Lots of us love our piercings but just how safe are they? Jenna Gray investigates.
I love piercings. I love the look of them, love the feel of them and I love getting them. I even love the satisfying sting of cleaning fresh piercings.
I’m forever playing with and cleaning my jewelry and discovering more and more places of my body I want to stick metal through. I have to admit, play piercing with my friends is something I often do. And I’m not the only one.
Piercing is a big thing in gay culture, from leather clad BDSM lovers to boys as camp as a row of pink chiffon tents and nearly everyone in between.
But as they say, “anything that tastes that good just has to fattening”. Piercings always come with inherent risks and anyone with metal should already be well aware of the potential dangers.
Some piercings are more susceptible to infection, rejection or migration than others, but after recently hearing about a man who’d never had anal sex who seroconverted after getting a tongue piercing, I wondered if maybe some piercing locations have a greater risk of contracting or passing HIV.
So I spoke to some professionals and found that fresh tongue piercings, as they can take more than two months to fully heal, may pose a larger threat for passing or contracting HIV via oral sex, which is usually very low risk, because it may allow infected fluids directly into your blood stream via the piercing.
Infected oral piercings (including lip and labret) may also pose a greater threat because pus carries more of a risk of transmitting HIV than blood.
Fresh genital piercings are also, obviously, quite vulnerable but safe sex precautions help stop the spread of HIV.
Genital piercings can take six weeks to two months to heal, and longer if having you’re having sex immediately.
A guiche (perineum) piercing may take longer because of the constant pressure, friction, sweat and bacteria, making it more vulnerable.
Tattooing, piercing, scarification, pocketing, stapling and pretty much all other forms of body modification involve blood, so while you’re much more likely to contract Hepatitis C from a crappy piercing or other body mod, HIV is still a very real risk - Though if you practice safe sex, the risk is nearly eliminated entirely.
That being said, the transmission of HIV from having dodgy piercings or sex with fresh or infected piercings in vulnerable areas can and does happen.
I know it sounds kind of obvious, but there are a surprisingly large number of people who got infected via piercings, not really registering that while condoms protect you and your partner, they don’t necessarily cover everywhere vulnerable.
So be aware of the facts and help prevent the spread of HIV. Only go to reputable piercers; if you play pierce always use sterile needles and never share them; practice safe sex and get tested regularly.
Figures show that in Australia there are approximately 20 new cases of HIV infection per week, so don’t be one of them.
If you want any more information on HIV/AIDS, you can visit www.qpp.net.au, or call QAHC on 3017 1777. If you want information on any piercings or other body modifications visit www.bmezine.com
Jenna Gray’s column is made possible by the support of Open Doors Youth Service.
Lots of us love our piercings but just how safe are they? Jenna Gray investigates. 
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