Lip piercing care involves cleaning the wound with saline solution and avoiding exposure to foreign substances. Cold foods and a balanced diet can aid healing, while symptoms of rejection or infection require medical attention.
Lip piercing care generally involves soaking the piercing in a saline solution several times a day. Mouthwash is sometimes recommended to rinse out the mouth and clean out any food debris that may have gotten stuck in the piercing hole. Strong mouthwashes, alcohol, and some types of soap can irritate the wound. An infected lip piercing can delay the healing process and should be properly cared for as soon as possible. Neglecting to clean the lip hole or ring itself and having your lip pierced under unsanitary conditions can increase your risk of infection.
The main priority of lip piercing care is to keep the wound as clean as possible. Saline baths are usually recommended up to three times a day, as well as an alcohol-free mouthwash after eating. Other aspects of proactive lip piercing care are less medically involved, but can be just as helpful. For example, consuming cold foods or sucking on ice cubes can reduce swelling and pain without the use of drugs. Staying healthy by consuming a balanced diet and taking vitamins can also affect healing time and make the piercing less likely to get infected.
Some things to avoid while caring for your lip piercing involve exposing the area to foreign substances. For example, activities such as oral sex or smoking can expose the wound to additional bacteria and substances that can cause irritation. Pretty much anything that causes more bacteria to be exposed to the piercing site can have negative consequences. Simply touching a piercing or the area around it can increase your chances of getting infected or slow down the healing process. Even common activities like sharing cutlery, drinking from the same glass, or kissing can have a negative effect on the healing process.
While a person recovers from a lip piercing, it is advisable that they be wary of rejection and infection. Symptoms such as itching and the piercing area getting bigger can signal that the body is rejecting the piercing. Sometimes it’s impossible to avoid this problem, but other times a different piercing material can be used in the same spot to prevent rejection. While some discharge is normal while a piercing is healing, colored pus can mean an infection is underway. Most lip piercing care experts recommend seeking medical attention quickly if you fear a piercing infection, as this problem can be both difficult to diagnose and dangerous.
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