How to Know If Your Body Is Rejecting a Piercing
When you get a piercing, your skin -- your body's largest organ -- may accept the initial trauma and the presence of jewelry or it may reject the jewelry you have placed through the skin. When rejection occurs, your body perceives the jewelry as a foreign object and a variety of skin changes will occur as your body tries to push the jewelry out. Health problems can occur during and after rejection including infection, allergic reaction, inflammation, and scarring or pitting of the tissue. As a result, it is extremely important to know the signs of when your body is rejecting a piercing. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Watch out for changes in the skins thickness above the jewelry. Signs of rejection include thinning and tightness of the skin on top of the jewelry.
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Look for changes in the color of your skin and the piercing holes. Continued or increased inflammation indicated by pink or red areas over time may indicate rejection. This may also indicate an infection or an allergic reaction.
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Check the holes where your skin was pierced. Signs of rejection include holes that have widened or have moved closer together. You may see stretch marks or scarring indicating that that the jewelry has migrated.
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Tips & Warnings
If you have any sign of a piercing rejection, immediately return to the person who performed the piercing and get a second opinion; or seek medical assistance.
If you experience any symptoms of an infection or allergic reaction -- fever, chills, rash, difficulty breathing or chest pain -- seek immediate medical assistance.
Never tap or rub your piercing. These actions can cause your skin to assume that the jewelry -- whether new or old -- is a foreign object.
Eyebrow and naval piercings -- as well as piercing near the surface of the skin that involve wide or heavy pieces -- are more prone to rejection.
Never remove your jewelry on your own if you suspect rejection is occurring. You could cause more harm to your skin.
