Guide

Ear piercing: what to look out for

2.3.2023

Translation: Megan Cornish

We put it off for a long time, but now it’s happened. Our eight-year-old daughter has got her way and finally had her ears pierced for the first time. But what do we adults need to know about it?

So, the day has come: my daughter’s getting her first pair of earrings. But suddenly she’s not sure if she should do it or not. This may partly be because of me, because I’ve tried to talk her out of it again and again, saying things like «Why, sweetheart? I like you much better without jewellery!». However, she’s probably just afraid of getting pierced or the piercing gun. Here’s what parents should consider when getting their children’s ears pierced.

«I like you much better without earrings, sweetheart.»
Source: Martin Rupf

Earring stickers will do for starters

Let’s start from the beginning. In some parts of the world, it’s common practice for girls to have their ears pierced at a very young age – even in infancy, especially in Asia, Africa and Central and South America. Babies with pierced ears are also common in Italy. You see it less here. And yet many girls want to get their ears pierced sooner rather than later, either because their friends already have them or because they see real or fictional women as their role models.

Our daughter was no different. Luckily, we were able to satisfy her initial interest with earring stickers.

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But the pressure gradually increased, especially as more and more of my daughter’s friends got their ears pierced. It was clear that we’d (have to) give in to our daughter’s wish. Before we took the plunge, I got some expert information from a pharmacist friend of mine, because I’d heard that you can also get your ears pierced in pharmacies. I first wanted to ask her whether there’s anything medically wrong with piercing the ears of very young children – it’s not only girls who want pierced ears.

«Basically, there are no age limits. However, our policy is not to pierce children until they’re five years old,» says Sarah Ali, owner of the Vindonissa Rotpunkt pharmacy in Windisch (page in German). This is because small children often move uncontrollably and might touch their ears afterwards because the pierced earlobe still hurts or itches or they’re simply curious.

Next, I want to know if it’s true that piercing with a sterile needle is more hygienic than using a piercing gun. «In both cases, it depends on the instruments used. In our pharmacy, we gently pierce the earlobe with a very sharp closed sterile piercing system. It’s hygienic, quick, doesn’t make a loud bang and is virtually painless,» explains pharmacist Ali.

Because, strictly speaking, ear piercings are a physical injury, the pharmacist adds that written parental consent is required.

Once the studs are in, you can’t take them out for six weeks

So, there’s now nothing standing in the way of our daughter getting her ears pierced. After much back and forth, she overcomes her fear and heads into town with my wife. I kiss her goodbye on the lips and take a last look at her without earrings. When I come home from work a few hours later, she greets me with a big smile and slightly red earlobes. I ask her whether it really hurt. «No, not at all, » she says proudly. Wasn’t she afraid of the second piercing once the first one had been done? «No, both sides were done at the same time.»

Pharmacist Sarah Ali: «Piercings done with a gun are virtually painless»
Source: Martin Rupf

My daughter and my wife were told after the piercing that she’s not allowed to take the earrings out for the next six weeks and she has to sterilise the holes in her earlobes several times a day. «It’s also advisable to turn the earrings once or twice a day so that the studs remain loose in the hole,» explains Sarah Ali. It’s also really important not to touch the studs with unclean hands and not to press them into the earlobe. But Sarah Ali dismisses the general ban on contact with water that was imposed on my daughter. «You can go to an indoor pool, for example. It’s just important that you rinse your ears well in the shower and then sterilise them every time.»

And what if an infection develops anyway? «A small amount of clear fluid isn’t a problem,» explains Sarah Ali. «However, if the earlobe turns red, starts to fester or a fever suddenly breaks out, I recommend going to a pharmacy or doctor’s surgery.»

I admit it: the earrings look great on my daughter

The first night after the piercing, my daughter hardly slept a wink. But that wasn’t because her ears hurt. She was just so excited to be able to show her earrings to her friends at school that a good night’s sleep was out of the question.

It’s been a week since the piercing. Everything still looks good. And I have to admit that her earrings look good too. My reservations were probably unfounded.

The earrings look really cute.
Source: Martin Rupf

And anyway, what’s a pair of earrings if other piercings or tattoos will be on the agenda for discussion in less than ten years’ time. One thing’s for sure: if I say «Don’t do it, I like you much better without it», my daughter will be even less likely to be dissuaded from her plans.

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Header image: Shutterstock

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Martin Rupf

Senior Editor

martin.rupf@digitecgalaxus.ch

Half-Danish dad of two and third child of the family, mushroom picker, angler, dedicated public viewer and world champion of putting my foot in it.

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Ear piercing: what to look out for

Earring stickers will do for starters

Once the studs are in, you can’t take them out for six weeks

I admit it: the earrings look great on my daughter

These articles might also interest you

Trauma surgeon on 5 things you should never do with children

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From babyccinos to play dates: a glossary for parents-to-be

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