Nipple piercing vs. the risk of mastitis

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Monday March 9th, 2009 @ 2:55 PM

Filed under: Nipple

Hello

I’m planning on getting my nipples pierced, but I’m really afraid of getting mastitis. So I’d like to know:

-How high is the risk of mastitis due to nipple piercing? How often does it happen to women with pierced nipples?

-What factors can make the risk of mastitis higher and what should I do to reduce the risk?

Thanks in advance for the answer.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any hard numbers I (or anyone) can give you on the risk level of mastitis from nipple piercings. That type of research or tracking just doesn’t exist. I can tell you that in the 14 years I’ve been piercing (i.e., thousands of piercings I’ve done and even more that I’ve seen), I personally have only seen it occur a handful of times. However, being realistic about it, I would have to assume there have been other times it has happened that I haven’t been aware of.

From my perspective, I would classify the risk as real, but very low.

Some things you can do to reduce the risk of mastitis even further:

1) Have your piercings done by a knowledgeable, experienced piercer. Appropriate placement of the piercings is very important. When the piercings are done too deeply, you are at greater risk of complications.
2) Get the piercings done with barbells that are appropriately-sized for your body. Barbells are subject to much less movement and pressure, and therefore much less irritation. The less irritation, the faster the healing and the less likely you are to experience complications.
3) While I don’t think it’s that much of a factor, consider using titanium jewelry. This will virtually eliminate any chances of problems due to the jewelry material. Of course, this also assumes you are having high-quality jewelry put in in the first place. If you have poor made, poorly finished titanium barbells installed, you aren’t doing yourself any favors.
4) Be careful with them while they are healing. Take extra care when taking off clothes and putting them as well as when you are drying off after a bath or shower. One good snag can be enough to tear the piercings, increasing your chances of problems.
5) Keep your hands, as well as other people’s hands and mouths off of the piercings while they are healing. The more bacteria you put near, or into, the piercings, the greater your chances of having problems. In addition, the trauma from being played with too soon can lead to problems.
6) Appropriate aftercare is important as well. Your piercer should go over the care thoroughly.

Good luck!

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