It is important to remember that getting a nose piercing requires proper care and attention. After all, the last thing you want is for your beautiful self-expression to turn into a painful and infected mess.
You want to get in dirty water once you heal your nose. You should avoid swimming pools, lakes, rivers, and hot tubs. Don't use antibacterial ointments on the site. You should only move your nose jewelry once it's healed.
In this blog post, we will go over some crucial tips on how not to get a nose piercing to ensure a safe and successful piercing experience.
What Not to Do When You Get a Nose Piercing: 6 To-Do List
If you've recently gotten a nose piercing, properly caring for it is essential to ensure a successful healing process. There are specific actions you should avoid to prevent complications and promote faster healing. We'll discuss some critical considerations for proper aftercare and highlight why particular actions should be avoided.
Touching Your Piercing
One of the most important things to avoid piercing your nose is touching it with dirty hands. This can introduce bacteria and other harmful germs, resulting in infection and irritation. Here are some reasons why touching your piercing is not recommended:
- Increases the risk of infection: Piercings are like open wounds and exposure to germs can cause disease.
- Delays the healing process: Touching your piercing frequently can prolong the healing process and cause excessive redness, swelling, and sensitivity around the area.
- Causes irritation: The skin around the piercing is already sensitive, and touching it can cause further irritation and discomfort.
Always wash your hands with soap and warm water before handling your piercing to prevent complications.
Changing Jewelry Too Soon
Many people are excited to switch out their initial jewelry with something more stylish, but changing your jewelry too soon can lead to complications. The healing process takes time, and it's essential to allow your piercing to fully heal before changing your jewelry. Here are some reasons why changing your jewelry too soon is not recommended:
- Can cause damage: Removing jewelry before your piercing can cause damage to the inside of the hole, leading to pain and longer healing times.
- Increases the risk of infection: Changing jewelry too soon can also introduce harmful germs and increase disease risk.
- Delays the healing process: Just like touching your piercing, changing your jewelry prematurely prolongs healing and causes further discomfort.
Wait until your piercing has fully healed before changing your jewelry. Depending on your body's healing process, this can take several weeks or months.
Using Harsh Cleaners
When cleaning your nose piercing, using the right products is essential. Specific cleaners can be harsh and cause further irritation, so avoiding these is important. Here are some products to avoid and why:
- Alcohol: Alcohol dries out the skin and can cause cracking, leading to further discomfort around the piercing.
- Hydrogen peroxide: While it is great for disinfecting, it can be too harsh for piercings and cause further irritation.
- Antibacterial ointments: These thick ointments can clog the pores around the piercing and cause complications.
Choose a saline solution or saltwater solution instead. These solutions are gentle and effective and promote faster healing.
Skipping Aftercare
Aftercare is an essential part of the healing process for nose piercings. Skipping aftercare can cause infection and other complications. Here are some reasons why consistent cleaning and maintenance is essential:
- Prevents infection: Consistent cleaning prevents bacteria buildup and helps prevent disease.
- Reduces discomfort: Proper aftercare can reduce redness, swelling, and discomfort.
- Promotes faster healing: Consistent cleaning and maintenance encourage speedier healing times.
Be sure to follow your piercer's instructions for aftercare and clean your piercing regularly.
Ignoring Signs of Infection
It's essential to pay attention to any signs of infection and address them promptly. Common symptoms of the disease can include:
- Excessive redness around the piercing that doesn't go away after several days.
- Pus or discharge coming from the piercing.
- Pain or throbbing around the piercing.
If you experience these symptoms, contact your piercer or healthcare provider immediately. Ignoring signs of infection can cause further complications and prolong the healing process.
Sleeping on the Piercing Side
While it may be uncomfortable, avoiding sleeping on the side of your nose piercing can prevent irritation and delay healing.
- Sleeping on your nose piercing can cause pressure, movement, and irritation to the area overnight.
- This can lead to swelling and pain and prolong the healing process.
- Instead, try sleeping on your back or the opposite side of your piercing.
What To Avoid When Getting A Nose Piercing: 4 Risks and Complications
While getting a nose piercing may seem quick and easy, caring for your new piercing is crucial to avoid complications and risks. We will explore some of the risks and complications of nose piercings and what you should avoid doing to prevent them.
Infection: What Not to Do
A nose piercing is essentially a wound in your body, making it susceptible to infection. Here are some things to avoid if you want to prevent disease:
- Touching your nose piercing with dirty hands.
- Swimming in pools or natural bodies of water.
- Use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide to clean your piercing (it can damage the healing tissue).
- Using unclean or inappropriate jewelry.
Rejection and Migration: What Not to Do?
Rejection and migration are the expected consequences of improperly sizing or incorrectly placed jewelry. Avoid these things:
- Using heavy jewelry immediately after piercing.
- Opting for low-quality or wrongly sized jewelry.
- Removing your jewelry suddenly or frequently.
- Sleeping on your piercing can cause it to migrate.
Scarring and Discoloration: What Not to Do?
Scarring and discoloration can occur if you do not care for your new piercing properly. You should avoid the following:
- Playing with or twisting the jewelry.
- Wear tight clothing that may rub against the piercing.
- Using harsh or abrasive cleaning solutions.
- Over cleaning or under cleaning your piercing.
Nerve Damage: What Not to Do
Nerve damage during or after a nose piercing is rare, but it can happen. The following are things to avoid:
- Going to unlicensed or inexperienced piercers.
- Using cheap or low-quality jewelry.
- Pressing on the piercing or playing with it too much.
- Pulling or yanking the jewelry out of the piercing.
Conclusion
Taking care of your nose piercing is a critical part of the process and should not be taken lightly. By avoiding touching your piercing with dirty hands, changing jewelry too soon, using harsh cleaners, skipping aftercare, and ignoring signs of infection, you can prevent problems like infections, rejection and migration, scarring, discoloration, and nerve damage.
Proper care requires patience and diligence, but it will ensure a safe, more pleasant piercing experience and a healthy nose piercing in the long run. Always follow the guidelines provided by your piercer or doctor for aftercare, and if you are in doubt or experiencing complications, don't hesitate to contact a medical professional.