Follow these tips and your navel will heal quickly!

Proper belly button piercing aftercare is needed to heal your “brand new” navel piercing. The faster your new piercing heals, the sooner you can try new belly rings!

There are three stages in the healing process:

Stage One: The Inflammatory Stage. Your new piercing is an open wound. Bleeding, swelling and tenderness are all expected.

Stage Two: The Growth phase. This can last several months when you get a Belly Piercing. In this phase, your body reacts to heal the wound. ‘Crusties’ are common to this phase. Crusties are formed when some discharge from your new piercing dries and forms a crust on your jewelry. Never pick at crusties with dirty fingernails. During phase two, your body seals the channel of the piercing. Your piercing is considered healed at the end of this phase but may still be quite tender and will still need care.

Stage Three: The Maturation Phase. The channel of the piercing matures and becomes scar tissue. You may find that your piercing moves from stage two to three and back again many times before it heals fully. If a piercing is mistreated it can regress very quickly and you may find yourself back at square one.

As discussed, crusties, formed by a clear discharge from your piercing, are common. But do not confuse this clear discharge with pus, which is a thick, colored(yellowish-white) and foul-smelling substance. Pus is often indicative of infection.

One other normal piercing secretion is called sebum. This is often mistaken for pus but is recognizable by the fact that it is more solid, or cheese-like. It too, is foul-smelling. It is naturally produced by the body and is not a sign of infection.

BASIC PIERCING AFTERCARE

There are many things to consider with a new piercing. You must be committed to your piercing and follow the instructions given to the best of your ability.

1. Hygiene
2. Good health
3. Avoid trauma
4. Soaking in saline
5. Cleaning your piercing

HYGIENE

• wash your hands before touching jewelry
• change bedding and towels at least once a week
• don’t sleep with your pets
• avoid exchange of body fluids in the affected area
• use disposable paper products to dry piercings
• your own sweat won’t affect the piercing as long as you clean it correctly

GOOD HEALTH

• get plenty of rest
• eat a healthy, balanced diet
• drink lots of water
• avoid emotional stress where possible
• avoid excessive alcohol or caffeine
• don’t use recreational drugs
• don’t smoke – smoking causes narrowing of the blood vessels, which inhibits oxygen circulation in the blood, and lengthens healing times considerably.

AVOID TRAUMA

• do not play with your new piercing
• do not change the piercing too quickly or unnecessarily
• handle your piercing very lightly when cleaning
• try to wear clothes and underwear that will reduce or minimize friction
• take care of your piercing during physical activity such as exercise.
• Do not expose your piercing to hot tubs, pools, oceans or lakes – they are a breeding ground for infection. A Nexcare Waterproof Bandage or Tegaderm Tranparent Dressing can be used to protect the piercing.

SOAKING IN SALINE

Apply salt solution on your fresh navel piercing every day. Just soak some cotton wool with saline solution and place over your navel for 5 to 10 minutes once or twice a day. If there’s some crusting on the belly ring, remove it gently.

You can make saline solution at home – dilute about 1/4  teaspoon of non iodized sea salt to 1 cup of clean, warm water and apply on your piercing twice a day. Or you can buy a saline solution at a drugstore or on the Net.

Don’t forget to soak your piercing with saline solution after your piercing seems to be well healed and there’s no puss coming out and crusting doesn’t form.

CLEANING YOUR PIERCING

• Do not use alcohol, bactine or hydrogen peroxide to clean the piercing under any circumstances. Stick to the following, proven, inexpensive methods and you will be fine.
• Use a mild, antibacterial soap to clean the piercing once or twice a day, preferably in the shower. Clean your hands and the rest of your body before cleaning your piercing. This will also loosen any crusties or other dirt around the piercing. Use cotton swabs or gauze pads to remove any stubborn matter – try to avoid using fingernails.

