Content

• Steps
• Advice
• Warning

You must be enjoying your newly pierced belly button. However, to keep the piercing beautiful and attractive, you must keep your piercing healthy and clean. All you need to do now is to practice careful hygiene for as long as your piercing is healing, while also being careful to avoid irritating factors that can interfere with healing.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Caring for a newly pierced belly button

1. 

   Piercing the umbilical cord at a professional facility. You should research to find a reputable piercing salon with trained professionals. You can ask friends and family where they have been for piercing and ask them for recommendations. Don't be miserly considering the quality of your facility or piercer. The more professional the facility and the more skilled the staff are, the less likely it is that you will experience infection or other problems with your piercing. An experienced piercer can also provide useful advice on size, jewelry, and other issues you might be wondering about while getting your piercing done.
   • A safe and reliable piercing facility will use high-quality jewelry when it is pierced. Fine jewelry is usually made from materials such as surgical grade stainless steel, titanium, niobium, 14-karat (or higher) white gold or gold and does not contain nickel.
   • Professional piercers will also use hollow needles for piercing instead of piercing guns. If you find a piercer is planning to use a piercing gun, look elsewhere. The piercing gun can cause significant skin damage and the risk of infection is also higher.

2. 

   
   
   Make sure your hands are clean when caring for your piercing. Wash your hands thoroughly with antibacterial soap and water before touching your piercing. Oil and dirt from the fingers can be transferred to the piercing (also an open wound), creating the risk of infection.
   • Be sure to remove any dirt from under your fingernails. Any dirt under the fingernails can also cause infection when you touch the wound.

3. 

   
   
   Wash your piercing daily. Use the tip of a cotton swab soaked in warm water to wipe and remove the crust around the wound. You need to manipulate very lightly to avoid moving your jewelry too much. Next is to wash the piercing with antibacterial soap under the shower. Just put a little soap on your fingertips and rub it over your navel for about 20 seconds. Rinse off the soap thoroughly with water from the shower. Use a dry tissue to clean your navel instead of a towel.
   • It is recommended to wash your piercing twice a day with soap. You can also use a cotton swab dipped in salt water to remove scabs on the wound. However, you should not wash it with a cotton swab more than 3 times a day. Don't wash too much.
   • Take a shower instead of a bath. The shower creates a steady stream of clean water, while the tub is stagnant water mixed with perspiration, dirt, and leftover cleaning products.
   • It is better to dry your navel with a paper towel, as the tissue is always clean and can be thrown away after use. Towels can accumulate moisture and bacteria.
   • Avoid twisting or rotating the umbilical cord too much when washing in the shower. The wound can irritate and bleed if too much touched.

4. 

   
   
   Wash your piercing with salt water. Mix ¼ teaspoon of sea salt with 8 ounces of boiled water. Wait for the water to remain just comfortably warm when it is pressed against the skin. Pour the salt solution into a small, hunched cup (so that your abdomen is relatively perpendicular to the mouth of the cup), place the cup on your stomach and hold it in place, while lying on your back. Soak your umbilical piercing with salt water in a cup for 10 to 15 minutes, at least once a day. Salt water is very effective against bacteria and helps to remove scabs on the wound.
   • You can also make a warm compress with salt water and folded paper towels, or use a sterile salt water spray, available at drugstores.

5. 

   Take vitamins. Many piercings suggest that certain vitamins such as Vitamin C, zinc, or multivitamins also help the piercing to heal. The sun's vitamin D can also help the wound heal quickly. advertisement

Part 2 of 3: Avoid triggers

1. 

   Avoid touching your navel. Of course, you should touch the piercing with clean hands when washing the wound, but you should avoid playing with, twisting, pulling or squeezing it unnecessarily.
   • Any excessive contact (especially with unwashed hands) can cause the wound to open more easily and bleed or infection.

2. 

   Do not remove the umbilical cord. You will need to leave the umbilical cord that was worn when you first got it pierced for the duration of the wound (4-10 weeks). If you remove your jewelry before the wound heals, the piercing may close, making it more difficult and painful to get it back.
   • Further irritation can cause scarring and slow down the body's natural healing process.

3. 

   Avoid applying the ointment. Ointments or creams will prevent the wound from coming into contact with air and "breathing". The ointment blocks the air and locks in moisture with bacteria inside it. Even though they are antibacterial ointments, these products significantly hinder the healing process and facilitate the infection.
   • You should also avoid harsh liquids like hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol. These disinfectants can kill the regenerating cells in the wound.
   • Antiseptic solutions containing benzalkonium chloride should also be avoided, as they can also interfere with wound healing.
   • Likewise, avoid using all oils, lotions, sunscreens and makeup in the piercing area. These products can clog your piercing and cause an infection.

4. 

   Wear loose-fitting clothing. Tight, tight clothing can irritate your new piercing by friction and block fresh air. Try to wear loose, breathable materials like cotton, and stay away from synthetic materials.
   • In addition, you should be careful when changing or undressing. A quick or vigorous movement can cause clothing to get caught in the navel piercing and cause injury.

5. 

