There is no fixed date when or who first pierced their body. People all over the world from ancient time practice it. Even the oldest mummified man till date, �tzi the Iceman, which was found in a Valentina Trujillon glacier also had an ear piercing 7-11 mm (1 to 000 gauge in AWG) diameter. Every country has it’s own story behind each piercing. Egyptians pierced body to reflect status and love of beauty.

Nose piercing and ear piercing are mentioned in the Bible. In Genesis 24:22, Abraham’s servant gave a nose ring and bracelets to Rebekah, wife of his son Isaac. In Exodus 32, Aaron makes the golden calf from melted earrings. Deuteronomy 15:12-17 dictates ear piercing as a mark of slavery. Nose piercing has been common in India since the 16th century. Tongue piercing was popular with the elite of Aztec and Maya civilization, though it was carried out as part of a blood ritual and such piercings were not intended to be permanent. Ancient Mesoamericans wore jewelry in their ears, noses, and lower lips, and such decorations continue to be popular amongst indigenous peoples in these.

Modern attitude towards piercing varies from individual to individual. For some it is primitive or spiritual and for some it is hip. Today it is impossible to count the piercing areas on ones body. I have tried to discuss most of them in this article, from head to toe.

Eyebrow Piercing

It is a non-traditional body piercing which is correlated to new phenomenon. Members of the seventies punk movement are some of the earliest known people to carry out this unique form of piercing. A piercing is done through the eyebrow usually in a vertical position. The most common pieces of jewelry used in eyebrow piercing are curved barbells, barbells, and captive bead rings. It takes around 6 to 8 weeks for the piercing to heal up.

Limitation: There is a risk of irritation, migration over time, scarring and infection.

Nostril Piercing

Nose piercing was performed as far back as 4,000 years ago in the Middle East. Nose piercing is very attractive, and can draw attention to the face, because the nose is face’s most prominent limb; Leonardo DaVinci thought that the nose set the character of the person. Many celebrities like Madonna, Lenny Kravitz, Sinead O’Connor, and Slash from Guns and Roses have all poked a hole in their nose. I am not counting any from India as it a tradition here to pierce nose. The most common pieces of jewelry in nostril are studs, nose rings, etc. To heal it takes around 2 to 4 months. Limitation: Nose piercing can lead to infection and should be cared more because of its susceptibility to germs and the nose’s proximity to the brain. If the hole begins to close and the bacteria are trapped, the infection can spread through your system. Apart from infection, there is a risk of aspiration and localized swelling filled with blood.

Bridge Piercing

It is a modern phenomenon and was performed in 1989 by body piercer Dan Kopka of the Gauntlet body-piercing studio in Los Angeles on Erl van Aken. Curved barbells and straight barbells are the commonly used jewelry in this piercing. It takes 8 to 10 weeksto heal-up.

Limitation: Bridge piercing has lesser degree of risk then nostril piercing. Yep! It does not affect your eyes unless it is performed properly.

Septum Piercing

Your septum is the small strip of skin that is between your nostrils, just before the cartilage of the nose. This is an unusual type of piercing. Though it prevailed since longtime back but it is a new idea in the fashion world of piercing. Mostly people wear jewelry like tusk, captive bead rings, circular barbells or pinchers in this piercing. Famous people from history like the Shawnee leaders Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa wore this piercing. It takes 6 to 8 weeks to heal.

Limitation: The greatest risk involved in this piercing is tissue death. It cam have the same infection symptoms like nostril piercing so should be care properly.

Lip/Labret Piercing

Lip/Labret piercing is most common in certain African tribes, who wear large decorative plates or discs, usually in the lower lip. Today, lip/labret piercing is becoming popular day by day among teens and adults. This piercing is also called Monroe or Madonna after actresses Marilyn Monroe and Madonna respectively. Recently hot sexy Mya pierced her lips. Lip & Labret piercing usually take between 6 to10 weeks to fully heal, it is very rare to develop an infection because the mouth contains an enzyme ‘Ptyalin’ which inhibits bacteria. Commonly worn jewelry are rings, studs, barbells, spikes, plates, etc.Limitations: It can cause gum damage and cracking of your teeth. Allergic reactions often occur (watch for tongue swelling). Rinsing with an alcohol-free mouth rinse 4-5 times daily (especially after meals).

Tongue Piercing

Tongue piercing is one like other contemporary piercing. There are some traces of tongue piercing in the history of ritual in Aztec and Maya cultures. However, permanent tongue piercing is a recent trend and you can adorn it with barbell or ring. Preferably, wear that jewelry which is less problematic. A smaller ball can be worn on the underside of the tongue to reduce contact with the sublingual portion of the oral cavity. It takes around a month to heal.

Limitation: Like lip piercing even tongue piercing has similar drawbacks like those that gum damage and can lead to speech hindrance, injury to salivary glands, tooth fracture, nerve damage or swelling that could compromise airway.

Ear Cartilage Piercing

Here in India I have seen many old women with multiple piercings in their ear cartilage. So for me it’s historical existence is very old. My friend Pooja Kashyap got her cartilaged pierced last month and said, ‘Everybody assume it to be the most painful experience but for me it was quite insignificant with respect to my passion for studding. It’s not fully recovered yet but on the verge of recuperating. However, I m planning for another stud very soon!’Scientifically for recuperation, it takes 4 months to one year. It’s jewelry can be earrings and studs. A variety of specialized cartilage piercings have become popular. These include the tragus piercing, antitragus piercing, rook piercing, industrial piercing, helix piercing, orbital piercing, daith piercing, and conch piercing.

