Daily Egyptian Reporter 21

Carrie Jizmagian realizes the importance of proper hygiene when it comes to keeping her tongue ring clean because ignorance can lead to health problems.

Jizmagian, a freshman in psychology from Springfield, cleans her barbell, a ring in her tongue, once a month.

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Sometimes you can’t tell if it needs cleaning or not until you take it (barbell) out and soak it in peroxide, she said. And then you’ll find out that it really needed cleaning.

SIUC’s dental hygienists are interviewing people about effects they have had from tongue piercing. Some piercings can lead to bacterial infections, dental hygienist Mary Aubertin said.

The Dental Hygiene Clinic is interested in people who have had their tongues pierced or are planning to in the future.

Aubertin, one of the three doctors conducting the study, said the study was prompted when several people came in the clinic with problems from tongue piercing.

The purpose of our study is to find out what the percentage of people experiencing an infection is, Aubertin said. The oral cause is the main focus of the whole study.

Aubertin said many people are acquiring infections because they go to people who are unlicensed piercers.

There is no license regulating who pierces tongues, so therefore anybody can pierce it, Aubertin said. Some people even have it (piercings) done in their kitchens.

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The study is still being conducted, and researchers have about 12 people with tongue pierces participating so far.

Erika Calderon works for Golgotha Tattoos, 8609 Giant City Road. She has a piercing license and said Golgotha averages six pierces a week. A piercing costs $60.

Calderon said she is offended when people blame infections on the piercer. She said people mostly acquire infections from bad after-care.

Lots of times I hear that it’s the piercer’s fault, and that is not always true, Calderon said. I’m very responsible in what I do, and all my tools are sterilized.

Chewing tobacco, smoking cigarettes or playing with it too much in the beginning can cause scar tissue, and that causes infection.

Calderon said it takes four to six weeks for tongues to heal after piercing. She said people should rinse with an antiseptic mouthwash frequently when the tongue is first pierced.

People need to keep their fingers out of their mouths, Calderon said. You should always keep your mouth clean because it’s easy for the mouth to obtain germs.

There are regulations that people should look for when they plan on getting their tongues pierced.

People should investigate their (piercer) pass to see that they do what they claim, Calderon said. They need to ask if they can see previous piercings the piercer has done and ask health questions related to what they’re getting done.

People planning on getting anything pierced should ask questions for their own safety.

A lot of people don’t even ask me any kind of health questions, Calderon said. The most frequent questions asked when people are about to get their tongues pierced is, Is it going to hurt?’

Although Jizmagian said that when she got her tongue pierced it did not hurt much and hardly bled, eating solid foods was difficult for her.

It would take me a half an hour to eat a Whopper with a fork, she said. I couldn’t eat solid food for about a week.

Since getting her tongue pierced five months ago, Jizmagian said that a lot of older people look at her strangely.

I use to scare a lot of old people when they saw me with it because I would play with it with my tongue, and that would freak them out, Jizmagian said.

Jizmagian said having a tongue piercing is interesting because it is not flagrant like a nose pierce.

It just takes people by surprise sometimes when they see it, she said.

Noah Schroer, an undecided freshman from North Brook, said getting his tongue pierced did not hurt until it started swelling up.

It stayed swollen for a week, Schroer said. I couldn’t eat anything but ice cream for a week. After a week, I was then used to it.

The only problem that Schroer said he has with the piercing is it makes kissing difficult.

It’s awkward for me kissing somebody now that my tongue is pierced, he said. But it’s a good awkward.

FACTOID:For more information about the tongue-piercing study call 453-8826, 453-7211 or 453-7298.