As long as you faithfully adhere to the aftercare of your piercing, the risk of infection is minimal. 

Most problems occur because of:

- oral contact, or handling with dirty hands
- using a cleaning agent which is incompatible with your body
- over cleaning your piercing, under cleaning your piercing, or not cleaning your piercing properly
- wearing jewelry to which you are allergic or which is not appropriate in material, size, or design for your particular piercing and body.

Crusting during the healing process is very normal. Some signs of an infection are swelling, excessive redness, and/or discharge of a greenish/brownish pus. Itching, a rash, and enlargement of the piercing usually indicates an allergic reaction to either the cleaning agent or the material which the jewelry is made of. If any of these symptoms occur during or after the healing period, please feel free to contact your piercer within 24 hours. Removing the jewelry will not necessarily eliminate the problems and may in fact make matters worse. Always to make sure to clear up an infection before removing the jewelry or closing a piercing.

Always clean your piercing twice a day: when you wake up and before you go to bed.

Regular External Piercings

What you need to care for your piercing:

- ice
- saline solution
- liquid dial antibacterial soap (original)

Always wash your hands before touching or cleaning your piercing. Using a cotton swab saturated with the saline solution, remove any dried matter form piercing and jewelry. Never pick, scrap, or pull off dried matter. If it’s not easily removed with the saline solution and cotton swab, you may get a fresh wash cloth soaked in warm water and place in on the piercing for a few minutes and this will release any dried matter. Proceed to clean it with the cotton swab and saline. Next apply liquid dial soap to the piercing and rotate the jewelry several times. Then rinse completely, making sure not to leave any soap or residue behind.

Avoid using iodine, betadine, alcohol, or hydrogen peroxide to clean your piercing. These things tend to be too harsh and may dry out and destroy all of the newly formed cells your body is producing to heal the
piercing and can slow, as well as reverse, the healing process. Also avoid using any types of ointments, lotions, these things will simply clog the piercing and prevent proper healing.

Oral Piercings

1. Follow the above care instructions for the outside, dry area of the piercing.

2. For the part that is inside your mouth:
Rinse with Listerine throughout the day for 30-60 seconds after eating, smoking or drinking anything other than water. If the Listerine is too strong for you, you may dilute it with approximately 30% water. For the
first 48 hours to two weeks, you may experience some swelling. Try to reduce the intake of hot foods/beverages, hot/spicy foods, sugary foods/beverages, alcohol, tobacco, and anything which may be irritating to your mouth during the healing period. Gently sucking on ice will help to reduce swelling. Avoid drinking beverages through a straw. Avoid any kind of oral contact with another person until the piercing is completely healed. On a regular basis, check to make sure the stud balls have not worked loose.  Click here for a PDF (printer friendly) copy of Piercing Aftercare.