A tongue piercing is one that often makes a statement. When you talk to other people, it’s one of the first things that they might notice. Fortunately, there are several tongue ring barbells to choose from ranging from bright colors to bold designs. However, you need to know how to care for your piercing so that the area stays clean and healthy, especially during the first few weeks after you get the piercing.
Cleaning
You need to take the time to clean your tongue piercing a few times during the day. Most businesses will give you solutions that you can use to clean your tongue so that bacteria doesn’t settle around the barbell or another piece of jewelry that you chose. Warm water and salt is a mixture that you can make to rinse your mouth after you eat and after you brush your teeth.
Swelling
Avoid changing to different tongue ring barbells until the piercing is healed. This can help decrease the swelling that you might experience for the first few weeks so that your tongue adjusts to having an object present. You can place an icepack on the sides of your face to help with swelling as well as sucking on small pieces of ice as the cold will help to keep swelling to a minimum as well.
Changing Your Jewelry
After a few weeks, you’ll be able to change the jewelry that you have. Barbells are quite common because the jewelry is a bit easier to move around and is easier to change in the future. When you change the piece, you want to clean your tongue and the area surrounding the jewelry so that it’s sterile. Avoid leaving the jewelry out of the piercing because it can quickly begin to close, which can mean that you would need to get it re-pierced.
