Before getting your tongue pierced you must know some things about it. Sometimes people get into the thing mere out of excitement but repent later. So, its better to think about it before hand. It would involve having a slight speech impediment, learning to eat differently, and not being able to get certain jobs because of the piercing. Once a person has weighed out all the pros and cons of this the next step is picking a clean place to get it professionally done.
Know the entire process of piercing: Choose a good piercing shop. The needle that has to be used should be absolutely new or thoroughly sterilized. The other equipments should also be sterilized properly.
First what is done is a person must stick out their tongue as far as possible. The person that is piercing the tongue will have these tongs that have a square at the end of them. The piercer will clamp the tongue so you are unable to put it back into your mouth. Next they will mark the spot they want to pierce, usually with a non-toxic black marker. At this point the piercer should have a pair of plastic gloves on and they will unwrap the needle at this time. The needle is pushed through the tongue with the piercer’s hand. When the needle is gone through, the piercer will then slide the barbell inside the tongue. The barbell screws on the bottom. Once the barbell is in place, the needle comes out, and there will be a little blood, but it is mostly an increase in saliva. The clamp will still be on the tongue at this point. They will then screw the bottom ball on gently. Once secured, they will take a pair of piercing pliers to screw it on more tightly. After they bottom ball is screwed on tightly, they will remove the clamp.
How to prevent an infection?
First thing is to use sterilized apparatus. In order to reduce risk of infection, the person should rinse their mouth out with Listerine or another antibacterial mouth wash several times a day. The tongue will swell considerably, but taking Tylenol should help reduce swelling and discomfort. Drinking cold beverages and try cold compress by putting some ice-cubes on the tongue. The swelling should go down in 2 or 3 days, but eating will be difficult for the next 2 to 3 weeks. Avoid eating hard food and take plenty of liquids.
