surface piercing

I received a question about a very unusual piercing placement:

Can you get a piercing on the heel of your foot????????
S.

My reply:

S.
I wouldn't recommend it. And even if you managed to do it, it would be VERY unlikely to be successful. The tissue there is dense and tight with little or no pinchable flesh. Piercings in such areas is very seldom remain for long--the body simply ejects the jewelry.

Importantly, a piercing in such an area would also have a significantly higher risk of infection than traditionally placed body piercings because of its proximity to the floor where dirt and germs are more abundant

I have seen a very rare placement of a piercing actually behind the achilles tendon the ankle (see Photo, courtesy of Jim Ward and PFIQ Magazine.) Suffice it to say, such a piercing has grave risks including potential for loss of function of the limb.

If you want to get pierced, please select a safer area of your body.

I received a question from someone seeking unusual ornamentation:

Are surface anchor piercings permanent, and can you get them on your feet (top)?

Thanx, Sara

My reply:

Hi Sara,

No, unfortunately, even when everything is done right, surface anchors simply appear to be less of a permanent body modification than traditional body piercings.

Further, they require ongoing care throughout their life span, including regular irrigation to make sure no matter builds up in the channel or under the ornament. And even with this care, sometimes they will tilt and/or surface and reject.

On the feet, they are especially unlikely to be successful, even for a short period of time. There is little padding on top of the bone, and the area is subject to excessive trauma. Also, in that region you are at greater risk for infection than other parts of the body because of the proximity of the feet to the dirty ground.

In the event that a surface anchor were to actually heal and stay for longer than I would expect, there's some chance that a small amount of tissue could grow through the holes that are present in the base of most anchors (for the very purpose of helping the anchor remain in place). If that were to happen, it could still be removed by a piercer using ordinary piercing instruments.

 I received this message from a reader:

 I want to start off by saying I've become completely fascinated by your book! The illustrations are so detailed and any questions I had about piercing and aftercare is all explained in your book :) Even though I wouldn't get some of the piercings from the book, I still love reading about them.

I was wondering if you could answer my question... I just got a microdermal (not sure if that's the correct term) piercing on the back part of my neck a few days ago. It doesn't hurt whatsoever, except for some sensitivity, which I'm ok with. I've applied purified sea salt to the area 3 times a day. The only time I actually touch it is wiggling it a little right after I spray my neck with the sea salt. My main concern is the jewelry piece. When you look at the piece like it's in front of you, it looks flat against my neck. However, when you look at it from the side, the bottom part of the piece is slightly at an angle, like it's popping out a little. The piercer said to try turning it, which I did. If it was still like that she said to come back and she'd turn it for me. I went 3 days after I'd gotten the piercing. She turned it quite a few times and she said it was fine. However, it still looks the same. I don't know if it's my body rejecting the piece, or if it's just swelling from the piercing.

My worry is the angle that it's at. I just want to be sure with the angle that it's at, it won't affect the healing process, or interfere with me being able to change the jewelery in a few months time. If you need a picture of the piercing to have a better idea, just let me know. I trust the piercer with what she said, but only so much. It helps if I hear from another professional person's point of view. Thank you so much for any and all help you can provide with my situation!!!!

I received this message from a woman who was concerned about her piercings:

Hi!! i had a micro dermal on my cheast for about 6 months adn just recently it started to reject so i tried everything to reverse it. I couldnt and it got worse it was really painfull and it looked horriable do i had the piercer that did it remove it. also before i rejected i got both of my nipples pierced. Do you like that had anything to do with it? it was like a week after i had my nipples done that it started to reject. And also the piercer offered to redo another dermal above the previous one. do you think the next one will reject also? thank you!!!! M.

My Reply:

Hi M.,

Thanks for your message. There is a chance that the extra "stress" to your body from the nipple piercings caused your surface anchor ("microdermal") to become unsettled and reject.

That said, unfortunately surface anchors tend to be temporary modifications at best. So even if you redid it, and it healed well, it would not be expected to last for more than a few years. This form of body adornment simply isn't as permanent as ordinary body piercings.

Sincerely,
Elayne Elayne Angel, Author The Piercing Bible--The Definitive Guide to Safe Body Piercing
Medical Liaison, Association of Professional Piercers
http://piercingbible.com/ http://www.facebook.com/elayneangel
http://twitter.com/elayneangel
http://www.linkedin.com/in/authorelayneangel

I received this message from someone with surface anchrs who was concerned about them:

Hi Elayne, I have four microdermal anchors, two in my fingers, and two in my wrists. I have had them for a few months, when I first got them done they were fine, but recently they have had infections (due to my job and all my animals) and I have been taking antibiotics for them. I have just noticed that on my wrist dermals small mounds have been forming, is this a sign of rejection, or just scar tissue? Thanks alot, L.

My reply:

Hi L.,

Without seeing them, I can't necessarily offer an opinion on exactly what is wrong, but I can say that such adornments are bound to be temporary. Surface anchors seldom last for the long-term--especially in such high-trauma areas. Also, such locations are more prone to infection than other spots. I hope that your piercer counseled you about these important facts before agreeing to do the piercings on you.

Did you consult your piercer? Did you visit your doctor for the antibiotics? What did your doctor say? Are you doing saline soaks and making sure there is no build-up of matter under the threaded jewelry end? Here's the aftercare instructions I advocate:

http://www.safepiercing.org/piercing/body-aftercare/

Sincerely,
Elayne

Elayne Angel, Author
The Piercing Bible--The Definitive Guide to Safe Body Piercing
Medical Liaison, Association of Professional Piercers

elayneangel@piercingbible.com
http://piercingbible.com/
http://www.facebook.com/elayneangel
http://twitter.com/elayneangel
http://www.linkedin.com/in/authorelayneangel

I received this message:

I have heard that surface piercings, eyebrow, navel, anti eyebrow and some others, have a tendency to reject. I was wondering if there are some ways you could prevent or slow down the rejection process for these piercings? If it does start to reject and you take the jewelry out are there fluctuations in rejection risk( more or less risk) that would possibly result in a different outcome if you had it repierced? And also what are some signs to tell if a piercing is rejecting? Thanks! G.

I received this message through my website:

Hi Elayne,

About five months ago I got my waist pierced. The piercer did not perform the piercing right neither did he use the PTFE in the piercing and it rejected within a matter of weeks and left a really unattractive scar that has slightly faded but is still there.

Three months ago I went to another piercer and I got my belly button pierced & also a surface piercing below my belly button. My piercing did not reject but I still had dark circles around the piercing and ended up taking it out.

attached are pictures of the scars.

I recently received this email message:

I'm going into the military in a few months, and i want to get my hips pierced before i go. I was wondering if when i took the jewel off, if you could see the post of hip piercings?

My reply:

My best professional suggestion is sound advice: don't bother to get these piercings.

They're notoriously difficult to heal and frequently people end up with scars rather than healed piercings. Further, you will not be able to safely wear the surface bars (the type of jewelry most commonly used in that area) without some type of threaded ends on the jewelry--discs, gems, or something else. You won't be able to completely hide them, and the physical activity that you'll be required to engage in during basic training will cause nothing but problems.

This one works better in fantasy than reality. Sorry...

Sincerely,
Elayne