opinions on piercings and the sea

[Lisa*]

so i want to get the top of my ear pierced but i heard that you cant go in the sea 6 weeks after because of getting infection. What do you lot think? xx

[RJD]

I'd go see a proper piercer and talk to them but saltwater can stuff up the healing process quite badly so you'll need to lay off it a while I'm sure.

[essex sucks]

I'd go see a proper piercer and talk to them but saltwater can stuff up the healing process quite badly so you'll need to lay off it a while I'm sure.

are u mad salt water kicks ase for healing things

[Hang11]

So why are my hands and feet covered in horrid scars where fin and reef cuts have turned into big skanky ulcers?

Immersing a wound in salt water repeatedly and for periods of time just makes it rot.

[isaluteyou]

So why are my hands and feet covered in horrid scars where fin and reef cuts have turned into big skanky ulcers?

Immersing a wound in salt water repeatedly and for periods of time just makes it rot.

Yep thats true - i have several scars on my feet and hands because i surfed and ignored the cuts - if i had stayed out the cuts would have healed quickly and no scar would be left. Even small cuts if left unchecked can turn nasty pretty quickly.

[Bewilderbeast]

I'm hearing you guys on the cuts thing. I too am covered in scars from fin cuts ect that I should have left dry out properly before surfing again.

But...

I've got more than a couple of piercings and I kept surfing while all of them healed. All of them healed up real quick too!

I'd leave it a couple of days at best and then see how you go.

[Big Man]

One of the best things for cleaning piercings, is salt water. BUT water that you've drawn from a tap and then added salt to.

The sea is a little different, because of all the other crap floating around in it, you can risk it, or you can try to protect the piercing as much as possible if you're going to surf.

I'd recommend that you try using one of the spray on wound dressings such as op-site or elastoplast and use a disinfectant spray after you get out of the water.

Before you surf,or do anything that might cause a piercing to get dirty, remember that the number one reason piercings get infected is because they aren't cleaned properly, and infected piercings can lead to toxic shock syndrome.

[Lisa*]

okay cool - cheers for your help
xx

[Sillysausage]

i'd be more worried if it was somewhere else rather than an ear

[Hang11]

i'd be more worried if it was somewhere else rather than an ear

One of my mates, who is an anaesthetist, was present in an operation where a guy had the end of his knob removed due to a prince albert that had gone septic.....

[Sillysausage]

i'd be more worried if it was somewhere else rather than an ear

One of my mates, who is an anaesthetist, was present in an operation where a guy had the end of his knob removed due to a prince albert that had gone septic.....

that is bad, see, the thing is, you have two ears so a loss of one of those wouldn't be too bad, however you only one winky (well if you're male), nose, tongue, etc...