dermal anchors

[nocturnalnurse]

Ok, so the "new generation" of nursing students that have been around our unit make me feel old, even though I'm not, but I saw something the other day that had me wondering...

A student had a few dermal anchor peircings on her hands. Being "borning and old" and only having ever peirced my ears, I got to wondering if this increases her risk of contracting bloodborn or other infections.

Obviously we all wear gloves but have all had something "icky" on our skin at one point or another. In theory, they create a break in the skin that can let infection in, right? Anyone know any more about these and what they may mean for the nurse who chooses to have them?

[j_tay1981]

Dermal anchors... Are those the three dimensional designs that sit just under the skin? I have tattos and used to pierce my ears, but body modders always seem to crank out something new!

[RNewbie]

I have a surface/dermal piercing on my face. I wanted to get a dermal on my hand, but after much consideration I knew my hand would probably fall off from something I contracted at work! They can take up to 6 months to fully heal and they easily snag on everything when they are on your body, so I opted for the face.