Getting a body piercing comes with a few but still significant risks. One of the most prominent of these risks is that of rejection – If you’re a piercing aficionado you would know. What you might not know, however, are the different forms or ways body piercing rejections can manifest. In this article, we throw light on these probable rejection manifestation routes

But first what causes the body to reject piercings

Our bodies are designed to keep all the bad guys (germs, foreign materials, pathogens) out from an ideally balanced internal environment. Usually, these foreign entities tend to upset the internal environment; exactly why it goes beyond board to keep them out. To do this the body employs a group of cells, tissues and substances collectively termed the immune system. When the immune system spots a foreign invader, it launches an attack to kill or remove it from the body.
By now you’ve probably guessed that rejection of piercings (and jewelry) by the body is a result of it trying to maintain its constant state of internal ‘okayness,’ something scientists call homeostasis. That’s because the body rightly classifies piercings as foreign and a threat, not knowing that’s it’s just you doing your best to look beautiful. Silly body!

How does a rejection look like

  • There’s considerable movement

If you wake up to see that your piercing jewelry has moved (anything from one or two centimeters, to an upper limit of several inches) then you can guess with accuracy that rejection is well underway. This movement is usually due to the body trying to ‘push out’ the piercing jewelry it an attempt to heal the scar formed during the piercing procedure.

  • The piercing hole appears to be getting bigger

Ideally, the piercing hole should remain the same or expand just a bit after your procedure. If you notice it expanding, usually manifesting as loose hanging jewelry, then there might be cause for alarm.

  • You can spot inflammation or signs of it

What’s inflammation? Simply put, inflammation is the appearance of redness, soreness, swelling, heat, and loss of function in a region affected by trauma or infection. Note that it’s normal to experience some of these signs a few hours after the actual piercing procedure, that’s your body reacting to the microsurgery that is a piercing. With time, however, it should fizzle out; when inflammation persists for days or arises a while spontaneously after the piercing procedure then you should be concerned

  • There’s considerable tissue death

One of the surefire ways to know piercing rejection is occurring is the presence of pus or fluid exudates in or around the piercing. Both are usually signs of tissue death and in most cases sequel to bacterial infection of the piercing site. When this happens, your body is trying to fight off the infection, and the pus you see is actually a mixture of defense cells and ‘conquered’ pathogens.

So there you have it, the four signs that are indicative of rejection in a piercing