Point Journal issue #56 - Association of Professional Piercers

Pre-sterilized Needles and
Piercing Instruments
Elayne Angel
APP President
Yukatan, Mexico
Earlier this year—while I was still the
APP’s Medical Liaison—a Florida
health inspector emailed me a
question that deserves addressing
here, in The Point. Her inquiry was regarding
the APP’s stance on the prepackaged “sterile”
instruments, needles, and jewelry that are
being marketed and sold to our industry.
(She had seen an increase in use of these
items by piercers in her state.) When she set
out to research the procedures used for the
sterilization of these products, she reported
that she could not locate any manufacturers
of body piercing instruments, needles, or
jewelry that follow the standards for sterility
established in the United States for medical
device manufacturers.
In the U.S., manufacturers selling sterile
products are obligated to follow the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration 21 CFR
part 820 and International Standardization
Organization standard 13485 for sterilization
to ensure that their products are safe and
effective. These detailed good manufacturing
practice (CGMP) requirements form a highly
structured system for regulating quality,
and govern the methods used in the design,
manufacture, packaging, labeling, and storage
of all finished devices intended for human use.
All items used in a piercing (including
jewelry, needles, tools, and any other
supplies or equipment) must be sterilized in
the studio using an autoclave that is sporetested
regularly. The only exceptions to this
would be medical supplies that come directly
from a medical supply vendor who adheres to
the requisite stringent standards, or a body art
industry supplier who can certify that they
uphold the same requirements.
The APP Procedure Manual describes inhouse
sterilization:
“To minimize the risk of cross-contamination
and to ensure that the piercing procedure
eATING:
is as clean as possible, many components
of a piercing set-up are disposable.
Unless supplies will be sterilized in a
Statim autoclave immediately prior to
the procedure, all disposables must be
individually packaged in autoclave bags,
sterilized, and remain in their pouches
stored in enclosed, nonporous containers
until use. Disposable materials that can
and should be autoclaved include piercing
needles, corks, rubber bands, cotton swabs,
toothpicks, and gauze.”
The excerpt below is from my book, The
Piercing Bible: The Definitive Guide to Safe
Body Piercing (Random House, May 2009):
Even in studios where procedures are
done only with disposable equipment,
an autoclave must be used. A piercer
cannot be certain that needles and body
jewelry are sent in a sterile state or
whether contamination occurs during
shipping. Medical suppliers have stringent
requirements for sterilization and
packaging, but other industries are not held
to the same standard.
Piercers and body art business owners
should pay close attention to this issue for
the safety of their clients. It has become clear
that many piercers are making the assumption
that items touted as “sterile” are ready to use
in the studio. However, this may not be the
case when the products come from body
art suppliers. While piercers aren’t medical
professionals, this is an area in which abiding
by their practices is entirely appropriate.
When you buy “sterile” prepackaged
products from body jewelry and piercing
supply companies, be aware that they are not
bound by the same requirements that govern
the medical field. For safety you must sterilize
on-site all jewelry and needles, as well as
forceps and other tools before use.
• Slowly eat small bites of food that you put right onto your
molars.
• Don’t eat spicy, salty, acidic, or hot temperature foods or
beverages for a few days.
• Be extra careful of your jewelry when eating crunchy food.
• Cold foods and drinks feel good and help reduce swelling.
• Foods like mashed potatoes and oatmeal are hard to eat
because they stick to your mouth and jewelry.
• For tongue piercings; try to keep your tongue from twisting in
your mouth when you eat because you can bite the jewelry
when your tongue turns.
• For lip piercings: be careful not to open your mouth too wide
because your jewelry can catch on your teeth.
• Each body is different and your healing time may be a lot
longer or shorter than your friends’. If you have any questions,
contact your piercer.
WhAT TO AVOId
• Do not play with your jewelry. You will cause permanent
damage to teeth, gums, and other oral structures. See the
APP Brochure: Oral Piercing Risks and Safety Measures for
more information.
• Avoid talking too much when your piercing is new. This could
make ugly, uncomfortable scar tissue form, and make your
healing take longer.