   Keep away from dirty water. Similar to avoiding tub baths and instead taking showers, you should also avoid places where the water does not flow. Do not visit water sources such as swimming pools, hot tubs, and rivers for the first year after your umbilical piercing.
   • This is because the above water sources are in longer contact with the piercing, in addition the water may become contaminated.

6. 

   Lie on your back or on your side while sleeping. You should lie on your back or on your side for the first few weeks after getting your piercing. This way, you won't put the extra pressure on a new, sensitive wound like you would on your stomach. advertisement

Part 3 of 3: Handling complications

1. 

   Evaluate your symptoms. If you have complications at your umbilical piercing, you first need to assess your symptoms to find out what problems to deal with. Watch for wound discharge, pain, swelling or redness, and any changes in the piercing site (such as lumps, displacement of jewelry, mouth opening wider than the jar. usually around the metal pier, etc.) Depending on the symptoms, the piercing may only cause irritation, infection, or allergy to the metal.
   • If the symptoms are mild, the piercings are more likely to be slightly irritated. The more severe the symptoms, the more likely it is an infection or allergy.

2. 

   Treat any irritated wound. If the piercing is healing normally but accidentally jerked or lay on top, itchy due to the water in the lake or cosmetics, this may be a mild irritation. The piercing area can get irritated if the jewelry worn too tight or too loose leads to too much movement or clamping to the skin. Piercing irritation is manifested in mild discomfort and symptoms of irritation. Symptoms such as mild swelling, mild redness and mild discomfort (no severe pain and discharge) are thought to be mild symptoms of irritation. Follow the same saline hygiene and wound cleaning routine as when you first pierced.
   • Consider applying a cold compress (a small cloth or towel dipped in cool water) to your navel. This will help relieve your discomfort.
   • Leave jewelry on your piercing. The wound may further irritate if you remove your jewelry from your piercing.
   • If you have any questions ask your piercer, or visit them for a check.

3. 

   
   
   Treat the infected wound. Minor discomfort, bleeding, and bruising after your umbilical piercing is normal, but you should watch for signs of infection. When infected, the wound is often markedly swollen and red around the pierced site. The skin at the piercing site can be warm or hot, and may also have a green, yellow, or gray discharge with a bad smell. You may also have a fever when your umbilical piercing becomes infected.
   • If you suspect that your umbilical piercing is infected, see your doctor as soon as possible. If you are not sure if the wound is infected, you can contact a piercer to see if the symptoms are normal or related to the infection.
   • Do not remove your jewelry if you think your piercing is infected. Removing jewelry can irritate the infected wound and close the piercing opening, preventing the wound from draining properly.

4. 

   
   
   Handling an allergic condition. Allergies can occur hours or days after getting your piercing. Usually, an allergy is the body's response to metallic materials in jewelry. Nickel is a common metal that causes piercing allergies. Signs of allergy include itching around the piercing site leading to hives, heat, enlarged piercing or swelling and inflammation around the pierced site. When an allergy occurs, the skin around the jewelry may also tighten or loosen.
   • Jewelry rejection is a common feature of an allergy. Your skin is trying to minimize contact with the jewelry, leading to larger piercings.
   • In this case, contact your piercer right away So they can change to another advice and you can see a doctor to start treating the wound. Your doctor may give you a course of antibiotics.

5. 

   
   
   Try home remedies. If the initial symptoms are relatively mild, or the infection seems to be new in its early stages, you might consider using some home remedies to treat it before you see your doctor. Some home soothing therapies include:
   • Applying. As noted above, both hot and cold compresses can ease the discomfort of an irritated piercing. A warm compress dipped in salt solution and squeezed out of water can clean the wound and stimulate blood circulation (white blood cells that help heal) to the irritated area. A cool compress can soothe the heat radiating from the pierced area.
   • Soak camomile tea. Soak a bag of chamomile tea in a cup of boiling water. Wait for the tea to cool down (about 20 minutes), soak a cotton ball in the tea and place it on the piercings for about 5 minutes. If you want, you can do this at least once a day.
     • You can also freeze tea into an ice cube and use it to relieve pain, itching or swelling.
   • Analgesic. If the piercing is painful or painful, you might consider taking pain relievers to ease the discomfort. Try to choose a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

6. 

   See a doctor. When in any doubt, you should see your general practitioner. If home remedies and washing procedures aren't helping, it may be time to seek medical attention. In particular, you should see your doctor if you experience severe pain, severe swelling, drainage, and bleeding.
   • If you have an infection or an allergy, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics to fight the infection and help the wound heal.
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Advice

• Use only the cleaning solution recommended by your piercer.
• Try to avoid contact with genital secretions when your piercing has not healed completely.
• Paper towels do not absorb much water. After gently blotting with a paper towel, you can use a hair dryer to dry your navel. Use a cool mode so that the skin where the piercing is done does not get hot and burned.
• To avoid "lumpy": wear only titanium tips; never touch or play with your piercings, and wait 6 months to wear them.

Warning

• Do not get pierced if you do not know the proper care.
• Be sure to advise your piercer if you are allergic to jewelry, creams, sprays, even latex (such as medical gloves).