Tongue Piercing

A tongue piercing is a form of body design in which a piece of jewelry is inserted into a pierced tongue through the channel. Usually, these are a vertically placed in the middle of the tongue piercing with a bar with balls (Barbell).

History

The piercing of the tongue without the permanent wearing of jewelry was already known in several cultures as a religious ritual. According to reports, Spanish conquistadors in the 16th Century, as well as of traditional stone reliefs were pierced in Central America next to the ears, cheeks and genitals, the tongue as an offering, and for internal cleaning.

In the Thai city of Phuket finds since 1825 a year, the Vegetarian Festival held during which participants put in a divine invocation into trances and stand during a procession swords, sticks, metal bars or everyday items with a significant diameter by the tongue or other parts of the body. A similar tradition is celebrated annually in Malaysia in January and February at the Thaipusam festival.

The decorative tongue piercing was first produced during the 1990s in western culture. Regarding the present distribution of the piercings and body modification Piercerin-actor Elayne Angel attributed to an influential role. Later, the singer Melanie Brown of Spice Girls band, and within the techno scene Flinth Keith, singer and dancer of the band The Prodigy, have contributed significantly to the popularization.

Sting

A tongue piercing is usually done while sitting at the piercer easier to use, but also to counteract circulatory problems. As with other piercings are first marked the one-and Ausstichstelle, fixed with a clamp and pierced a peripheral venous catheter

The piercer must ensure the piercing, not to hurt the frenulum, the tongue is adherent to the mandible. must also be taken that the position of the piercing can not cause damage to the teeth. During a piercing runs in the middle of the tongue between the tongue muscles, is a piercing out of the center punched out directly by the muscles and should only be done by experienced piercers.

In the next three to eight days, but there may be a strong swelling of the tongue, so the jump, a barbell can be used with extra length. Properly engraved the piercing itself is not as painful, as is often assumed.

Care and Cure

After the swelling of the freshly-engraved Jewelry has subsided, it should be replaced by a shorter pen to increase the comfort and minimize the risk of tooth damage.

The healing of tongue piercings are usually within three to six weeks. [2] on alcohol and nicotine should be avoided during this time. The food intake during the first days of often painful. It is therefore advisable to liquid or mushy food switch and take smaller portions of itself. After eating, the mouth should be rinsed out. Lots of fluids, especially before bedtime can minimize swelling. The piercing should, if at all, be handled with washed hands. Oral contact with body fluids during the healing phase, it is avoided. Too much care and cleaning can irritate the piercing and prolong the healing period.

For the first 10 to 14 days is advised to avoid milk products, alcohol and nicotine, as well as the consumption of fruit juices or acidic fruits. Furthermore, the food and drinks are not too hot, cold or hot, to avoid over-stimulation. Against the swelling, which usually regresses after about three days, ice cubes help, especially from sage or chamomile tea. Also on oral sex should be avoided. Rinses are helpful Octenisept (never Betaisodona, as this is an iodine solution) or chamomile flowers.

Variations

In most cases it is a tongue piercing a tongue in the middle of the vertically placed plug. It is often possible to have multiple tongue piercings behind or next to each other.

Possible but also the attachment of jewelry on the sides of the tongue tip or horizontally through the tongue. Particularly in the latter, the use of flexible jewelry such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is recommended to the movement of the tongue to minimize beeinträchtigen.In most cases it comes from these more exotic variations on speech disorders and problems with food intake. The procedure is described as a particularly painful and the healing process to be lengthy.

Several symmetrically placed piercings in the tongue or lip piercings are known as Venom. In a horizontally through the pierced tongue extending below the frenum jewelry it is a frenulum piercing.

Like other piercings also, the tongue piercing are carefully stretched to a larger diameter. The massive jewelry but can cause increased tooth decay. There are therefore called "Smartie Beads" that can not be screwed with a correspondingly large ball, but a specially flattened portion.

Risks

Many of the larger blood vessels in the tongue piercing make this complicated, so expressly stated, is to have it performed only by experienced piercers.

As with all piercings, there is a risk of infection, the company may be severe and even lead to suffocation can. Immediately connect regularly to the implementation of the piercing pain, swelling, edema, infection, to increased salivation and gum injuries. Bleeding also occur often, but usually are not threatening. In an anticoagulant drug must be no piercing.

The speech can be affected by the swelling. After healing, this is normal usually again, the jewelry, however, can still lead to the impairment of tongue movement and speech.Also, damages to the teeth, which is one of the most common complications of tongue piercing, especially if the carrier has a habit of Playing with the piercing is formed.

The "sucking" or adherence to the (front) teeth of the piercing, as shown in the picture, it can in the course of a few months (usually the front) to come scheunentorähnlichen shifts of the teeth. A clatter of tongue piercings on the teeth has to be avoided, because the enamel can greatly suffer. The tooth damage can be reduced by using plastic bullets. These balls are softer than the enamel, resulting in little damage to the teeth, even when playing with his piercing. Plastic balls can indeed bite easily, but the purchase of a plastic ball cheaper than the repair of teeth. In principle, the risk of tooth damage from the correct position of the needle tract, as the proper length of the jewelry can be minimized. The piercing jewelry is too short may lead to swelling of the tongue to problems.

It can in rare cases cause the taste buds may be damaged. This can occur in extreme cases, loss of taste, but more often will reduce the intensity of flavor. Nevertheless, the danger of a complete taste loss is small because the vast majority of tongue piercings are pierced in the middle, where very little or no taste buds. Damage but are excluded completely.

In one known case, led the tongue piercing a 22-year-old man from Israel to death, because bacteria had entered the bloodstream into the brain and then formed 13 purulent brain abscesses.

After the removal of jewelry from the healed needle tract usually remains on the top of the tongue, the pressure point where the ball rested barbells, and visible on the underside often a slightly arched branch canal. When stretched piercings, the speech can be a major branch canal are severely impaired due to the air circulation.