Tongue piercing was practised in a ritual form by the ancient Aztecs, Mayas of Central America and the Haida, Kwakiutul, and Tlinglit tribes of the American Northwest. The tongue was pierced to draw blood to propitiate the gods, and to create an altered state of consciousness so that the priest or shaman could communicate with the gods.
Tongue piercing is one of the most popular piercings, it’s shocking, provocative and fantastic for oral sex (for both sexes), but at the same time no one need know you have it. Janet Jackson, Keith Flint from Prodigy, Mel B from the Spice Girls and Malcolm Jamahl Warner from the Cosby show all sport pierced tongues.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCES
“A tongue piercing is a truly erotic experience for both the piercee and his/her partner. Simply running the top ball of the barbell stud along the roof of the mouth, can only be described as a masturbatory act. It’s applications in oral sex should be obvious to the thinking, sensual human being. Mmmmmm.” Elayne “Angel” Binnie P.F.I.Q. magazine
“Now it’s healed I love it, it feels great and I play with it all the time, and the best thing is all the cute girls I like are dying to kiss me to see what it feels like. I met the most beautiful girl last night and she just couldn’t keep her tongue out of my mouth. I’m stoked that I did it, it was really worth the first uncomfortable few days.” Personal experience (Anonymous)
PIERCING
The actual piercing of the tongue is not painful in itself because the tongue is a muscle with striations, the needle slips between them just like pushing a needle through a piece of fabric. However the tongue can swell and become tender afterwards, sometimes quite dramatically, that’s why it’s usual to pierce the tongue first with a longer barbell, which is replaced for the proper size when the swelling goes down (usually 8-10 days). The further back from the tip of the tongue the piercing is done, the more swelling there is usually. Some people have a dimple on the front of the tongue this is usually the ideal place to do the piercing.
Tongue piercing is not for the faint of heart, you wont be able to eat solid foods, or talk properly for several days; this can sometimes lead to a short period of depression. Make sure before getting the piercing that you have all the things that you wont be able to have for a week such as steak, chips, chocolate, etc. A last meal for the condemned!
JEWELLERY
The most common form of jewellery in tongue piercing are barbells, which are available in surgical steel, gold-plated surgical steel and coloured plastic. The initial piercing must have a longer barbell with larger balls but once it’s healed you can wear a barbell with smaller balls. Labret studs and tongue retainers may appeal to those who need to hide their piercing, they have a flat top which makes them less visible and totally invisible if they are painted with flesh coloured nail polish.
HEALING
Tongue piercing usually take between 10-14 days to fully heal, it is almost impossible to develop an infection because the mouth contains an enzyme “Ptyalin” and Lingual antimicrobial Peptide (LAP) which kills bacteria. Overuse of mouthwash destroys these which can cause the tongue to go green or brown, if this happens reduce the amount of mouthwash you use.
You will experience swelling the first day you get the piercing, but the worst swelling will be from 2-5 days after the piercing, during which time your tongue will be very uncoordinated and you may find it very hard to talk. The only food you will be able to eat during the first 3-5 days are things like mashed potatoes, canned spaghetti mashed up etc. or fruit and milk drinks made in a blender.
During the healing process you may experience one or several of the following problems, don’t be alarmed they will all stop once the piercing is healed. Your salivary glands will overproduce saliva and this will cause you to constantly swallow, this may last for up to 5 days during which the salivary glands (under the chin) can become swollen. The tastebuds on the end of your tongue may become tender and you might experience a tingling or burning sensation. You may experience tenderness where the balls on the barbell make a depression on the palate of your mouth and on the lower inside gum of your mouth. You may see a white fluid being excreted by the wound, don’t be alarmed is just dead white blood cells it’s a normal part of the healing process, all wounds heal by secreting plasma which forms a scab, but because of the saliva in the mouth a scab can’t form.
After 3-5 days the swelling will start to reduce, and between 7-10 days after the piercing you will have to insert the shorter barbell inserted, I can do it for you or you can do it yourself. Usually the shorter barbell can be inserted after 8-10 days, although some people’s tongue may heal quicker. The amount of swelling depends on how long your tongue is (longer tongues swell more), where the piercing is placed (the further back from the tip, the more swelling) and how well you follow the aftercare instructions.
CHANGING THE JEWELLERY
The Piercing Temple has developed a unique method of tongue piercing. Because of the initial swelling caused by the piercing you need a longer barbell which must be replaced by a shorter one after the swelling goes down. Normally this would require two separate barbells which is more expensive, instead we have developed barbells where both the balls screw off and the stem in the middle can be changed. The first stem is 12mm and this is then changed to the 10mm stem when the swelling goes down.
