How to Care for Nipple Piercings

A nipple piercing, though generally thought of as an artistic, aesthetic or erotic form of expression, is also a wound. Without proper care and maintenance, it can easily become infected. As a general guideline, nipple piercings take anywhere from 2 to 12 months to heal. Once they have healed, the time required to care for and maintain nipple piercings drops dramatically.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Cup
• Salt
• Water
• Tissue or cotton swab
• Antibacterial soap

1. Wash your hands with anitbacterial soap. This will elminate any bacteria that could cause a potentially dangerous infection. For best efficacy, scrub your hands for at least 30 seconds.
2. Clean away any crust that has formed around the piercing. Your body's natural reaction is to insulate itself from any foreign object. A tissue or cotton swab can be used to gently wipe away any crustiness.
3. Create a nice lather and clean the nipple and piercing. For best results, gently spin the ring to allow soap to clean the entire area. Depending on the ring, you may be able to undo and then retighten the piercing so that soap can clean it as well.
4. Remove the nipple ring. This can be painful, especially at first. If your nipples are extremely sensitive, take an ibuprofen beforehand. Once you've removed the nipple ring, you can thoroughly scrub and disinfect it before reinserting back into your nipple.
5. Repeat the process twice a day until the nipple has healed. It is very important that you be diligent about cleaning the piercing until the skin had healed to avoid infection.

Tips & Warnings

• Drink lots of water, get plenty of rest, and take a vitamin every day. After a piercing, your body is healing, and taking care of your body will only help the process.
• Some people recommend a salt scrub every few days. When you remove the ring, simply soak it in a saline solution (8 oz. of water mixed with a 1/4 tsp. of salt) for 5 to 10 minutes to clean it.
• While your piercing is healing, never touch it without first washing your hands. A piercing is an open wound that is highly susceptible to any of the myriad of bacteria and germs on your hands, but a thorough wash with antibacterial soap eliminates the threat of infections.
• Avoid pools, hot tubs and other public waters until the piercing is healed. Though often chlorinated, the waters are still rife with germs that could easily cause an infection.