Limitation: Its sluggish healing is it’s biggest limitation and if it is not cared properly, can cause serious bacterial infection. If this area becomes infected, seek medical attention immediately as there is no direct blood supply to the area and antibiotics often do not work. Infection can lead to cartilage damage and ear deformity.

Earlobe Piercing Ear piercing is one of the oldest known forms of body modification, with artistic and written references from cultures around the world dating back to early history. There was also a long-held belief that puncturing the earlobe was beneficial to increasing the acuity of eyesight or of hearing. These days in addition with earlobe piercing even earlobe stretching was common in primitive cultures for thousands of years and started to appear in Western civilization in the 1990s, and is now a common sight. Even I have got my earlobes pierced and you know I did it when I was a small kid. Now I am planning forward to a nostril piercing. For healing, it takes 6 to 8 weeks. Limitation: Earlobe piercing is prone to occurrence of an abscess, allergies and infection.

Nipple Piercing

Roman Centurions used to wear armored breastplates that had rings inserted near the nipple area, and capes were often hung from these rings. In the middle of the 14th century, Queen Isabella of Bavaria introduced a dress style that was open all the way to the nipple. Women took advantage of this opportunity by adorning their exposed nipples with diamond-studded rings. Nipples are usually pierced in 14 gauge or larger in men, and 12ga or larger for women. They are commonly considered one of the more painful locations to pierce. There is difference of few months in female and male recuperating; it takes 4 to 12 months and 2 to 4 months respectively. Jewelry for nipple piercing are barbells and rings. Do consider the jewelry you wear.

Limitation: If the ring is small, that can induce rejection or migration. There can be problem for the child during lactation as the jewelry can injure his palette. In very rare cases, a nipple piercing may block a milk duct, trapping an infection inside the breast (mastitis).

Navel Piercing

Navel piercing is not historical and is contemporary. It is popularized by Aerosmith and then many celebrities like Britney Spears, Beyonce Knowles, Paris Hilton, Linsday Lohan, Janet Jackson, Hilary Duff, Jessica Alba etc. are traced in it. This piercing is gaining popularity and the reason behind this is ’sex appeal.’ Many individuals think a belly button ring is ’sexy.’ I remember last year my friend had got her navel pierced and she faced lot of problems for few weeks and she yell in pain when her clothing was entangled with her jewelry. Anyways it can take 4 months to 1 year to convalesce. The best navel jewelry is CBR (captive ball ring) or a barbell but a ring is easier to clean and will heal faster. When the piercing heals fully you can change into any new fashionable jewelry.

Limitation: There are many risks involved in this piercing like irritation from clothing, infection, allergic reaction, excessive bleeding, cross contamination, keloids and moreover, you cannot donate blood for one year after getting a body piercing.

Genitalia Piercing

There is no purpose of genital piercing except for sex pleasure. The wearers say that they can feel the penis every time it enters the vagina and hence give them more pleasure. It is the most sensitive area to pierce and is prone to high risk.

Female genitalia piercing is not one place rather it covers wide range like Clitoral hood, which comprise vertical hood and horizontal hood and takes 2 to 6 weeks to recuperate. Other piercings are Clitoris (2 - 4 weeks), Fourchette (4- 6 weeks), Labia Minora (2 - 4 weeks), Labia Majora (2 - 6 months), Triangle (8 - 10 weeks) and Pubic or Princess Albertina piercing (10 - 12 weeks). Jewelry worn in genital piercing should be extremely sexy as main motive behind this piercing is more sexual pleasure.

Earlier male penis was pierced to pull it with ‘dressing ring’ into a tight fitting fashion or I think dress like today’s pants. Historic figure Prince Albert himself had it and is believed that he wore it to keep his foreskin retracted and “fresh smelling” so as not to offend his Queen. Even Benito Mussolini is said to had it. Alike female genitalia piercing even male genitalia piercing has wide range: Ampallang (4 - 8 months), Apadravya (4 - 8 months), Dydoe (8 - 12 weeks), Frenum piercing (6 - 8 weeks), Guiche (8 - 10 weeks), Prince Albert (4 - 9 weeks), Reverse Prince Albert (4 - 6 months), Scrotum (6 - 10 weeks), Foreskin (6 - 8 weeks), Pubic (10 - 12 weeks) and Lorum (10 - 12 weeks). In brackets, I have written the period in which these particular piercing will alleviate.

Jewelry worn is barbell and even rings.

Limitation: Piercing the clitoris horizontally may result in a loss of all feeling. A vertical piercing through the hood is not as risky. Genitalia piercing are prone to infection so keep the area clean. In female, this piercing can compromise of condoms or diaphragms. There can be urination problem. In male, there is risk of penile engorgement and jewelry can cause frictional irritation. Genitalia piercing might be pleasurable for some but for other the jewelry can be irritating.

I know that any part of our body can be poked into a hole and we can wear jewelry in it. I have discussed the major piercing parts on our body and which are familiar. I have shown differently the limitations of every piercing but there are some common risks involved in all types of piercing like Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, transmission of HIV, and many other blood-borne infections from unhygienic piercing tools and jewelry. My last word to you is that poke holes in any part of your body but keep it clean, hygienic and safe it from infection.