Tongue Piercing- Types, Aftercare, Infection, And Healing

A tongue piercing is a type of body piercing, and it is done directly in between the tongue.

Tongue piercing has been popular since 2011. In the current time, tongue piercing is the most popular piercing in women. However, in men, tongue piercing is still not popular.

According to the experts’ analysis, mostly the girls between 18-25 get tongue piercings.

The American dental association does not support tongue piercing. They say that tongue piercing causes swelling, bleeding, damages teeth, and causes hypersalivation, etc.

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Different types of tongue piercing:

• Frowny
• Smiley
• Middle tongue piercing
• Snake eyes
• Tongue frenulum
• Uvula
• Venom

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List of the food you can eat after tongue piercing:

You should eat soft foods after tongue piercing like

• Ice cream
• Mashed potato
• Yogurt
• Oatmeal
• Applesauce

List of the food you should not eat after tongue piercing:

• Crunchy food
• Peppers
• Spices
• Alcohol
• Coffee

Tongue piercing aftercare:

• Clean the piercing area 5 to 6 times a day with Listerine antiseptic or sea salt solution. Make sure that the ratio of Listerine and water is 50:50. Continue the process for at least seven weeks.

• Use cold and warmth compress two times a day

• Do not play with your piercing

• Avoid kiss and oral sex

• Use floss, bruising, and rinsing daily

• Do not change the jewelry by yourself

Infections by tongue piercing

When the bacteria tarps inside, the piercing infection occurs.

Tongue piercing causes mouth infections because the tongue is used for eating and tasting.

Kissing, oral sex, and other sexual activities can also transfer infection in tongue piercing.

Continue reading to know how to identify an infection and how to avoid infection occurred by tongue piercing:

How to identify an infection:

After the two weeks of tongue piercing, you may experience these problems:

• Redness
• Minor swelling
• Slight throbbing
• Mild heat
• White discharge

Following are some other signs of infections:

• Swelling
• Fever
• Pain
• Bleeding
• Yellow discharge
• Bumps on the surrounding of piercing

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How to avoid infection by tongue piercing:

Following are some tips which you can try to avoid infection by tongue piercing:

Do not play or remove the jewelry.

When you move your tongue-piercing jewelry, it increases the tongue’s swelling and gives space to bacteria.

It would be best if you only touched the piercing when you are cleaning the affected area.

Also, do not remove jewelry by yourself. It can harm your tongue, generates irritation. 

Avoid OTC antibiotics or creams.

OTC antibiotics have two effects: they can heal the affected area or hurt the affected area.

Topical creams gather bacteria in the affected area. It can damage the tongue.

Also, avoid using mouth cleansers. It contains hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, and other antibacterial ingredients, which can harm healthy skin cells. 

Flossing 

Flossing helps in removing plaque stuck between the teeth. Flossing helps in cleaning the mouth, which also helps in tongue piercing. 

Floss your teeth every day.

Brushing

It would help if you brushed your teeth twice a day. 

Just make sure that you rinse the toothpaste thoroughly.

Rinsing

Rinse your mouth three times a day. Avoid using mouthwash. Try to use mineral water.

Rinsing helps in cleaning the affected area.

Clean the tongue piercing area two or three times a day

Cleaning flushes the bacteria and prevents the area from infection.

Use a pre-made saline solution to rinse the tongue-piercing area.

Steps to using a pre-made saline solution:

1. Get a dry clean cloth or paper towel
2. Dip it inside the solution
3. Gently wipe it around the jewelry
4. Do not scrub or pod
5. Do this process till all the area is not cleaned

You can also use DIY sea salt solution to clean tongue piercing:

If you do not have a pre-made saline solution, you can use a DIY sea salt solution.

Following are the steps to make this solution:

1. Mix 1 teaspoon of sea salt with 8 ounces of warm water.
2. Stir till the sea salt dissolves
3. Now, take a dry tissue paper
4. Dip it in the solution
5. Wipe it around the tongue piercing
6. Clean the whole area

Tongue piercing healing:

A cold and warm compress can do tongue piercing healing.

Ice 

Sucking ice gives relief in infection generated by different types of tongue piercing.

If you have chronic pain, you can suck the ice three times a day.

Regular compress

If sucking ice is not helping you, you can use frozen vegetables or soft ice packs for relief.

Steps to using a cold compress:

1. Wrap the compress in a thin towel or tissue
2. Gently tap it on the tongue piercing area for 10 minutes
3. Use this process two times

Warm compress

Warm compress is also a good way for different types of tongue piercing healing.

However, if you have a fever, then do not use a warm compress.

Regular compress

You can make your warm packs by microwaving a towel for 30 seconds. Place the ingredient in the towel, and this helps to compress smoothly. Fold the towel four times so that the ingredient does not fall.

Steps to use warmth compress:

1. Microwave the towel for 30 seconds
2. Place the ingredient inside a towel
3. Compress the towel  

Chamomile compress

It has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. 

Chamomile compress helps in different types of tongue piercing healing.

Following are the steps to use chamomile compress:

1. Dip a chamomile tea bag in warm water
2. Take out the teabag
3. Place tea bag in a clean, dry towel
4. Press on the affected area
5. After 10 minutes, rinse the area

Common do’s and don’ts after tongue piercing:

things you should do daily:

• Brushing twice a day
• Floss regularly
• Use a soft-bristle toothbrush
• Use alcohol-free mouthwash
• Eat soft food

Things you should not do:

• Use of tongue scrapers
• Playing with jewelry
• Kiss and oral sex
• Smoke 
• Alcohol

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Final words:

If you are willing to get a tongue piercing, then read the above post carefully. 

In the above post, we have mentioned everything about tongue piercing, like different types of tongue piercing, tongue piercing aftercare, infection by tongue piercing, and tongue piercing healing.

We hope that the post helped you get full knowledge about tongue piercing types, aftercare, infections, and healing.