Add brain abscesses to the list of dangers associated with getting a tongue piercing. The latest Archives of Neurology details the case of a 22-year-old man who died from multiple lesions on his brain two weeks after getting pierced. Doctors say the man's piercing became infected and the condition spread to his brain.
Tongue piercing does not usually result in fatality, but doctors still warn against it because of the associated risks. Some of the more common risks are chipped teeth, receding gums, and oral infections. Rare cases of toxic shock syndrome and blood poisoning have also been reported.
If you decide on a tongue piercing for yourself, get it done from a professional piercer in a hygienic setting and make sure to care for it properly once home. Also, be prepared for a little hunger — when Drew Barrymore got her tongue pierced, she says she could hardly eat or drink anything for two weeks!
Zac Posen
Bloch
Figleaves
this article is out of the norm...i have my tongue pierced and i'm still alive...everyone knows when you first get it, it hurts like hell, why don't you put up the warnings of tattoos and other piercings
1He didn't do what he was told he should be doing. The after care of any piercing is very important. My dentist gave me grief for my tongue piercing, telling me how it absolutely would be trouble, but I take care of it with antibacterial mouth wash and dental hygiene. I have had mine for 11 years now and have had no problems, other than never remembering the size of my barbell when I go to buy a new one.
2are people still piercing their tongues? i thought that was more of a late 90's trend. Drew looks really cute here though!
3A good friend of mine in college got her tongue pierced. It immediately became infected. A huge sore grew on her tongue. The emergency room doctor had to pop it! And obviously remove the piercing. It was a nightmare!
4The only thing with my piercing (done by a pro) is that it gave me slightly stinky breath. It wasn't enough for anyone to call me out with halitosis or anything, but enough for me to notice. I cleaned it well, but had to be extremely diligent. I kept it for like a year and finally took it out because of the additional spaces for bacteria to hang out.
5It wasn't the piercing itself that did it. It was poor hygiene on the the person's part. People often, when they see signs of infection, think taking the jewelry out is the best action. What this does is trap the infection. Leave the jewelry in(which allows for drainage of the infection) and get your butt to a doctor.
If one keeps proper hygiene, this kind of situation is avoidable.
6When I had my tongue pierced, it didn't hurt. I went home and ate pizza. My tongue was healed by the end of the week. I consistently used mouth wash and brushed my teeth after eating. Some people are just more susceptible to problems because their body doesn't heal as fast as others. Not to mention, some people don't maintain proper hygiene as stated above.
7you can get tss from tampons if you're an idiot and don't ever change it or something too
8I peirced mine myself (I know I did it when I was much younger). I did ok with it & still have it. It hurt a little for only 2 days & then it was ok. But when I went for a second it irritated the hell out of me & my throat & everything swelled up.I had to take it out. I thought it was cus of the guy who did it, I did try agian same problem. So I guess I am stuck with one. But I have no problems with it. I keep it clean & such it came out nicely. I do well with all the peircings I've done myself but the ones I had done by a pro. didn't turn out & bothered me to much that I had to take them out. Go figure!
9I had my 2 piercings in my tongue at one point and they never got infected. Any piercing can get infected, it's all about the aftercare but I can't believe someone died from it.
10A lot of it is about aftercare, I'm hopeless at taking care of my piercings, so I never get delicate areas, like the tongue, pierced. I've got my ears done twice and if I don't give them a rinse in the shower they let me know about it.
11I can't kiss people with tongue piercings... I'm afriad to cause them pain if I'll pull it or something
12You're putting a piece of metal through a sensitive part of your body - what isn't going to be risky about that?
I had my lip, nose, ears, navel etc. all pierced when I was younger but I've removed them all now. A few months after I had my lip pierced a guy died on the same piercing table I was pierced because he had a reaction to the METHOD of piercing. In some people it can trigger a cardiac arrest when the needle goes in.
Since then I haven't wanted anymore piercings.
Obviously the correct aftercare is important. I read about the possibility of "facial" piercing infections spreading to the brain (I had no idea) shortly after being pierced and so I took good care of my piercing. You can tell when something is wrong though and that's when you can get antibiotics and sprays to help reduce infection.
It's sad that somebody died from this but with correct aftercare it could have been avoided.
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