Tongue piercing poses problems

You might want to think twice before getting your tongue pierced.

A new article appearing in the Journal of the American Association said that facial piercing, especially tongue piercing, can create more problems than initially believed.

"I got my tongue pierced in June; it hurt really bad," said Brooke Hill, KU freshman. "It was swollen for like a week, a week and a half, but after that it was okay. It was no big deal; it's fine now."

In addition to risk of infection, Hepatitis C and tetanus, the Journal of the American Association finds that tongue piercing can lead to trigeminal neuralgia, also known as the "suicide disease," which results in facial pain resembling electrical shocks.

While these risks might be prevalent, many were unaware of the seriousness involved.

Lance Tuck, piercing specialist, has heard of the dangers involved with facial piercing, including a severe case a couple of years ago.

"There was a case in New York where a young lady developed a cult infection in the tongue," Tuck said. "She wasn't aware that it was going on, but it was in the back of the tongue, started to move backwards, and actually penetrated up into the brain pan which resulted in convulsions, which she ignored for about a week."

Local experts, however, said it's not like in the movies. Steph Vellucci, local piercer, said most problems are caused by people not caring for their piercing.

"Typically, they're not going to come back with any problems," Vellucci said. "Probably the biggest problem I've ever seen with a tongue piercing is just a chemical burn from the alcohol in the mouth wash."

Other experts said the best way to prevent complications is to know how to care for the piercing.