Do you have a new double tongue piercing? How long will it take to heal and what are the dangers associated with it? This article contains more information on double tongue piercing pain, healing process, aftercare instructions, pictures, dangers and risks associated with it.
Double Tongue Piercing Healing
Double piercing procedure involves making two separate piercings on your tongue with an intension of wearing separate barbells. The two piercings can be positioned on the same direction or one can be vertical while the other horizontally.
Double or two tongue piercing may take 1-2 moth to heal completely. Fastest healing generally takes 2-3 weeks to heal when there is no any complication. However the healing process can be delayed as a result of infections, allergic reactions to the jewelry or irritations from food and dental care products.
During the initial healing process, it is normal to experience some swelling, tongue irritations or redness among other discomforts. The selling may last between 7 to 10 days from the initial piercing. It may cause the size of your tongue to double. This may cause difficulties in speaking, chewing and swallowing food.
During healing process, there are various normal problems that you will go through. You don’t need to get worried when you notice the following:
- Excess saliva
Excessive production of saliva by the salivary gland located under your tongue. This condition is normal and also helps in the healing process. Saliva contains enzymes that helps to fight bacteria and other micro-organisms that causes infections.
- White discharge
White discharge or excretes around the piercing are the first signs of healing process. It simply shows that the dead white bloods cells are exiting your wound. It doesn’t form a scab due to saliva that is present in your mouth.
- Swollen taste buds
Taste buds that are located near the piercing may also become swollen and tender due to irritations on your tongue. They normally swell during the initial stages of healing process.
- Difficulties in eating and speaking
This is normal during the initial stages of piercing. You may experience some difficulties especially when eating hot, spicy, solid and salty foods. You are only supposed to take mashed food and soups to avoid irritations. It is also difficult to make correct pronunciations while having a swollen tongue.
During healing process of a double tongue piercing, it is recommended to use a high quality mouthwash to clean your mouth. You should also avoid using the mouthwash to over-clean your mouth. It can delay the healing process or cause your tongue to turn green or brown.
How to Care for Double Tongue Piercing – Cleaning
Oral piercings are prone to infections due to numerous bacteria that are present in your mouth. It is therefore important to take good care of it to avoid infections as well as fastening the healing process. There are various aftercare tips you can use to keep the piercing clean and free from bacteria and other micro-organisms that causes infections. They include:
- Rinse using a mouthwash
Use a good quality mouthwash to rinse your mouth for about 1 minute after every meal and before going to bed. It helps to prevent infections by fighting bacteria as well as boosting the healing process. Avoid using harsh mouthwash that contains alcohol, it may cause irritation or delay the tongue piercing healing process.
- Clean the piercing area
Keeping the wound clean is very essential for a successful piercing. Make it a routine to clean your piercing for at least 2 times a day. Soak a cotton ball into in a saline solution and dab it gently around the pierced site.
Use alcohol free mouthwash to gargle in your mouth and spit out after taking every meal. It helps to remove food particles and other debris that harbors bacteria into your mouth. Clean your piercing daily but avoid overdoing it as it may delay the healing processes.
- Avoid spicy and hot food
During the first 1 week after double tongue piercing procedure, you need to avoid spicy, salty or hot foods and beverages. They may cause irritations to your piercing. Instead, you should opt for soft foods and drinks like soup, mashed potatoes, protein shakes, ice cream, mashed ripe bananas or rice among other meals.
- Keep your hands clean always
Your hands should remain clean all the time. Wash them thoroughly using antibacterial soap and running water prior to cleaning your tongue piercing. Also avoid un-necessary touching the piercing or the jewelry and you may transfer germs to the pierced site.
- Avoid tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption
During the initial tongue piercing healing time, you are supposed to avoid harmful activities that may delay the process. Avoid smoking tobacco, alcohol consumption, chewing gum and playing with jewelry. This helps to prevent irritations to your piercing.
