How to Have Your Daughter's Ears Pierced Safely

In many cultures, baby girls get their ears pierced shortly after birth. In fact, you may even arrange to have this done in certain U.S. hospitals. If you do not choose to pierce an infant's ears, however, chances are your little girl may well wish to have her ears pierced while she is still in elementary school as "all of her friends are doing it." While the choice to permit ear piercing for a minor child is ultimately up to you, if you do decide to let her have this procedure done, there are certain steps you should take to make sure it's done as safely and painlessly as possible.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Check with your pediatrician's or dermatologist's office to see if they offer ear piercing or if they can refer you to another medical facility that offers this service. This may be your most expensive option but will certainly be your safest one.
2. Make sure that the facility you do go to is clean. Watch the person doing the piercing to make sure she washes her hands, puts on disposable gloves and sterilizes ears with antibacterial solution.
3. Make a pest of yourself and ask a few questions before agreeing to anything. Ask when the person doing the piercings was trained, how long she's been doing this and how many piercings she does per day. If you can, choose a person who has been doing piercings for over a year and performs at least three per day on average.
4. Inquire if there is a numbing cream available that can be used on your daughter's ears prior to piercing. Also ask about follow-up procedures and what you should do in event any problems develop. You want to choose a piercing place where they will give you explicit aftercare directions and information about what to do in case of complication.
5. Select earrings with surgical-steel posts. These are less likely to cause an allergic reaction in newly pierced lobes than any other type of metal, even 14K gold.
6. Practice good aftercare hygiene. Have your daughter clean her pierced ears twice daily with rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. Have her gently rotate the posts in her ears every day as well to prevent any buildup of scar tissue.

Tips & Warnings

• A growing number of young boys are now choosing to have an ear pierced as well--all of the above tips apply to boys, too.
• Do not just assume that a young girl will follow all the hygiene precautions for newly pierced ears without prompting--you will need to check her ears yourself on a regular basis to make sure they heal properly.