Piercing did not begin with today’s average little girls’ earrings, the several face piercings adorned by punks in the 1970’s, with the infamous Prince Albert piercing (a piercing on the male genitalia used to some how create a smooth line for the fashion of then) in England in the 1800’s, or even the Hindu woman’s religious nose ring. The art of piercing (using a needle to puncture a section of skin, creating a hole, to wear a ring, jewel, or other decoration in) is said to have begun a long, long time ago—in South American and African tribes. Only the high priests and emperors could practice tongue piercing in the Aztec and Mayan Empires, and tribes such as the Nuba of Ethiopia and the Dogon of Mali made the lip ring popular

But later in time, piercings became a trend with underground social groups like bikers and punk rockers. Nose, lip, ear, and eyebrow rings were the most common. Soon came the tongue piercing, and many other creative ways to decorate the face and body. Nowadays, piercings are widely accepted among young and old. Almost everyone has a piercing anymore—whether it is navel, ears, nose, etc. What was once an ancient religious practice became a rebellion. What was once a rebellion became a public fashion.

If you have a piercing, just got a piercing, or want a piercing, you’re in risk of many dangerous things involving your puncture of choice. New piercings with unsanitary equipment lead to infections or diseases like Hepatitis B, HIV, and AIDS. It doesn’t matter if you have had a piercing for a long time; you’re still up for infections if your holes are not properly cleaned and attended to. Infections include endocarditis, a deadly heart condition caused by infected wounds in the skin. Belly button and cartilage piercings are the most susceptible to infections, but all piercings have the chance.

Piercings can have regrets, just as tattoos can. This pregnant woman’s navel ring could be pushed out of her skin, causing permanent scarring and maybe even infection—effecting her baby. What was once a sexy piece of very trendy (girls as young as 12 ask for belly button piercings all the time) body jewelry could become a scarred memory on her body. Some peircings never fully heal, leaving marks and unwanted holes for years to come. Gauges (stretched, circular rings in the ears and other places) never heal, and will leave floppy pieces of skin to grow old with.