Body piercing has a long and rich tradition throughout many cultures of the world. Based on the remains of a mummified Egyptian man, we know people were fond of sticking things into themselves ornamentally even 5,000 years ago. Here in America, the Nez Perce Indians of the Northwest were so named by French trappers because they wore bones pierced through their septum (nose). Ears, noses, bellybuttons, eyebrows, nipples, tongues, genitals – if it’s possible to poke something into it, chances are somebody somewhere already has. But not without risk. Deciding to accessorize with a piercing is a bit more complicated than picking out a handbag. Are you really sure you want THAT hanging off your body? Here are 10 reasons you might want to think twice about getting pierced. Anywhere.

No matter how much YOU want it, your body really doesn’t like to have foreign objects poked into it. Rejection means your body may find it’s "easier" to push the piercing out like a splinter than to heal a fistula (skin tunnel) around it. Surface piercings, such as a navel, eyebrow, nape of the neck, or “Christina” piercing, (the latter being from the very top of the clitoral hood, through the small ridge where the outer labia meet, and exiting through the surface of the pubic mound) tend to have a higher rejection rate than those which pass through a deeper area of flesh or have holes on the opposite side of each other (ears or tongue).

It’s not just the Canadian geese that migrate – piercings do too. In other words, where you want it might not be where it ends up. Migration can be painful, or occur almost unnoticed. The most common form of migration is heavy small gauge earrings shifting further downwards out of the earlobe, common in older women who have worn earrings most of their lives. “Playing with” or moving the area pierced or implanted can also lead to migration, as the fistula stretches in one direction, and tissue fills in behind it. Damage to the tissue surrounding the piercing can also cause migration. A damaged piercing, much like a fresh piercing, must heal the fistula that it passes through, and the jewelry may start migrating in the direction of the wound, further damaging the fistula. Once the fistula heals, migration may stop - or not – because the re-healed tissue may not be as strong as the original.

3. Gum recession

In Australia, the Journal of Periodontology reported the case of a 26-year-old woman who noticed soon after getting an oral barbell (through her lip) that her gums started to progressively recede in the area of the piercing. Just like water dripping on a rock, metal rubbing over your gums will progressively erode the tissue. According to the journal, "This can lead not only to an unattractive defect, but also leaves the tooth root more vulnerable to decay and periodontal disease.” Tongue piercings can also cause gum recession, although it is less noticeable because it occurs on the backs of the teeth. You can take the piercing out of the body, but you can’t get the recession out of the gum. It’s permanent.

According to Body Modification Ezine, the Cheese-Cutter Effect (coined in Los Angeles in the ’80s) occurs primarily with ear lobe piercings when the jewelry wire used is so thin, it actually slices through the tissue of the ear, either tearing the piercing out entirely, or creating a long wire-cheese-cutter-like slit. Ear lobes torn in this way usually require stitches – and generally the sooner, the better, because if it’s not corrected, the damage can remain permanently. Although this injury is most common with ear lobes, it can also occur with nipple piercings as well. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my nipples anywhere NEAR a cheese-cutter – just for the record.

5. Showerhead Effect

Another picturesque term, the Showerhead Effect refers to a very unfortunate by-product of penile piercing where the jewelry disrupts the flow of urine, causing multiple streams (as far as I know this is NOT the origin of the term “golden showers”). Apparently, the streams shoot off in different directions, making it difficult to “pee neatly” while standing. Removing the jewelry or turning the ring around may or may not solve the problem and most men with this type of piercing simply accept that they have to sit down and pee like girls.

Before you understand this risk, you have to understand how it occurs (and then maybe you can help me understand why anyone would do this in the first place). To enhance physical stimulation – and just to look pretty – some men choose to have 1/4" stainless steel, titanium, silicone, or niobium beads implanted under the skin on the shaft of the penis. One of the risks to this lovely procedure is shifting of the implants during healing into a location not intended. Shifting may occur immediately after implantation due to the shape of the anatomy. It can also occur if the beading is “abused” during healing (i.e., having sex too soon after implantation), and some men simply have loose skin on the shaft which means there could be shifting indefinitely. I wonder if the beads jingle when they walk?

In the forests of Borneo, the Dyak people believe the most beautiful women have the longest earlobes. To achieve this ideal, lobes are pierced during childhood and progressively larger earrings are worn until a three-quarter-inch wooden plug can fit in the hole. At this point, metal rings are hung from the lobes, and are slowly added over time until the earlobes stretch down to the collarbone. While this fashion hasn’t completely caught on in the West, large ear plugs have. Of course, in our instant-gratification society, the desire for quick results can have unfortunate consequences. Overstretching can create long tears in the tissue around the skin tube (fistula) that forms the hole. After a tear, the jewelry must be downsized significantly to allow the wound to heal.

Keloid scars are a specific form of fibrous scar tissue that extends well beyond the margins of the original piercing. Generally, the more melanin in the skin, the darker and more prominent the keloid scars will be. Keloid scars can be treated with steroid injections, but surgical removal may be the only option. Even then, the keloid may return.

9. Mastitis

Nipple-piercing may seem like a cool idea for gals, but it is fraught with particularly serious risks of infection. Trauma to the nipples can cause infected milk ducts – similar to what nursing women experience. But minor infections can travel deeper into the tissue relatively quickly and may not even be visible. Antibiotics can often treat minor infections. In more serious cases, the area may need to be lanced (incised and drained). Untreated infections can require surgical removal of the infected milk ducts or even the entire breast. Serious infections of this kind can even be fatal.

Once again, thanks to the experts at Body Modification Ezine, we now know infected piercings in ear cartilage can actually cause the ear to collapse. Trapped within layers of cartilage, the infection can spread rapidly and literally destroy an ear within 24 to 48 hours. Because cartilage forms the structure of the ear and cannot be regenerated, even after the infection is cleared away, there may be permanent damage.