Tongue Piercing

Tongue piercing has a long history and can be connected to the Mayans and the Aztecs who pierced their tongues for pleasing the gods and to perform other religious rituals. Today, tongue piercing holds less or rather zero religious values but is done to please oneself or to impress friends or colleagues. There are other reasons too, like many people think that tongue piercings can arouse their partner and make kissing an erotic experience. This may be true for some but not for all, as it depends on the jewelry used, the person's technique, etc.

The problem today is that many people have an extremely conservative approach towards tongue piercings and believe that one should refrain from doing it. However, if proper care is taken in doing the piercing and then looking after it, there should really be no problem. However, things do go wrong and quite a few people have faced serious problems, but most of these have been due to negligence or lack of knowledge.

Let's take a look at what precautions and care one must take when getting a tongue piercing done:

The golden rule of any piercing is that, one should never do it by themselves or ask an inexperienced friend to do it.
Before you settle on a professional tongue piercer, make sure that there needles are sterilized or new, as you don't want to risk getting infected with HIV.
Don't panic if your tongue swells after the piercing, this is normal. Take some anti- inflammatory medicines that will help relive the swelling and quicken the healing process.
After the piercing take antibacterial medicines to prevent any infections and help fasten the healing process.
It is extremely important to keep using a mouth wash after every meal. Mix the mouth wash with water, as the mouth wash all by itself can slow down the healing process. Most people who get an infection or have a problem with their tongue piercings don't follow this step regularly.

Tongue piercings heal faster than any other body piercing and take 2 to 4 weeks. So, wait for at least 10 to 15 days before you change to a different stem, otherwise chances of your tongue swelling again are very high.
Always wash your hands with a germicidal soap before touching the piercing. You will need to touch it at least once a week to check if it's screwed on tight.
As far as possible, eat cold food products and suck on ice cubes. Also, drink ice cold water, all this helps in reducing the swelling.
Avoid hot and spicy food products, as these can be painful and will also prolong the healing process.
Finally, refrain from oral sex and kissing for a minimum of 10 to 15 days after you get your tongue pierced.
A lot of people, who are unsure about how the piercing will look or what reactions it would draw, can experiment by using invisible tongue piercings. These are not real piercings but just paintings of barbells on the tongue with a nail polish.