recommend that you clean the area twice a day with saline solution. You can use a Q-tip, or a cotton ball dipped in the solution.
Takeaway
Your love for sports is not a hindrance to getting a new piercing, but you need to take responsibility to ensure that it doesn’t get infected since athletes are more prone to piercing failure.
If you're looking for a safe product to clean your piercings, Dr. Piercing Aftercare can help.
At Dr. Piercing Aftercare, we've developed convenient medicated swabs that you can use to clean your piercings and keep infection away. We are proud of our products. They are made and tested in a cGMP compliant and FDA-registered facility in America.
We use advanced technology on our swabs for easy application. Each pack contains thirty-six medicated swabs that are proven and tested to promote your body's natural healing process while preventing infection. Contact us today, or you can check out our website to learn more about our products.
