Health officials are already looking into piercing and tattoo parlors to make sure that they operate in a safe and sterile way. Yet there are times that these body piercings can come with grave consequences because the employees may have violated health code, or because your body just wasn’t prepared. Governor Cuomo in New York recently signed a new law to further protect teenagers from the dangers associated with boy piercings. He informed the public recently that 20 percent of all piercings come with an infection. The new law requires that New York teens have written parental consent if they want to get a body piercing anywhere other than the ear. The governor says that the body piercings can result in infection and a permanent scar, but this law will make sure that kids are only getting pierced with the approval of a calculating parent.

But even a law can’t cause all piercing injuries to disappear. Dentists warn against oral piercings, which include piercing a tongue or lip. According to one dentist, some teens suffer no ill effects from the oral piercings, but the practice carries huge risks. The mouth is home to large numbers of breeding bacteria, and it is an ideal place for an infection. Those who get an oral piercing are at a higher risk to endocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart valves or tissues.

This starts in the mouth, and then the bacteria travels through the bloodstream and down into the heart. This can result in eventual death of a teen is victim to the disease. As well, an oral piercing can interfere with a teen’s speck, chewing, or swallowing. When there is infection, pain, and swelling it can diminish your ability to eat. As well, the piercing may scrape and damage your gums, or damage fillings in the mouth. In some cases, the piercings can also cause nerve damage.

Another dentist says that oral piercings cause a lot of chipped and broken from teeth. They can also create the need for gum surgery because of the extensive damage done to the inside of the mouth. Sometimes a barbell can come undone and fall down into the body. In one case, a woman with a barbell in her mouth swallowed the metal jewelry. The metal ended up lodged in her intestine, tearing at her digestive system until she went in for a surgery. Another time, a woman formed a brain abscess that could be traced back to her tongue piercing. She had to have part of her skull removed in order to take away the infection that could have killed her. Tongue piercing has also been associated with cases of neuralgia, which causes lingering pain.

In some cases, those who have gotten piercings in the mouth, belly button, or anywhere else for that matter have obtained an HIV or hepatitis infection. Both of these illnesses can be fatal, and will radically change your life as you fight to maintain comfort. These two sicknesses are normally traced back to an unsterile environment. If you go to a clinic where they do not clean their needles and use gloves, then you may be at risk to these infections. Hepatitis causes the swelling and inflammation of the liver, and HIV is a virus that is extremely contagious and can be transmitted sexually. Both illnesses can be suppressed, but are difficult to cure. If you have contracted a disease, infection, or serious discomfort from your body piercings, you may be able to sue for unsanitary conditions and obtain damages. Talk to a personal injury attorney today for more information.