Taking Care of Your navel ring piercing

Congratulations! You have a pierced navel ! Now what?

Hopefully you were given a sheet with aftercare instructions (or, at the very least, verbal aftercare instructions) by the piercing artist. If not, the following instructions are fairly common instructions given for new piercings, along with some information specific to belly ring piercing.

You should wash your new navel ring piercing at least once a day, and possibly twice a day in the first week or so after being pierced. You should only use unscented antibacterial soap for washing your new navel ring piercing—the dyes and scents used in other soaps can cause irritation or other problems for a fresh navel ring piercing. Be sure to be gentle with your navel ring piercing while washing it. Particularly in the first days after a new navel ring piercing, there is a very good chance that you will discover dried blood or a white crusty substance on the navel ring or near the holes of your navel ring piercing. The fluid that causes the crusty substance is called sebum, and it is completely normal. You must take care, however, to remove the “crusties” gently, as they can cause the delicate skin at the edges of your navel ring piercing to tear or bleed. Running warm water over the piercing will generally help to loosen the dried sebum.

In addition to regular washing, you should also do sea salt soaks of your new navel ring piercing. Most navel ring piercing artists will provide you with a small bag of sea salt; if not, be sure that you find sea salt—regular table salt is not what you want for these soaks. In order to do the sea salt soaks, find a small cup or glass—shot glasses are the perfect size. The correct proportion for a sea salt soak is ¼ teaspoon salt to 1 cup of hot water. This will create far more water than you need for a single soak, but it is wise to measure out the salt and water in these quantities, as it is difficult to estimate how much you need. Make sure that the water is hot, but not scalding, and then invert the cup or glass over your navel. You may be able to create suction between your skin and the cup or glass, but if not, just hold the bottom of the cup, sit back, and relax while you soak your navel ring piercing. Sea salt soaks should generally last about 10-15 minutes.

While on the subject of caring for your new navel ring piercing, there are some things to avoid as well. You should not clean your navel ring piercing with alcohol, and you should not use antibacterial creams. While both of these things seem like good ways to keep a wound clean, the alcohol will over dry your navel ring piercing, while the antibacterial cream can actually trap bacteria and dirt in and around your navel ring piercing. You should also avoid things like lotion, sunscreen, and perfumes near your belly button while your piercing is healing.

In addition to substances that you should avoid, you also need to try to avoid wearing tight clothing over a new navel ring piercing. Tight clothing can cause your belly ring to “lean” to one side or the other, which can ultimately affect the way in which your navel ring piercing will heal. You should also avoid unnecessary contact with your new piercing and belly ring. As tempting as it may be to fiddle with the belly ring, frequently touching your navel ring piercing or belly ring causes dirt and bacteria to enter the navel ring piercing. You should only handle your belly ring after washing your hands with antibacterial soap, and only when it is necessary for cleaning or changing the belly ring.

Speaking of changing your belly button belly ring, you should wait approximately 6 months before changing to new belly ring. Some people are able to change their belly ring successfully before this period has elapsed, but generally speaking, navel ring piercing take at least 6 months to heal, and the navel ring piercing should not be changed until the piercing is healed. You also should be sure that any belly ring you use in your navel ring piercing is of a high quality material titanium navel jewelry and surgical steel belly ring are the most highly recommended material for navel ring piercing.

Finally, you will want to watch the new navel ring piercing for signs of infection. While the signs of infection can vary somewhat from person to person, some signs include the skin around the navel ring piercing being red and hot to the touch, or yellow or green pus coming from the piercing (clear or white substances are generally sebum, and nothing to worry about). If you believe that your navel ring piercing has become infected, you should not remove the belly ring, as this can cause the infection to be trapped inside the navel ring piercing. See your piercing artist or a medical doctor to confirm that thenavel ring piercing is infected. A doctor will be able to prescribe antibiotics to help fight the infection, and you should be able to keep the navel ring piercing.

Tagged with: •