I’m considering getting my tongue pierced, and wanted to ask the the advice of the teeming millions. I haven’t made a definite decision yet to do this, it’s just an idea I’m playing around with.
First off, how much does it hurt? I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but this is a new one for me, I have no idea. Do they freeze your tongue first? It must bleed like MAD!
The swelling. A girl I talked to said she could n’t talk or eat for 2 days, and had a hell of a time even getting liquids down. That’s not cool.
The aftercare. The human mouth is, well, a dirty place. Having an infected tongue would definitely be a nasty thing to go through. And is there a detrimental effect on your teeth or gums?
I also heard that there is no drinking alcohol/smoking/kissing/oral sex for at least 2 weeks after. The last two…all I can say is “I wish” (but that’s another post entirely). Not drinking is no problem, but I do smoke. This may just be the occasion for me to quit though, who knows.
Any advice or personal stories of your piercings would be greatly appreciated.
Aside of a quick prick its not bad at all. They don’t freeze anything, just tell you to take a deep breath and punch it through.
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It does swell slightly, so you kind of lisp a bit. You mostly talk strange because you have to get used to it. Be prepared to eat soup and ice cream (which is good for keeping down the swelling), for a few days. Dont stress, you will still be able to function in society for those few days.
Aftercare is easy as pie, Listerine a few times a day, and use some shit called Glioxy or something. It foams when you put it in your mouth, probably from all the germs its nuking. As far as detrimental effects, I’ve had mine about 6 years and have not had any problems.**
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I did pretty much all of the above, in fact I was smoking a cigarette after I walked out of the shop. The piercing guy said if I have to smoke, then rinse with Listerine, immediately after each smoke. As far as I know drinking is fine, however I would abstain from oral sex, or kissing for about a week.
I love my piercing, and play with it constantly, you should go for it, you’ll be glad you did.
I don’t have first hand knowledge, but I was privy to a conversation between a piercer and the teenager whose tongue she was refusing to pierce.
The girl had come in with her mother (necessary for anyone underage) who was willing to give her permission. The piercer, however, said that, while she was perfectly willing to pierce any other legal place on her, she would not do her tongue. Her reasoning was that the risks were much higher than for other piercings and she, personally, did not feel that it should be done on anyone underage.
The infection risk is significant, but her most compelling reason was that tongue piercings can be hell on your teeth. It is not uncommon to see chipped enamel or even cracked molars. So her theory was that you shouldn’t pierce your tongue until you are responsible for your own dental bills. I guess if you have to pay for your dental work, you are more likely to be careful with your teeth.
I’ve given my daughter permission to have her eyebrow done soon, but I won’t let her do her tongue. We’ve spent enough on orthodontia (with more to spend still) that I really don’t want her to wreck her teeth. If she makes the decision to go ahead and do it as an adult, it will be with an adult’s point of view and assessment of risk, and that will be fine with me.
(On preview, I must point out to World Eater that, according to this piercer, it was all that playing with it that people do that caused the worn/chipped enamel.)
I’ll second pretty much everything everyone else has said except for a few other pointers. When my SO got his tongue pierced, the recommendation was for no kissing/oral sex for 6 weeks…which sorta sucked, but it wasn’t too bad. His piercing experience went well - he was eating tortilla chips the next day actually. He has chipped 2 teeth in the last 2 years, though. Mostly that’s because he’s an idiot about playing with the piercing. He tried to use a plastic ball and stud (I’d recommend that once everything’s healed) but he chewed through it. Oh, and switch the big long bar they give you for a smaller one as soon as you can after the swelling has gone down. If you’re smart about it you can avoid most tooth damage. Good luck.
One more thing. If you get your tongue done, you will never be able to give anyone a raspberry ever (at least my bf can’t - anybody else?). All that comes out is a pathetic little spitting noise.
My wife had her tongue pierced years ago (it’s still there).
The piercing didn’t hurt her at all. By comparison, though, having her belly button pierced hurt so much that it made her pass out. Her explanation–the massive ring-clamp they put around the tongue piercing site distracts you/deadens the pain/etc.
