Bleeding after tongue piercing

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Wednesday September 10th, 2008 @ 7:23 AM

Filed under: Tongue

My friend got his tongue pierced. Everything was completely sterile and the ring is through the middle of his tongue. The piercer didn’t hit the veins on either side of his tongue and it looks great. The top hole is about an inch from the tip of his tongue, further back in his mouth then the bottom. I know this is further back then normal, could it have caused the bleeding. But two days after he got it pierced he woke up in the morning and there was alot of blood in his mouth. It was thickening up around the ring where I guess the body tried to slow the bleeding. At first he was freaking out. Now the bleeding eased a little about an hour to hour and a half after he woke up but were wondering what it could be from. It was only bleeding from the top and there was a little bit of dried blood on the bottom. I have been piercing for 6 years and I can’t say I have seen this happen. It did not bleed the first day and he only bled a few drops during or more so right after the piercing. He took Aspirin the first night after he got it done because it was all he had and he has been using a mixture of generic Listerine and water. Then once or twice a day he rinses with salt water. The night before he woke up with all the blood he was eating Chinese food. I only mention this because I know some meat tenderizers can irritate oral piercings. He came to me for advice but I’m not sure what to tell him aside from take it out. But I don’t want to say that if this is something that happens sometimes. Could it be because of how far back the top hole is even though the bottom hole did not hit his veins or webbing? Or could it be from him taking Aspirin? Please try to answer soon. Thank you.

I’m assuming you mean bar rather than ring, right?
If it hasn’t bled excessively until then, then I wouldn’t worry too much. It could very well be that he had an ‘orally active’ dream (I don’t want to know the details!) and coupled with taking aspirin - which is an anticoagulant and a pretty dumb thing to take after having a piercing - that could be behind the nocturnal bleed. Also, did he have an alcoholic drink (or three) with his chinese meal?
The thing with bleeding is that a little blood always looks like alot. Try telling a woman that the average amount of blood loss during a menstrual cycle equates to approximately six teaspoons and she’ll shoot you a look that will cut you in half faster than a guillotine! With bleeding, if it doesn’t appear to be slowing down after 20-30 mins, that’s when you potentially have a problem and should seek medical advice. If the piercing is well-placed and the bleeding has stopped then advise him to heal as normal (and ditch the listerine - this won’t be helping as it contains alcohol which also thins the blood, not to mention the fact that it really is far too harsh for an oral piercing). If he continues to get frequent bleeds then ask questions. Ask questions about his lifestyle and habits etc and don’t rule out the possibility that a vessel may have been nicked during the procedure. Use his answers to make a judgement call as to whether you think it best to remove the jewellery, let it heal and pierce at a later date, differently placed.

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