Complications and implications of body piercing in the head and neck

In recent years piercing of various body parts has become more and more popular in some social classes. Tongue and oral piercing has become a way to express one’s originality. Piercing cannot be considered to be harmless, and in some cases it might be even life-threatening.

The aim of our literature review was to present health risks and life-threatening complications of tongue piercing.

The work reviews articles from foreign medical journals, that were published in the last six years. 11 articles were chosen for comparative analysis of health and life risks associated with tongue piercing, with their short characteristics.

The review of literature indicates that the presence of a metal object in tongue tissue can cause many health problems, namely: bleeding during the procedure, nerve damage, pain and inflammatory reactions, local oedema and infection, problems with maintaining proper oral hygiene, oral ulcers, stimulation of salivation, aspiration hazard of improperly embedded material. Tongue piercing, practiced in certain cultural circles for years, can pose many health risks, both transitional and trivial, as well as life-threatening ones.

Nursing Topics 2014; 22 (4): 523–527