She had no serious swelling. BUT… her friend had it done a few years later, and had so much swelling and pain etc. that he couldn’t eat for quite a while and had to take it out and give up on the idea. In other words, YMMV.
Listerine. Often. That’s about it. If you’re drinking, stick to shots.
I got my tongue pierced (illegally because I was seventeen) when I went to college. I LOVED IT!!! I smoked then, and simply rinsed my mouth with listerine after each smoke.
“use the yucky yellow listerine,” said my my piercer, “the mint stuff doesn’t work as well.”
DO NOT OVER RINSE YOUR MOUTH. THe mouth is a dirty place as you said, but some of the bacteria in there do good things, like heal, and you don’t want to kill it all off.
I thought it felt good (ya I’m a bit sadistic) but my roommate told my my face turned white as a ghost. It didn’t swell immediately, but when it did it remained REALLY swollen for a couple days. All the swelling had gone down completely within 10 days.
I could give rasberries
My bf now still has his (my dad made me take mine out :It’s me or the tongue ring!" he demanded) and it makes awful sounds scraping against his teeth when he eats and drinks. I can’t imagine it is good for the enamel.
Do you have any specific concerns or worries? This is all I can think of now. I wish I still had mine. . . .
I don’t like being an alarmist, but there was a report in the news sometime last year about a woman who had her tongue pierced, and the infection spread to her brain. Somehow the tongue is connected to your brain (I’m not a doctor).
Yes, your brain can get infected by a tongue piercing. Your brain can also be infected by, among other things:
ear piercings
any facial piercings
infections in the mouth and gums, including gingivitis
sticking a Q-Tip too far into your ear canal (you were right, World Eater)
sinusitis
any injury to one’s face or nose
ANY infection can eventually infect your brain, even if it begins in your toe. It’s just easier for infections in the head region to reach the brain because they literally have less distance to travel.
I also pierced my tongue several years ago; I removed the stud about 2 years after getting it because I badly chipped a tooth. (I grind my teeth while asleep.)
What everyone else has said is correct. The day you get it done, you might want to spend a few hours sucking crushed ice- it’ll help with the swelling, which could be considerable- the tongue is a muscle and will swell when injured. Prepare for more saliva than usual at first, and change to a smaller stud in a few weeks- the really long one they give you at first is a pain in the ass.
The pain is negligible- it was actually the least painful piercing I’ve ever gotten. (Nostril hurt worse.)
When going for the piercing, please be careful. Make sure the instruments used are sterile and the piercer knowledgeable and experienced, and is wearing fresh surgical gloves. Look for him/her to take a fresh surgical needle out of its sealed plastic, and make sure they use an autoclave or other equipment to clean other instruments. If you don’t see any of this stuff, or the place just looks dirty, walk away. There are plenty of clean, reputable, and responsible establishments. You don’t need to take a chance with some crackhead piercer and end up with HepC or worse. Good luck.
Had a tongue piercing for several years now. Don’t have much to add here, but i was told to NEVER EVER use Listerine on a piercing. It contains alcohol, which is drying and irritation to tissue that is trying to heal. The studio that pierced me recommended several other products to rinse with, and I was able to find them at Target with no problem. Also, if the studio that does the piercing does not talk to you beforehand about aftercare, reactions, problems, etc, LEAVE. Any good piercer will make sure their piercee has a very clear understanding of what is involved in the procedure, before they do the piercing.
Check out these tips for aftercare - I followed them and didn’t have any problems at all. Piercology - Columbus, OH
Check out BMEzine.com, they have a ton of information. Water down the Listerine to a 50/50 solution, Jay-C is right, at full strength, used multiple times throughout the day, the alchohol can kill the good baceria in your mouth and can lead to thrush, which is an infection in and of itself. I’ve had mine a mere 2 months, but I love it. I just got the shorter bar, and it’s a huge improvement. The little bit of a lisp I had with the long bar is gone, and I never accidently bite it, as I did with the long bar.
As far as the sex and kissing goes, I was told that kissing is off limits for a week, at which time you have to Listerine afterwards. Oral sex is off limits for a month both because of the possible risk of infection, and because of risk of tearing with any rough contact. But my piercer told me that as long as you’re concious of your pain tolerance, and let that be your guide, you should be fine.
