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It is quite a necessity to clean a new piercing1 to prevent infection. Belly button piercings are no different. They may require a little extra care since they are in a sensitive area. It is quite tough to know how to clean belly button piercing, but the good news is we have got you covered. This article is going to deal with How To Clean Belly Button Piercing?
This article is going to focus on how to clean belly button piercing and how you can take care of it. Apart from these topics, our primary focus would be on how to regularly clean belly button piercing and what supplies you might need.
1. Symptoms Of Infection
Be it before infection or after it, taking care of your belly button piercing 2after getting pierced is an extremely important thing to focus on. Though, often, people might get an infection in the navel area. Before getting started with how to clean a belly button piercing, let’s look at a few common symptoms of an infected belly button piercing.
The symptoms are often red rashes and swollen areas, foul-smelling yellowish or greenish discharge, pain, fever, dizziness, and upset stomach. However, your belly button getting swollen after the piercing is quite common, but if you face the symptoms for a prolonged period, then it is highly suggested to not ignore it at all.
If the symptoms persist and make sure to go see your piercer as well as a doctor and get their insights on the same. Make sure to follow their wording regularly till your infection heals completely.
2. How To Clean Belly Button Piercing
2.1. Steps To Clean
The first few weeks of getting a belly button piercing are the most crucial phase. In the given period, you should ensure that you take care of your navel piercing, the belly ring, and the affected area. To avoid infection inside, we have added 12 crucial steps you must take care of and follow.
2.1.1. Use A Cotton Swab And Saline Solution To Clean
The best time to clean your belly button piercing would be when you take a bath. During the same time, or at least once a day, clean your belly button area with a paper towel and a cotton swab soaked with saline solution.
Make sure to wash your hands completely before the process. Preparing a proper saline solution is necessary, so to answer how to clean belly button piercing, go through the following points.
1. Take approximately 1/8 teaspoon of salt.
2. Add the salt to 1 cup of warm, clean, and distilled water.
3. Confront your piercer about which soap to use and if they suggest going ahead with soap, then clean your belly button and make sure that it is cleaned properly, and the soap isn’t left behind.
4. After cleaning your belly button, use a disposable paper product to completely dry it and a paper towel, or a clean cotton swap along with the saline solution and dab it gently on your navel area.
2.1.2. Use Antibacterial Soap To Take Care Of Your Piercing
Antibacterial soaps and creams can easily answer your doubt about how to clean belly button piercing. But before going for the same, talk to your piercer and if they suggest you clean your piercing using a mild soap, then you can always go ahead with Antibacterial soaps. Use the soap to wash the area and dry it using a soft towel, at least twice a day.
After you are done with cleaning and drying, you may go ahead with antibacterial cream, but make sure to consult your doctor before the usage. If after application of the antibacterial soap and the antibacterial cream, you are still feeling the pain and sting, make sure to tell your doctor immediately.
2.1.3. Using Warm Water To Clean The Piercing Site
The next perfect insight on how to clean belly button piercing is using boiled water and taking a paper towel or a soft cloth towel and soaking it in warm water. Use the same to dab onto the affected area of your sensitive skin.
During the healing process, try using a warm compress, for approx. 3-4 times a day. After using the warm compress, you can apply a thin layer of antiseptic cream to soothe your skin. This would help in killing the microbes that might affect the area and help in avoiding bacterial infection.
2.1.4. Avoid Tight Clothing
You must allow your skin to breathe. After going for body piercings, the healing process might take time. In the duration, make sure you are not wearing too fitted or tight-fitting clothes, since, they won’t allow your skin to breathe. Instead, it might lead to an infected piercing area.
Throughout the healing process, make sure to wear loose clothing to help your skin relieve. Since, after using metal-based body jewelry, infections, and stings are quite common, loose clothes won’t drag over your skin, causing rashes or further pain.
2.1.5. Avoid The Use Of Rubbing Alcohol And Hydrogen Peroxide
The next answer on how to clean belly button piercing is to never use a few chemicals. Common chemicals used regularly like rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide are a big NO! Whatever you do, do not prefer these chemicals to clean your body piercing and or your belly button ring.
These chemicals not only will irritate your sensitive skin but would also act as a barrier in your healing process. Instead, go for chemicals or ointments after talking to your doctor which might cool your skin down.
2.1.6. Prefer Professional Piercers
Before getting your belly button pierced, make sure to do proper research on professional piercers and then go for a new piercing. During the piercing process, the piercers use a sterile hollow needle for the same.
The initial piercings can be a bit painful, but the needles used by certified piercers make the healing process easier for you and is a great tool to avoid infection. Usually, professional piercers use an autoclave to kill infection-causing microbes. An autoclave sterilizes the tools that are supposed to use regularly.
It is quite common to follow recommendations since words spread fast but beware and do proper research before making an appointment with the piercer. Make sure that the one you are selecting has recognition, takes care of the sanitization, and doesn’t use a reusable gun to pierce your skin. Reusable guns must be avoided at any cost since they can transmit body fluids to different customers.
Take a look at the equipment your piercer is going to use, and make sure that they are sealed and sterilized. One thing that is extremely important in the process is to know that you are not sharing someone else’s needle. Sharing a needle increases the risk of acquiring bloodborne diseases 3and infection.
2.1.7. Lavender Oil Is A Thumbs-up
To heal your navel piercings, soothe your skin, and avoid irritation, you can try applying lavender oil using a q tip. The thing with lavender oil is that even though it isn’t an antibacterial cream, but still, it helps nourish the skin and softens it.
Lavender oil can be used when your skin seems swollen and to avoid and cure inflammation. However, if other symptoms persist, it is highly advisable to take an opinion of a doctor.
