cartilage piercing!

[Tasha43x]

hey guys,

i'm 16 and i want to get my cartilage pierced, i have type one diabetes, is there any reason why i shouldn't be allowed to get it done!?

 

[Ellie Jones]

I'm assuming that it's ears we talking about and not nose!

You will need to ensure that who does it, is quailified, registered with the counicl and have the proper health and hygiene certs etc...

Due to your diabetes you are at a higher risk of infection, so whilst it's heeling you will have to be very careful ensuring that you are following a cleaning schedule to prevent infection...

By the way having your ear cartridge is very painful a lot more than having your ear lobs pierced!

But do let the person who's going to do the piercing know that you are T1 diabetic, and if there are any problems surrounding it they should be aware of them..

 

[Liz!]

Any piercing higher than the nose is a lot more dangerous than an ordinary piercing as the lymph in that area drains into an area which can infect the meninges which means if it gets infected then you are at risk of meningitis. My Dr friend told me and my two children this as she thinks it is a dangerous thing to have done for any person... for a diabetic where the risk of infection is higher I think you would want to think very carefully before going ahead.

My daughter's ordinary ear piercing became infected (she does not have diabetes) and it was excruciatingly painful, she couldn't keep the earring in and now she still has unpierced ears at the age of 23!

 

[Akasha]

I had my lip pierced when i was 16. The place a went to asked me to produce a note from my doctor confirming that my diabetes was under control and ran through all the risks before she would do it.
She did also confirm that so long as the diabetic looks after the piercing correctly, they are no more likely to get infected then a none diabetic.

Also, take someone with you. It may cause hypo.

 

[Caroline]

I had my ears pierced long before being diabetic. I still keep in a small bottle of sssurgical spirit to clean my ears at the first sign of anything not nice.

providing everything is clean and all the proper certificates are in place and the diabetes is under control, there should be no problems, but do ensure everything is kept clean to make sure no infections get in.

 

[Liz!]

The problem also with cartilage piercing is that it is often under hair which holds bacteria. Even if you keep it extremely clean it can be immediately bathed in bacteria from your hair. This is what happened to my very long voluminously haired daughter!

You must make sure if you go ahead that any hair is kept up out of the way and you change your pillow case every night.

 

[Flutterby]

My sister had this done and didn't find it any more painful than ear lobes. She's not diabetic though so not at risk as we are. I've had lots of problems with infections just from normal ear piercing but that's not to say you will. When I had my ears done at a well known jewellers there was a form I had to sign to cover them. It asked about diabetes and I told the lady that yes, I am type one. she said "oh just sign to say you're not" Very naughty, but I wanted it done so signed on the dotted line! I suppose they were covered and I was happy............not really right though!

 

[Cate]

I have my ears and my nose pierced - and do you know, it never even occurred to me that it might cause problems! I was certainly not asked whether I was diabetic before getting it done, either. Ears were done at 14 in a local hairdressers, nose was done at uni so about 21 I think in a specialist piercing place in Birmingham Bull Ring.

So long as you keep your sugars under control I'd think you'd not be at any additional risk, anyway. Good luck!