Since tongue piercing appears to be becoming increasingly popular it is important for physicians, the public and those performing the piercings to be aware of the potential complications.

The first case of brain abscess following tongue piercing has been identified in a 22-year-old female.

In this case, the patient reported tongue swelling and pus drainage around the piercing site about 2 to 3 days after having her tongue pierced. She initially tolerated the symptoms, but pulled the stud out within 1 or 2 days, after which her symptoms improved.

Four weeks later, however, the patient began experiencing headaches, fever, nausea, vomiting and dizziness and was also increasingly wobbly while walking, the report indicates. She had a history of drug use, but denied using drugs during the previous 5 months and was HIV negative.

An MRI brain imaging scan revealed an abscess in the patient's brain, and she subsequently underwent surgery to drain the abscess. Upon examination of the drained fluid, the researchers found that it was contaminated with Streptococcus viridans and other normal mouth bacteria typically found in plaque.

The patient consequently received 6 weeks of antibiotic therapy and fully recovered.

In light of both the onset of symptoms following the removal of the tongue jewelry and the types of bacteria identified in the drained fluid, the brain abscess most likely resulted from the tongue piercing.

What's more, the relatively few reports of infection following tongue piercing may be due to reporting bias, rather than a true lack of incidents, the researchers speculate. Other reports of infection include a chest abscess and a heart infection.

39th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America November 21, 2001 San Francisco, California