- Brush your teeth properly
General dental care practices are vital for a successful tongue piercing. Therefore, it is important to brush your teeth properly after every meal and floss regularly to remove food particles and other debris between your teeth.
- Reduce the swelling
It is normal for your piercing to swell during the initial stages. To help reduce swelling and other discomforts, drink plenty of cold water and place some ice chips to melt on your tongue. Do not suck the ice chips, allow them to melt slowly on their own.
- Gargle with sea salt solution
After your routine dental care practices, gargle sea salt solution into the mouth. It helps to reduce swelling as well as boosting the healing process. To prepare the solution, you simply mix ¼ teaspoon of sea salt with a glass of warm water. Repeat this remedy twice daily.
- Dry the piercing after cleaning
Use a clean and disposable paper towel to dry your double tongue piercing after cleaning. Avoid using towel or a piece of cloth of cloth as it may contain bacteria or other pathogenic micro-organisms that can cause an infection.
- Choose the right jewelry
Choose the right piercing jewelry that does not cause irritation or allergic reactions. Plastic jewelry are best as compared to stainless still or titanium. Once the initial healing process elapse, visit your piercer to change the jewelry according to your choice.
- Tighten loose barbell balls
The balls can unscrew over a time, it is therefore important to check the barbell balls regularly and tighten them when loose. Use clean hands to hold at the bottom of jewelry while using the other hand to check the tightness at the top.
Ensure that you follow the aftercare instructions given by your professional piercer. Failure to follow the aftercare tips may lead to infections and other complications that may delay the healing process. Also, be keen enough and check for any sign of an infection and seek early treatment.
Double Tongue Piercing Pain – Does it hurt?
Does tongue piercing hurt? This is a very common question that many people ask when intending to have their tongue pierced. Like any other type of body piercing, tongue piercing is also accompanied with some pain.
However, the pain level varies from one person to the other. People have different experience about the pain after the procedure. The truth is that, a double pierced tongue may hurt more as compared to single piercing.
During the initial days, your tongue will pain, swell and bruise for the first week. It is normal to experience this discomfort during the initial stages of your piercing and they usually disappears after a while upon proper aftercare practices.
If the pain, swelling, discharge and bleeding occurs after initial stages of piercing, it simply means that your piercing might have gotten an infection. It is therefore recommended to visit your professional piercer of doctor for further instructions and treatment.
To avoid further pain during the healing stages, there is a number of things you can do to alleviate the irritation. You have to avoid spicy, hot and solid food and beverages that can cause an irritation to your piercing.
It is also important to make some adjustments to your lifestyle to avoid the pain. You have to stop smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol during the healing period as it may cause irritations to your pierced site.
If you have to relieve the pain, take over-the-counter painkillers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Avoid blood thinning medications like aspirin among others.
Double Tongue Piercing Dangers and Risks
Having two piercing on your tongue may be attractive to some but apart from double pain, there are a number of health risk or dangers that are associated with tongue piercings. They include:
Infections
Infection is the major risk that is associated with oral piercings. There is numerous bacteria and other pathogenic microorganisms that are found in your mouth. Given that you have created a wound on your tongue through piercing, it provides an entrance of bacteria into the bloodstream.
Touching the jewelry especially with dirty hands also introduces new bacteria into the pierced site. Infections may cause other complications into your body. They also delays the healing process of your piercing. After an infection, there are a number of symptoms that you may experience including:
- Presence of smelly yellow or green discharge from the infected area.
- Persistence swelling of the tongue that doubles the normal size
- Redness, inflammation or pain on the pieced area.
- Tongue discoloration from the normal color to brown, green or yellow.
- Bleeding that occurs after the healing process is initiated.
- Difficulties in speaking, chewing and swallowing food.
- Fever and swollen lymph nodes that are located at the neck.
- Breathing complications due to swollen tongue.