• Avoid using mouthwash that has alcohol in it. The alcohol can
irritate your piercing and delay healing.
• Avoid kissing or contact with others’ bodily fluids like saliva
while you are healing.
• Avoid chewing on gum, fingernails, pencils, sunglasses,
tobacco, and other foreign objects that could have bacteria
on them.
• Avoid sharing plates, cups, forks, and spoons.
(“Hints and Tips” continued)
TIPS FOR NAVel PIeRCINGS
• Avoid stress and recreational drug use, including too much
caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol.
• Avoid aspirin as long as you are bleeding or swelling.
• Avoid putting a healing piercing in a lake, pool, hot tub, etc.
To protect a lip piercing use a waterproof bandage (such as
Clean Seals ). You can buy them in any drugstore.
• Don’t smoke! It increases risks and lengthens healing time.
• Wear a hard, vented eye patch (sold at pharmacies) under
tight clothing (like nylon stockings) or use a piece of ace
bandage around your body to keep it in place. Don’t use
tape because it can cause a rash on your skin. This patch can
protect your piercing from from being hit during sports or
other dangers, and reduce irritation from tight clothes.
• Wear clean, comfortable, breathable clothing that protects
your piercing while you are sleeping.
TIPS FOR eAR/eAR CARTIlAGe ANd FACIAl PIeRCINGS
• Use the t-shirt trick: Dress your pillow in a large, clean t-shirt
and turn it nightly; one clean t-shirt provides four clean
surfaces for sleeping.
• Keep everything super clean that comes near or touches the
pierced area: telephones, headphones, eyeglasses, helmets,
and hats.
• Be careful when styling your hair, and let your stylist know if
you are healing a piercing.
Each body is different and your healing time may be a lot
longer or shorter than your friends’.
This brochure contains wording and information written specifi cally for minors. for additional
information, please see our brochure Suggested Aftercare Guidelines for Oral Piercings.
Disclaimer: These guidelines are based on a combination of vast professional experience,
common sense, research, and extensive clinical practice. This is not to be considered a substitute
for medical advice from a doctor. If you think you have an infection, visit a doctor, but be aware
that many doctors have not received specifi c training about piercing. Your local piercer may
be able to suggest a piercing-friendly medical professional. for more information, see the APP
Brochure Troubleshooting For You And Your Healthcare Professional.
Use of this brochure does not imply membership in the APP. A current list of APP members can
be found at safepiercing.org. false claims of membership should be reported to the APP.
APP logo and name ©2011 Association of Professional Piercers
Content and images licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-noncommercial-no
Derivative Works License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
2011 edITION
Only when sterile items are purchased from
medical suppliers—who must uphold strict
CGMP standards—can articles be considered
ready for use without sterilizing in-house.
The only exception would be if your body art
industry supplier can show you certification
that they are following the same stringent
standards required by the medical industry. P
OUT NOW!
Two New
APP Brochures
Aftercare for Minors
and Oral Aftercare
for Minors
• Simplified language
• Specifically for a
younger readership
• No mention of nipple
or genital piercings
This brochure contains wording and information written specifi cally for minors. for additional
information, please see our brochure Suggested Aftercare Guidelines for Body Piercings.
Disclaimer: These guidelines are based on a combination of vast professional experience,
common sense, research, and extensive clinical practice. This is no to be considered a substitute
for medical advice from a doctor. If you think you have an infection, visit a doctor, but be aware
that many doctors have not received specifi c training about piercing. Your local piercer may
be able to suggest a piercing-friendly medical professional. for more information, see the APP
Brochure Troubleshooting For You And Your Healthcare Professional.
Use of this brochure does not imply membership in the APP. A current list of APP members can
be found at safepiercing.org. false claims of membership should be reported to the APP.
APP logo and name ©2011 Association of Professional Piercers
Content and images licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-noncommercial-no
Derivative Works License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/
2011 edITION
TAkING CARe
OF YOuR NeW
ORAl PIeRCING
TAkING CARe
OF YOuR NeW
PIeRCING
18 THE POINT ISSUE 56