As far as looking for a piercer, ask a lot of questions, make sure you see their autoclave, and don’t worry about sounding dumb. And if you don’t feel comfortable with them, walk away. There are a couple of large arteries on the bottom of your tounge, and I’ve heard horror stories about “bleeders.” Basically, if the piercer doesn’t have enough sense to avoid the arteries, you need to get the thing cauterized at the hospital. It’s increadibly low risk, but it’s just another reason to make sure you’re going to a studio that stands behind their work and has experianced piercers. You should feel comfortable calling them at any time before or after your piercing with questions or concerns. Good studios should look like a doctor’s office gone Ozzy. Sterile and professional, yet experianced with all kinds of piercing.
As far as advice…bring your own cup of ice with you to the studio, and as soon as the piercer says it’s OK, start icing your tounge. Proceed to ice it as much as you can for the next 48 hours, and the swelling period should be really reduced.
I had my tongue pierced many moons ago. It was not very painful when I got the piercing done. When I woke up the next morning, my tongue was sore and swollen but no big deal. I went to work (waiter at the time) and found that the special for the day was some type of fish with a “fresh fruit salsa”. Try saying that with a lisp!
Anyway, while preparing for the lunch rush I happened past a mirror and decided to take a look at my new piercing. Top ball, check. Bottom ball, ch… huh? Where’d the bottom ball go!!!
I was pretty sure I hadn’t swallowed it but where else could it go? After tugging on the top part of the bar I quickly discovered the answer. It was in my tongue!!! I went back to the piercing place and showed the piercer and she said she had to get it back out and took out what appeared to be pliers. YOW!!! having the whole ball yanked through the bottom of my tongue hurt a bit more than the original piercing did let me tell you!
I had to let it heal back up before I got it re-pierced. I doubt it will happen to you but you asked for personal stories so you got one
The first time I had it done, it was closer to the tip of my tounge than I wanted, and I had a little trouble learning to talk around it.
I left in for about a year, and took it out once when I was sick and never put it back in.
I had a very bad cold, and my mouth would dry out while I was sleeping. It annoyed me, and I took it out in a snit.
I had it re-done about two years ago, and I love it this time. It’s far enough back that it isn’t obvious when I talk, and most people don’t know I have it unless I show them.
The piercing itself didn’t hurt me at all. The next two or three days my tongue felt like I had a bad pizzaburn. The roof of my mouth was a little sore from the ball pressing into it with each swallow. I had it done on the Friday night before a three-day weekend, and by Tuesday morning, I sounded like I was talking with a candy in my mouth. By the end of that week, I sounded normal.
Stock up on ice cream, pudding and macaroni and cheese. Once you can change the barbell, think about getting non-metal balls. I haven’t chipped any teeth, even though I managed to bite though a plastic ball. I’d rather replace a ball than a tooth.
Keep it clean, let it heal, and you’ll be just fine. Oh, and always carry a spare ball or two.
As a sidenote, I’ve known more than one person who went to have it done and the piercer refused them because of the veinage in their tongue. Before you really get your heart set on it, maybe you should go see a piercer (or two) to make sure you can have it done. That would also be a good way to scope out the place and see how clean it is and how knowledgeable the people are as well.
When I had mine done I didn’t even feel them do it,( i didn’t like them pulling my tongue out of my head with the forcepts but it didn’t hurt just freaked me out) mild swelling the next few days but nothing major, the worst part was the spots on the roof of my mouth and under my tongue where the balls sit. After about a week it too was all better, now eating was another story, it took me a month to figure out how to eat a sandwitch, to many differant things to contend with at once (bread meat cheese whatever)
The only draw back i have found (other than trying to hide it from my grandma…I’m 34 but she’s my gram and it would “hurt” her so…anyhow) My draw back is PLACK…i get a build up of plack on my bottom ball and it bugs the crap out of me, I have to take it out at least once a week to remove the plack, but the up side of the plack problem is my dentest thinks I have less tater build up since I got it…who knew…endorsed by a dentest lol
Oh ya when you take it out your tongue feels like its going to float away.