It is normal to experience some of the above symptoms above for few days after double tongue piercing procedure. However, when they persist for several days or weeks, it may be an indication that your piercing is infected. It is therefore recommended to seek for treatment immediately.
Nerve damage
Tongue piercing damage the nerve especially when done by unprofessional piercer. This can lead to excessive bleeding, numbness of part of the tongue or the whole tongue and difficulties when speaking, chewing or swallowing food.
Damaged nerve may also cause tongue swelling. In some cases, the tongue may swell and double in size. This can cause various complications such as difficulties in breathing and eating food. You are supposed to perform enough research on tongue piercing and ensure that the procedure is done by a professional piercer.
Rejection and migration of the jewelry
Not all body piercings are successful, your body may develop an allergic reaction to metals. The body can cause a hypersensitive reaction to metals in the jewelry. It may consider it as a threat to your health. It will therefore react by pushing the metal away from your body and eventually expels it out.
Endocarditis
The bacteria in your mouth may make a way into the bloodstream through the piercing to cause a condition known as endocarditis. This is an inflammation of the heart or valves. Having other heart condition increases the risk of endocarditis.
Transmissions of infections
It is not recommended to engage in oral sex activities like kissing when having a new double tongue piercing. Oral sex increases transmission of various diseases like herpes simplex virus, hepatitis B and C among other infection through the wound created through piercing.
Teeth and gum infections or damage
Wearing the barbell can chip or crack your teeth when the two comes into contact. The jewelry can also come into contact with your gum tissues to cause an injury that can lead to gum infections that may lead to loss of a tooth or teeth.
Difficulties in speaking, chewing and swallowing food
The tongue normally becomes swollen for the first few days after piercing procedure. This can cause difficulties in movement of the tongue and hence resulting to difficulties in speech, chewing, swallowing food and even breathing.
Swallowing the jewelry
Another risk of having oral piercing is chocking and swallowing. The barbell balls can become loose and if swallowed, it can lead to various digestive track complications. It is advisable to cheek regularly and tighten loose barbell balls.
Double Tongue Piercing Prices – How Much Does It Cost
The cost of having your tongue pierced double varies from one studio to the other depending on various factors like competition level in your area, geographical locations, the level of skills and experience of the piercer and also your personal preferences.
Some piercing studios quote the total price which covers both the piercing procedure and jewelry while others will only charge the piercing procedure. This means that you are required to buy the jewelry of your choice either from the same studio or from any other shop.
Therefore, the piercing price varies from 30 dollars to 90 dollars when the jewelry is included. The cost of a standard jewelry costs between 26-28 dollars. Some of the studios also has a mouthwash that cost around 5 dollars and you may be given sea salt for free.
After the initial healing of your piercing, you are required to adjust the barbell or size it down. You are required to re-visit your professional piercer for readjustment of the barbell and you have to buy the middle shaft of jewelry that cost 12 dollars.
When the piercing procedure is done, you are given some aftercare instructions. It is important to follow them strictly in order to avoid infections. You may be required to spend more on treating an infected tongue piercing. Infections also causes other complications that delays the healing process.
Double Tongue Piercing Jewelry, Ring or Stud
Double tongue-piercing jewelries are made from various materials including stainless steel, titanium, gold or plastics among others. They have beads at the end of the barbells that are decorated in various shiny designs that resembles a star, diamond, spider, human skull and other different colors.
The jewelries are also in different gauges, after piecing procedure you are given a longer barbell that will provide a room for accommodation of the tongue during swelling in the initial stages. It will therefore be replaced or re-adjusted to a shorter length when the tongue resumes to its normal size.
Double Tongue Piercing Pictures, Photos or Images
Do you want to know how a double pierced tongue look like? In this article, we have included several pictures that will help you have a visual understanding of how exactly you will look like after your double piercing has healed. If you are intending to get pierced, you can either choose to have a pair of horizontal or vertical piercing. You can also choose to have one vertical and the other one horizontal.