Tongue rings are now not only the third most popular of all piercings, but they have also become much safer to have done.
Tongue rings were once only rarely seen and people heard more often the horror stories about people who get it done. That has changed a lot over the past couple of decades. Tongue piercings have become much more common due mainly to safer standards in the piercing industry.
Where once people would actually get their tongues pierced at home by friends they now realize the importance of going to a professional who has done tongue rings before. Unlike other parts of the body that are commonly pierced, the tongue has two major veins running through it. If either of these veins is even nicked by the needle, it can cause severe blood loss.
Even when done correctly tongue rings still take two to six weeks to heal. It can take up to six months for the piercing to be fully healed. During this healing time, it is not uncommon for the tongue to swell. This is easily treated with cold drinks, sucking on ice and taking anti-inflammatory to bring the swelling down.
Also during the healing time, it is highly recommended that the pierced person refrain from alcohol, smoking, and making tongue contact with other people. Spicy food is also something to be avoided. And after doing any of the above, it is strongly suggested that they rinse their mouths with alcohol free mouthwash. Being such a warm moist environment, people who get tongue rings need to take extra care to avoid infection. They must also tighten the barbell daily to avoid it coming lose and them swallowing it.
It is commonly believed the tongue rings first got started at the Gauntlet. The Gauntlet was the first professional body piercing shop in the United States. Founder of the Gauntlet and body-piercing pioneer, Elayne Angel, is often given credit with popularizing the tongue rings.
Julie enjoys sharing health and beauty tips. A great resource for flat irons, curling irons and hair styling tools of all kinds is My Hair Styling Tools.