We can change it for you (Free of charge), however if you can’t come to us to have it changed you can change it yourself. Rinse you mouth with water while changing barbells as this helps remove saliva and makes it easier to change the jewellery. Remove the initial barbell after 10 days, remove both balls from the longer stem, then screw the shorter stem into one of the balls which you must tighten as much as possible. This can be done by holding the stem (wrapped in a bit of tissue paper to prevent scratching) in a pair of pliers and firmly tightening the ball. Insert the barbell into the piercing from top to bottom and screw the ball on the bottom, this prevents you swallowing the ball if it comes undone. Do the ball finger tight then grasp it firmly and give it a firm quarter of a turn, this will lock the thread tightly.
If you want you can change the balls, there are larger and smaller balls available in Surgical steel, Gold-plated Surgical steel and solid 14ct gold. These balls are sold separately but are much cheaper than having to purchase a complete barbell.
INVISIBLE TONGUE PIERCING
Many people wish to get their tongues pierced but feel they are prevented by the negative reactions they may get from their employers. This can be solved by having your tongue pierced by a barbell painted with flesh coloured nail polish as this is less likely to be seen. For extra precaution after it’s healed you can wear a labret stud or tongue retainer (flat on top) painted with flesh coloured nail polish. Once it’s healed you can change the jewellery yourself, so you can wear one to hide the piercing from your boss (and relatives!), and one to impress your friends at night.
DO’s & DON’Ts TO CARE FOR YOU TONGUE PIERCING
DO use Difflam-CT throat lozenges (or some other antibacterial/anti- inflammatory lozenge) until you have the smaller barbell inserted. They perform two valuable functions, firstly, they are anti-bacterial which prevents infections; secondly, and most importantly they are anti- inflammatory which helps relieve swelling and promotes healing. Using these will greatly reduce the period your tongue will be swollen for.
DO rinse your mouth with a disinfectant such as Listerine or cepacol after eating any food (for 14 days), the mouthwash must be diluted to 1/4 of normal strength with water, using undiluted mouthwash reduces the mouth’s natural enzymes and peptides which help healing.
DO wait a minium of 10 days before attempting to change over to the shorter stem, if you do so before that period your tongue can swell up all over again.
DO remove plaque which can form on the jewellery, remove this very gently with a soft toothbrush during the healing period. After the piercing is healed use an antiplaque mouthwash, and you may remove the jewellery to clean it once a month.
DO check that the jewellery is screwed on tight once a week, clean hands with a germicidal soap before handling. The ball that screws off should be on the bottom, and it must be turned clockwise to tighten it.
DO be careful when you first start eating solid food to take very small bites and be careful when you chew to keep your tongue level in your mouth while eating, so the jewellery doesn’t knock against your teeth, and so you don’t bite the barbell and shatter a tooth! This is less of a problem after you get the smaller barbell.
DO keep cold water in the fridge, and add lots of ice to make it really cold, drink this when you first wake up in the morning. The swelling will be worse than usual because when you lie down more blood goes to your head, sip the iced water very slowly, this will help alleviate the swelling.
DO eat lots of cold foods i.e. ice cream, frozen yoghurt, suck on chipped or crushed ice, or very small ice blocks and drink lots of ice water this will alleviate pain and reduce swelling. Frozen ice blocks in packs from the supermarket are cheap and you can suck on them all day.
DON’T talk too much while you have the first (longer) barbell in, because the barbell is longer (to accommodate swelling) excess movement will cause the barbell to cut the top of the wound. This problem will get better once the swelling goes down and a shorter barbell is inserted.
DON’T eat food that’s hot in temperature ie. coffee, tea, soup as this can be painful during the healing phase. Don’t eat spicy hot food ie. chilli, curry because this can increase the swelling during healing.
DON’T use undiluted mouthwash as this destroys the mouth natural enzymes which promote healing and it can cause ulceration.
DON’T put anything dirty in your mouth such as fingernails, pens, etc. And you must refrain from oral sex for the first 10-14 days, this includes kissing even if you are in a monogamous relationship.
DON’T play with the piercing or chew on it during the healing period as this can lead to excess scar tissue formation and delayed healing.
DON’T remove or replace the jewellery during the healing period, as the hole closes up very quickly and it’s painful to reinsert the jewellery once this happens. Even after the piercing is healed it will close up within a day if you remove the jewellery.
© Cheyenne Morrison, One Tribe, Australia 98