My 16-year-old wants a navel piercing

SmilingBluEyes · Feb 21, 2006

If a woman gets pregnant, usually, she needs to remove (temporarily) her belly ring for comfort. Sometimes, if they don't get too big, it stays and there are no problems. Each case is individual. If a surgery is needed for any reason, the belly ring (as well as all jewelry) will have to come out for that duration.

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Feb 21, 2006

No less than a 14 gauge.

No rings or loops, barbells heal faster, and lay flatter.

And my belly was sore like a !#$%^&*()_+ for a week.

Bactine spray (lay down, spray belly button till full) is a great antiseptic. The spray is cleaner, and Bactine has a slight numbing and cooling effect.

Mags4711, RN · Feb 21, 2006

Piercings close over time without anything in them, hair can grow back after it has been shaved into a mohawk. Hair can be colored back to normal, too. My issue is the popularity of tattoos these days. They are permanent. I had one at 16 (lied about my age) and had it sanded off at 19 (before the days of laser removal). Let me tell you, that pain convinced me never to get another one.

And yes, if I had a nice figure, I'd pierce at a minimum my navel. Maybe my nipples if my breasts were perky (never a day in my life... ).

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Feb 21, 2006

IF i ever got my nipples pierced, call 911. It was done against my will.

Steph812 · Feb 21, 2006

hey!

i was 15 when i got my belly button pierced (im 18 now) it took alot of talking to my parents for them to finally let me do it! i wrote a whole research paper and gave it to them so that they knew i did my home work on the subject! i know alot of my friends have got theirs done and i think its just the person that the healing is different i have no problems w/ mine and still don't.

maybe take her to see where they do every thing the first time i went to a tattoo shop it was really scary see about looking up piercings that didn't go so well...i wanted my pierced for 2 years before i was allowed make her wait it makes you want it and makes you see it was worth waiting

SFCardiacRN · Feb 21, 2006

Cripes, I can hear my 11 year old asking now. I guess I'm old school but if youngsters want it...so be it. I'd rather be involved in picking a professional than cleaning up after a "backyard" piercing.

leslie :-D · Feb 21, 2006

IF i ever got my nipples pierced, call 911. It was done against my will.

ditto.

yowza!

ICRN2008, BSN, RN · Feb 21, 2006

My sister recently removed her belly ring, and she has a pretty ugly scar. She took it out because it was always rubbing on her pants (she wears higher rise dress pants now that she has a professional job). It's probably hard for a 16 year old to think 10 years into the future, though.

she.lpn · Feb 21, 2006

I've had mine peirced since I was 15, it's been done 3 times due to various things that would make me take it out but only the "bottom" of the hole has healed the top has never. ugly scar! I had a friend who kept hers in through her whole pregnancy :eek: It's very stretched out and funny looking but to each their own. I can think of worse things then a belly ring at that age. piercings will eventually heal, a tattoo would be permenent......

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Feb 21, 2006

Ohhhh, this brings back memories from when my girls were teenagers. :rolleyes:

Of course, back then I didn't know how to pick my battles, so I banned all piercings except earlobes........and wouldn't you know it, my oldest daughter's ears actually SWALLOWED two different sets of studs!!! :eek: The irony was, she had no trouble whatsoever with the eyebrow piercing, the lip piercing, the cartilage piercing, or even the tongue piercing she obtained after she turned 18......go figure. She also got three tattoos between ages 19 and 22 and wants more, even though she plans to wait until after she and my SIL are done having babies (which I thought was particularly forward-thinking of her). Thank goodness, the piercings lost their allure after she had them for awhile, and now she just has the one in her right ear.

My younger daughter, naturally, wanted her belly-button pierced, but she was contented with earrings until she hit fifteen.........then she got Amanda to sign a permission slip for her to have her navel pierced!! I was livid......how DARE that 'body artist' take my 18-year-old's signature as an OK to stick needles into her 15-year-old sister!!!:angryfire (Amanda herself caught an earful from me as well, you can be sure.)

The heck of it was, the navel piercing looked really cute, didn't cause a moment's trouble, healed perfectly (to Melanie's credit, she took really good care of it)........and came out when she joined the Army two years later. In fact, it looked so good on her that I think if I were young and thin, I'd get one myself. Not that there's anything to worry about there:chuckle ........but if I had it to do over again, I'd worry less about piercings and funky hair and even tattoos, and be more grateful for the good people my kids are on the inside.

I STILL won't let my older son pierce his nipples till he can pay for his own health insurance, though........that's just too gruesome. :uhoh3:

babynurselsa, RN · Feb 21, 2006

When I was pregnant the last time I was actually able to purchase a flexible barbell. It was made of maybe silicone or some sort of palstic. My OB told me where to go and buy it. LOL

goats'r'us, ASN, RN · Feb 21, 2006

it's really no biggie and as long as you take normal care of it (by that i mean you don't have to go over the top) infection's not a problem. and even if it does get infected, it's more likely going to be a 'clean it with this cream' type of infection than a 'lie in this hospital bed while we pump abx into you' type.

it hurts for a bit, then it heals. no biggie.

as someone else said though, just make sure the peircer does it cleanly. you don't want your girl catching nasties from the needle.