After getting her navel pierced, a 13-year-old girl with congenital heart disease contracted a life-threatening infection of the membrane lining her heart, known as endocarditis.
People with heart-related abnormalities are advised to take antibiotics prior to having procedures such as surgery or dental work because bacteria can gain access to the bloodstream during these events. If the bacteria enter the body, it can affect the valves of the heart, causing endocarditis. If left untreated, the infection can fatally destroy the heart muscle.
Currently there are no recommendations advising people with such conditions to take antibiotics preventively before having a piercing or tattoo. However, researchers note that this event suggests that people should be warned of the risks of infection.
Infective endocarditis is the fourth leading cause of infection-related death in the United States. Recently, there have been repeated reports of people developing infectious endocarditis after body piercing.
The 13-year-old girl reportedly became seriously ill one month after piercing her own navel. She had been born with a heart malformation that had been surgically corrected when she was 3 years old. The girl said she had removed the piercing after two days because it looked infected.
Tests revealed that she had an infection with Staphylococcus aureus in one of the valves in her heart. The girl was treated with heart surgery and antibiotics and released from the hospital after 22 days.
People who are born with heart malformations have a risk of endocarditis with naval piercing, as well as piercing of other parts of the body. Researchers say these patients should be warned of this risk along with other more common piercing risks.
The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal January, 2003;22:94-96
You need to be cautious about piercing your body with metal; it is not the wisest strategy.
There are obvious problems with tongue piercing, such as tooth fractures, and allergies can also result. However, less obvious problems may result from disruption of the body’s subtle energy fields. Many people don’t realize that we have very small electrical currents running through our body that help to normalize us.
Inserting pieces of metals into your body can disrupt this energy flow. If you are healthy it is unlikely that you would notice any difference, but piercings can be a problem in those with more serious health challenges.
The other issue with body piercings, as the report above states, are potential infections.
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