It sounds like a lot of fun to have body piercings, but what if you have diabetes? What happens if your body becomes pierced? Do you need to take any safety measures before getting a body piercing? What consequences follow a piercing? We addressed all of your concerns in this article. Let’s investigate more to learn more about body piercing for those with diabetes.
Dangers of piercing for someone with diabetes?
Firstly, why should someone with diabetes be worried about getting pierced? Keloids can develop from piercings. Overgrown scars known as keloids develop when damaged skin heals. Bleeding is another issue that a diabetic may have after getting a piercing. There are many blood vessels in some parts of our bodies, therefore getting pierced in those places would cause considerable bleeding.
One major issue that diabetic people may have is slow wound healing. A high blood glucose level can cause the piercing to heal more slowly and increase your risk of infection. As a nurse educator at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Suzanne Ghiloni, RN, CDE, says that your skin protects you from the outside world. There is always a chance of infection wherever there is a skin opening.
Since our piercing is also regarded as a skin hole, we need to take extra precautions to prevent infection. Concerned? Hold on, we also have some positive news to share with you. If you want to get a piercing but have diabetes, there are a few things to think about and precautions to take.
Prior to receiving a piercing, take into account
Getting in touch with your doctor is the first and most important step. Your doctor will ask you to take the A1C test if you tell them you wish to get a body piercing. A1C is a blood test that displays the mean blood sugar level during the preceding two to three months. The American Diabetes Association states that in order to prevent complications, individuals with diabetes should have an A1C of 7% or lower.
One more very important thing to keep in mind is to follow your doctor’s recommendations while getting a body piercing. A person with diabetes heals more slowly than a person without the disease. Your risk of getting an infection increases if your wound takes longer to heal.
A leg is amputated due to gangrene brought on by the infection. If the piercing is larger or in a delicate area of the body, the healing time will be longer.
Avoid getting pierced if you already have an infection or inflammation on your skin. For instance, it is not a good idea to get your nails pierced if you have a fungal infection there. The disease will deteriorate, and the piercing scar will never heal.
Ask questions: Find out as much as you can about the process before deciding to get a piercing. Different bodily parts can be pierced using a variety of techniques.
Procedure: Needlestick piercing is thought to be a less painful technique by most people. To make room for the jewelry to be implanted, the needle’s point could easily pierce your skin.
Ear lobe piercings are the most popular type of piercing that use the gun method. A sterile stud is inserted through the cannon by the piercer using this method. Despite being a very ancient procedure, gun piercing is strongly criticized by some people.
Still, medical-grade plastic is increasingly used in piercing weapons. Accordingly, the piercing gun’s skin-contact portion is completely disposable and arrives in sealed packaging.
Dermal Punch: To make a little opening for jewelry to pass through, a tiny portion of your skin is removed during the procedure. Your skin is removed in tiny circular pieces using the dermal punching tool, which is a sharp circular cutter.
A diabetic should refrain from getting their body pierced in any particular place
It is not a good idea to get piercings in areas of the body with weak blood circulation, such as the hands, lower arms, feet, ankles, and lower legs. Avoiding the regions where the insulin is injected is something else to consider before getting a body piercing. Fatty areas on the back of the arm and the sides of the thighs may be included. Also stay away from the areas that surround the stomach and abdomen.
Patients with diabetes who get skin infections
Some of the skin infections that people with diabetes may get are listed below. If any of the following skin issues appear, stay away from getting pierced and get help right once.
Reactions to allergens: Certain diabetic medications and other therapies may cause allergic reactions. which could result in a hive and skin reaction.
Bullosis diabeticorum: Bullosis Diabeticorum can occur in people who have neuropathies or skin injuries. It’s a skin condition when the skin breaks out in blisters.
Individuals with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus are susceptible to the development of digital sclerosis. This condition is characterized by thickening and tightening of the skin on the back of the hands, which makes joint movement difficult.
Eruptive Xanthomatosis: Tiny pimples that resemble skin tone, pink, yellow, brown, or other colors occur on the body. They appear on the hands, arms, legs, and feet and are 1-2 cm in size. They are irritating.
Disseminated Granuloma Annulare: This skin condition affects the ears, fingers, and toes, causing little red or yellow pimples to appear on different parts of the body.
Read Also: Rava: An Additional Diabetes Superfood?
Precautions to consider on the day of your body piercing
Verify that the person getting your body pierced is an expert in his profession before getting the procedure done. Select a reputable body for body piercings; you can check internet reviews or ask a friend for advice.
Find out if the apparatus has been sanitized. Additionally, check the area to make sure everything is tidy and that the area designated for the process has been sufficiently cleansed. Using sterile and clean needles is essential to preventing infection.
Overbleeding:
Piercing areas of the body with a high concentration of blood vessels would induce profuse bleeding. Do not wait to seek emergency medical assistance if this happens.
Following up and preventing infections
Your desired bodily part has been punctured! You really do feel great, don’t you?
Keeping the piercing area clean is now the most important step. A diabetic should take extra precautions to protect the area around the piercing to prevent infection. Be careful to inquire about aftercare from the piercer. How should the space be thoroughly cleaned? How much time will it take to get better? Call your doctor as soon as possible to let them know that you recently got a body piercing and to find out if it has anything to do with the changes you’ve noticed in your body.
You need to get in touch with someone to clean the piercing area on a regular basis if it’s on your back or anywhere else you can’t see or reach. When you need to take extra care of your wounds, you cannot risk leaving the pierced area dirty or improperly cleaned as a diabetic.
Never hesitate to enlist the help of a friend or family member to help you clean the area as instructed by the piercer. You can always see your doctor or a clinic to get the pierced area cleaned up if no one else is available.
What would happen if you had an infection following your piercing?
A diabetic patient needs to monitor the area that has been punctured closely. You would heal more slowly than someone without diabetes. But you also need to think about how long is too long. Find out from the piercer how long healing is supposed to take, and see your doctor if it takes longer. It’s possible that the wound is infected if it takes a long time to heal.
What are the signs of an infected body piercing?
Should you have any redness, swelling, or burning around the piercing, speak with your doctor. An increase in discomfort and agony, along with a yellow or greenish fluid coming out of the piercing region, are additional signs that the piercing is infected. Delaying obtaining therapy will just exacerbate issues, so don’t do it.
In summary
Although getting a body piercing is a wonderful idea, there are a lot of things to consider when you have diabetes. For instance, how effectively do you regulate your blood sugar levels, where is a good site to get a body piercing, and which body parts are absolute must-avoid? In light of your health, are there any actions you should take? Which infections are most frequently encountered by patients with diabetes? How may an infection from a piercing be prevented?
To give you a sense of what a body piercing would look like for a diabetic, we have addressed all of the aforementioned concerns. Before deciding to get a piercing, you should speak with your healthcare professional to receive specific recommendations.
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