Piercing Your Baby’s Ear

In some culture’s it is normal to pierce a baby’s ear when he or she is new born. But others can choose to do so after a couple of months or even several years down the line. Here are some factors that can help you in piercing your baby’s ear.

1. Age-The right age to pierce ears is a personal decision. But most doctors agree that a baby should be at least 6 months to don a pair of earrings.
2. Procedure-You can opt to pierce your baby’s ear at a hospital, at the trained hands of a pediatrician or dermatologist. The advantage of getting it done at a hospital is that all the equipment used is sterile and there is less chances of catching an infection.But there are several jewelers who offer piercing services. Just make sure the technician performing the act has at least a years’ experience and follows all safety practices.
3. Mode of piercing-The old fashioned and more painful method getting your ears pierced is by simply inserting a sterilized needle in the ear. The latest mode consists of piercing the ear with a gun that simply pierces the ear with a pair of earring.
4. Choice of earrings-The choice of earring depends on the mode of piercing the ear.So if you are opting for the gun shot method, the earring come with it that are already sterile and are made specially to pierce the ear.You need to buy a pair for the other method, the best metal being stainless steel, gold, platinum and titanium. Remember to choose a metal that does not cause allergies.
5. Post-piercing care-Utmost care should be taken of the pierced area so at to prevent an infection.

Here is a list of precautions that you should take to make sure you don’t get infected:

1. Clean the area with alcohol or hydrogen peroxide.
2. Make sure the earring is not too tight.
3. Rotate the earring in the hole a couple of times gently round and up and down to maintain its shape.
4. After a bath, dry the area around the ear piercing so that it remains dry.
5. Do not change earring till the area has dried completely.
6. Visit a doctor if you see any signs of infection such as bleeding, pain or discharge.

So after 6 weeks of getting your baby’s ears pierced, you can put on a different pair of earring. Make sure you use earring made of good metal such as gold or surgical steel, as other metals may cause an allergic reaction.