Belly ring materials that improve aftercare

Your piercing will secrete fluids for some time and they will crust on your belly ring. You’ll clean it with belly button piercing aftercare sticks or saline solution, of course. But it may become infected anyway and you should choose a belly button ring that can reduce the likelihood of infection. Bioplast is a material proven to possess such qualities and you can get bioplast navel ring in great colors and styles. Gold, Titanium and Stainless Steel are also popular choices for first-time piercings.

Another option for the first time belly button ring is PTFE material. This material has a non-stick surface, in other words, body fluids don’t stick to it, thus improving the quality of belly button piercing aftercare.

PTFE is a white material and doesn’t come in colors, unlikely flexible plastic that cannot be used for initial piercings. Some sellers mistakenly sell flexible plastic as PTFE, so watch out – real PTFE doesn’t come in colors! PTFE material is used for piercings for pregnant women because of its flexibility and you can buy the shaft separately and choose the endings that you like.

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Belly Button Piercing

Belly button piercing is a surface piercing and tends to take longer to heal than other types of piercing. The approximate time can range from four to six months or even a year for some people!

The most important thing during this time is to follow the aftercare instructions strictly so that you can show off your belly button piercing with pride and enjoy it for years to come!

There is a common tendency among people to try and change the first belly button piercing jewelry too quickly, but this is not a good idea as there is the risk of interfering with the belly button piercing healing process and infecting the piercing!

Belly button piercing healing can take time, mainly due to its location. Each time you change your clothes might graze against the piercing, irritating it. How soon you heal depends on your health, body constitution, the kind of clothes you wear, the kind of work that you do, the kind of food you eat, etc. Last, but not least, it also depends on how well you take care of the piercing.

Since the navel is basically a scar that tends to collect dirt, it must be cleaned regularly. So you can well imagine how important it is to follow the cleaning instructions given by your piercer. The piercing must be kept dry and clean to prevent fungus and infection. Don’t worry if you see a little redness and some crust around the piercing. This is just dead cells. You may also see some whitish fluid discharge and this too is okay. This dries up in max six to eight weeks. But, if you do notice it becoming yellowish and painful, then contact the piercer right away!

If you really must change the belly ring, wait for at least two months before you do so. The safest materials to go in for are surgical steel, titanium or the Bioplast belly ring since these are very body-friendly. You also get them in a variety of interesting designs. Bioplast belly rings are considered as safest because they would not be rejected by the new piercing. These rings are flexible, minimize swellings and do not cause infections. Flexibility is important because it allows you more comfortable movements as compared to metal body jewelry. And these are available in a range of attractive colors and designs!

When you get a belly button piercing, it is essential that you look after it properly to prevent it from becoming infected. This is especially the case just after you have had it done. Ideally the person who performed the piercing should already have advised you on how to look after your piercing now that it has been done. However, if not then here you will find out some of the best tips to help you.

The Best Belly Button Piercing Aftercare Tips

The last thing you need after you have had your belly button pierced is to develop an infection. It is extremely unpleasant and it can be really painful too. To avoid this you should follow these tips:

•    Use mild antibacterial soap each day
•    Use a salt solution on the piercing daily
•    Keep the belly ring clean

If you follow the above belly button piercing aftercare tips then your piercing will heal properly and you will avoid infection.

By using a mild antibacterial soap on your piercing every day, it will gently cleanse the area and keep it protected from infections. For best results apply a little of the soap whilst you are in the shower. Leave it for a while and then wash it off. If you do this each day it will really help.

Using a salt solution may sound a little uncomfortable but it can really help you to keep the area clean. It is so simple to create your own solution by mixing a gallon of boiled water to 4 teaspoons of non iodized sea salt. Just soak a little cotton wool in the solution and then hold it over your piercing for a few minutes each day. Again this will keep it free from any infection.

Finally soaking your belly ring in a saline solution once the piercing has healed is a good way to keep the piercing clean. However you should not do this until you are sure that the piercing is actually healed as otherwise it could damage the skin.

Overall keeping your piercing clean and giving it time to heal is essential if you want to enjoy the piercing. If you were to develop an infection then you would have gone through the piercing for nothing and you would suffer quite badly from it too.