How exactly is lavender oil a beneficial answer for how to clean belly button piercings? Well, lavender oil is an important insight on how to clean belly button piercing.
Lavender oil can be considered a lubricating product that lubricates the piercing and the navel skin. It reduces scar tissue and prevents tightening of the skin. This way, it reduces irritation, pain, and redness. Use lavender oil dropwise in its diluted form. Dab it on your skin and each side of the piercing and move your piercing back and forth.
2.1.8. Avoid Swimming And Hot Tubs
Apart from the question, of how to clean a belly button piercing, you must be wondering how to take care of it. One thing you must seriously avoid at any cost is exposing the navel piercing to various salts, like iodized salt, Epsom salts, and Kosher salt. In swimming pools, these salts are dissolved for purity purposes in some cases. However, for personal reasons, they can damage your skin if it is newly pierced.
Also, it is highly advisable that till the piercing heals, you should avoid hot tubs as much as you can.
2.1.9. To Avoid Infection, Make Sure Not To Take Your Ring Off
If your belly button is already infected, then do not take the ring out on your own. Instead, talk to professionals about it. Most piercings need not be removed to treat infection and don’t move it too much. You should make sure to keep your belly button open instead of closing it.
If you allow the pierced hole to open, then the pus can drain but when it gets closed, it ends up trapping infection and the pus inside your body, which might prove to be even scarier and lead to more irritation and internal infection.
2.1.10. Maintain A Hygienic Self-Care Routine
In the next point to answer how to clean belly button piercing, we would suggest you try avoiding the sun since being in Sun can lead to sunburns and hence redness and irritation. If you exercise or go to the gym or do any workout, then make sure to protect the piercing4. Even if you are exercising it is highly advisable to not wear skin–fitting clothes. To avoid irritation, and contact with sweat, use a protective bandage while exercising.
One thing that we have taught from the very beginning, is maintaining a hygienic self-care routine5. Taking care of the body will let the body take care of you. So, confirm that you are taking a bath regularly, cleaning the pierced area gently, cleaning your hands before touching it, and nourishing it.
2.1.11. Avoid Smoking At All Costs
Next point in how to treat belly button piercing, we would suggest you stop smoking and the consumption of alcoholic beverages6. Smoking slows down the healing process and at the same time, harms your immune system and blood circulation. This can decrease your healing speed and can add up to months for the piercing to heal.
Before going for a navel piercing/belly button piercing, it is advisable to not consume any alcoholic drink.
2.1.12. Consuming Vitamins
Research and studies have proved that the consumption of Vitamins, like Vitamin C and Zinc, can speed up your healing process. Speak to a doctor or your piercer since it is suggested to take about two to three thousand mg of Vitamin C and about a hundred mg of Zinc on a regular basis. One thing to focus on is that these weights are not in the multivitamins, so before taking and going ahead with any medications, make sure to get an affirmation from a health specialist.
Note: Medical treatment and professional advice
Professionals and specialists are called professionals for a reason. Instead of relying on every piece of advice, you see everywhere, it is highly recommended to seek professional advice. If the symptoms persist and if your skin still feels irritated and hot even after weeks of getting the piercing, do not ignore it at any cost.
Talk to your doctor about your skin, how sensitive it is and what you should do further, and how to clean belly button piercing.
3. Conclusion
With these 12 points on how to clean belly button piercing and how to take care of it and the infection, we come to the end of our article. Just remember, that cleaning your belly button piercing is important to prevent infection and promote healing. Follow these simple steps and you’ll be on your way to a healthy, healed piercing in no time.
Remember, the more you take care of your body, the more it will take care of you. Also, every skin is different, some might be too sensitive, so don’t force your skin and act wisely with it. Hope this article was able to answer how to clean belly button piercing and at the same time how to take care of it.
FAQ
Q: How often should I clean my belly button piercing?
A: It is recommended to clean your belly button piercing twice a day for the first few weeks after getting it pierced. After that, you can reduce the frequency to once a day until the piercing is fully healed.
Q: How can I tell if my belly button piercing is infected?
A: Signs of infection in a belly button piercing may include:
- Increased pain, redness, or swelling around the piercing.
- A warm or hot sensation in the area.
- Discharge that is thick, yellow, green, or foul-smelling.
- The presence of a fever. If you suspect an infection, it is important to seek professional medical advice for proper diagnosis and treatment.
Q: How long should I wait before changing my belly button piercing jewelry?
A: It is recommended to wait until your belly button piercing is fully healed before changing the jewelry. This typically takes 6 months to 1 year. Changing the jewelry too early can disrupt the healing process and increase the risk of complications. If you’re unsure, consult your piercer for guidance.
Read more
- Koenig, Laura M., and Molly Carnes. “Body piercing: Medical concerns with cutting‐edge fashion.” Journal of General Internal Medicine 14.6 (1999): 379-385. ↩︎
- Bone, Angie, et al. “Body piercing in England: a survey of piercing at sites other than earlobe.” Bmj 336.7658 (2008): 1426-1428. ↩︎
- Beltrami, Elise M., et al. “Risk and management of blood-borne infections in health care workers.” Clinical microbiology reviews 13.3 (2000): 385-407. ↩︎
- Roberts, Timothy A., Peggy Auinger, and Sheryl A. Ryan. “Body piercing and high-risk behavior in adolescents.” Journal of Adolescent Health 34.3 (2004): 224-229. ↩︎
- World Health Organization. “Self care for health.” (2014). ↩︎
- Suliga, Edyta, et al. “Consumption of alcoholic beverages and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components.” Nutrients 11.11 (2019): 2764. ↩︎
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