Punctuation marks

HAVING a nose stud or eyebrow ring seems the height of cool to many teen and pre-teen youngsters. This is the ultimate statement of individuality, fashion or rebellion - even if you have to remove the stud when you go to school.

Those same youngsters may well change their minds, however, after they have listened to Steve Adamthwaite.

Steve's accounts of what can go wrong if a piercing is not done properly would be enough to make anyone have a change of heart. Blood poisoning, pus-oozing infections, ugly scarring - even the risk of contracting HIV or hepatitis C; all are part of his armoury. And his stories are already having an effect on schoolchildren in York.

"It put me off, it did," says Amy Newton, 11, a Joseph Rowntree School pupil, with a shudder. "Some people don't wash their needles and stuff like that. They could kill you with blood poisoning."

Fellow pupil Stephanie Oliver, 12, shares Amy's distaste. "I think they piercings look nice," she says. "But I don't really think I would want it done now." "Now" being shortly after at talk at the school given by Steve.

The principal environmental health officer with City of York Council has nothing against piercing. He would not have it done to himself, but if an adult wants to have their navel, nose or any other part of their anatomy pierced, it is up to them.

What he does object to is unhygienic 'backstreet' piercers who don't really know what they are doing - and especially those who have no qualms about piercing children.

Astonishingly, there is no law to regulate body piercing. Tattooists, acupuncturists and ear-piercers all have to work to local bylaws.

Almost anyone can set up as a body piercer, punching holes through everything from the lip, nose, tongue, cheek and eyebrow to the nipples and genitalia, without having to worry about training or qualifications, or even registering with the local council.

Councils can prosecute if piercers injure someone, but cannot stop them setting up in business.

There is no legal minimum age for piercing - so, legally, a child can be pierced with or without parental consent. This is what most concerns Steve. Many youngsters in York are keen to be pierced. The Evening Press reported yesterday how a 14-year-old York schoolgirl had had her nipple pierced, while Amy Newton says she knows an 11-year-old who wants her belly pierced.

The problem is, says Steve, that as you grow older, your body changes.

"If you are under 16, your body will still be growing," he says. "A piercing doesn't grow with you and this can cause problems - sometimes permanently."

The law could be about to change, possibly by August, to bring body-piercing in line with tattooing and ear piercing. There would at least be basic bylaws in place to cover matters such as hygiene and to require piercers to register with their local council.

Even then, however, there is unlikely to be a minimum age for piercing - so a piercer would legally be able to pierce a girl as young as 11, 12 or 13.

Local authorities in York and North Yorkshire are hoping to get around this by introducing a voluntary code of practice, which will set out strict general health and safety guidelines on piercing, as well as rules on piercing children.

Any reputable piercer should have little difficulty complying with the code, says Steve, and those who sign up will receive a certificate indicating they have been approved by the council. It is hoped that this will drive out the cowboy piercers.

Until then, Steve is relying on shock tactics to persuade youngsters in the city that getting pierced is neither cool nor clever. He will be talking to a different year each day this week at Joseph Rowntree School, New Earswick, one of a number of schools in York being visited by environmental health officers in a campaign to warn of the dangers of unregulated piercing.

This is not, however, an all-out war on piercers - merely on underage piercing and on rogue operators. Several piercers in the city do operate to high standards, Steve says, and are in favour of stricter regulation.

One such is Becky Nicholas, who runs 21st Century Body Art in Walmgate with tattooist Brendan Singleton.

Becky has a studio that is a model of cleanliness and hygiene. The floor tiles gleam and the chair in which her clients sit has the antiseptic cleanness of a doctor's couch.

Becky swabs her hands in an anti-bacterial scrub before dealing with each patient, wears protective gloves and uses throwaway single-use sterile needles in sealed packets that she opens in front of each patient.

All other equipment, such as clamps, is carefully sterilised in an autoclave before use on each patient.

Becky says her precautions sometimes provoke odd comments. "Some people say, 'What are you changing your gloves for all the time, do you think you're going to catch something off me?'" the 24-year-old says. "I just say, 'You don't want to catch anything off me, and I don't want to catch anything off you'."

Becky had her belly pierced at the age of 11 and is a walking illustration of body art, including piercings and tattoos. She says she has seen too many examples of what can go wrong not to take hygiene seriously.

Often she ends up putting right other people's mistakes, sometimes for clients referred to her by the city council.

One girl came to her after having her tongue pierced, she says. The piercer had nicked one of the blood-vessels in her tongue - and had used a steel stud that contained too much nickel, to which the girl's tongue had reacted.

A few days later, at the city council's suggestion, the girl and her mother came to see Becky. The girl was in agony, her tongue was swollen and had a growth hanging beneath it.

Becky has seen countless cases of girls whose stomachs have been scarred, often permanently, by a clumsily-pierced belly button - or even simply by not looking after the piercing properly afterwards.

A belly piercing takes longer than any other sort of piercing to heal. The redness and bruising on the surface may subside after a couple of months, but that does not indicate that the wound inside has healed.

Becky advises that if you have had your belly pierced, you should keep the same piece of jewellery in place for a year and not take it out or fiddle with it. Otherwise growths called 'granulations' can occur, where the soft tissue beneath the skin grows out through the piercing, creating an unsightly lump.

Another common problem is infection, especially among children who cannot resist fiddling with their piercing.

"You can get swelling and discoloration, and the infection can spread," Becky warns. "It is not very nice."

Common risks of piercing:

Infection

Swelling and inflammation

Embedding or moving of jewellery

Scarring

Blood poisoning , HIV, hepatitis

What to look out for in a good piercer:

The piercer should ask for name, address and proof of age. A responsible piercer should at least ask for a parent or guardian to accompany you if you are under 16

The piercer should explain the procedure, risks and precautions before they pierce you

The studio should be clean and tidy, with a separate area for piercing

All equipment should be sterile - ask how this is achieved. Sterile needles should be opened in front of you, from a sealed package

The piercer should wash their hands in anti-bacterial soap before starting work. This lessens the risk of infection

They should put on disposable gloves before piercing

If the piercer does not follow these procedures, don't be afraid to leave, says the city council. Your health is at stake.

Aftercare:

Your piercing could take up to a year to heal, depending which part of the body you have had pierced. The belly takes the longest to heal, the tongue most quickly

Ensure your piercer hands you written instructions about how to keep your piercing clean

The best way of cleaning, says Becky Nicholas, is with salty water

Always go back at the first sign of trouble

If you are unhappy with how you have been pierced, contact your local environmental health department to complain. In York, this is at the city council on 01904 551525.

Updated: 11:12 Tuesday, February 10, 2004