If you have decided to go for the lip piercing, then bravo! It is an exciting decision for many youngsters. However, there are a couple of things you must consider before taking the leap of faith.
Many people make up their minds, in the spur of the moment, and get a lip piercing without knowing that there are foods to avoid with a new lip piercing. They eat spicy foods and all kinds of junk foods that lead to infections in the pierced area.
There are certain do’s and don’t’s that should be taken care of that will help the skin to heal properly and quickly. Like, some foods to avoid with a lip piercing, and how to take care of the newly pierced site. When the lip is pierced, you may have difficulty eating for a couple of days. Though the pain remains for around 6 to 8 weeks, so the chance of developing an infection remains in the same period. This is because our mouth contains bacteria. This is normal, but the swelling is not. Although, eating may be a problem for all initially that’s why there is a list of foods to avoid with new lip piercing
Liquids to Avoid during Oral Piercing Aftercare
Like mentioned earlier, with new lip piercings that are certain types of food- liquid and solid that you should avoid in the first few days. Like drinking beverages can be tough, especially hot coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. And let’s talk about alcohol, as a rule of thumb, anything that dilutes the blood, like blood thinners and alcohol, or anything that consists of caffeine shouldn’t be avoided.
These drinks can cause bleeding as it thins the blood, which can also lead to discomfort and swelling. To prevent your lip from infection and possible swelling, avoid hard liquor, soda, wine, beer, and all caffeinated drinks during the initial healing process. Instead, try drinking cold water, and iced drinks.
Foods to avoid with new lip piercing
Certain foods can delay the healing process and should be avoided altogether. Although, it’s hard to stay away from spicy and oily food because they taste heavenly, it’s not good for the piercing site. Foods like extra hot foods, or salty and acidic foods that can burn the site of the piercing should be kept away from your site, so don’t you don’t drool over them. When ingested, these foods cause burning sensation, swelling, and thus, pain. This can lead to possible infection. Similarly, you should avoid biting anything that isn’t food, like pricking your nails, or some people have a habit of chewing the sides of their nails- all these are a big no. Have you ever thought about how many bacteria our fingers and nails contain? Do you want to invite bacteria to your mouth and lead to infection? No, right?
Apart from foods, you should also clean the area of the piercing regularly to keep it infection-free. There are many oral piercing cleaning products in the market containing sea salt, go look for it. If you don’t have the time to search the market, make your own, using sea salt and lukewarm water. These are used to clean and soothe the lip piercing holes. However, if you decide to look in the market, look at the H2Ocean line of piercing cleaning products.
The Don’ts and Dos of Drinking & Eating
- Chew slowly and take smaller bites. Place small portions of foods in your mouth
- Make sure you only stick to cold foods, and drinks to soothe the pain and reduce swelling in the first couple of days
- Some people use ice on their piercing. At any cost, do not do that. If you want, use cold drinks to soothe the redness, never ice
- In case of bleeding and swelling, stay away from alcohol and/or caffeinated drinks as this will aggravate the symptoms
- Chewing gum is a big No. they only invite bacteria in
- Foods like mashed potatoes or anything sticky should be avoided as well. It will irritate the piercing. Soft foods are the best
- Some people open their mouths wide when chewing and move their tongues excessively around. This increases the chances of biting on your piercing. Try not to move your tongue so much that you accidentally bite on it or the piercing site.
- Meal-replacement drinks are the best, as they provide complete nourishment and are in the form of liquids. Some examples include protein shakes and green smoothies.
- Increase the intake of cold foods like applesauce, ice creams, and yogurt.
When you pierce a body part, the body’s natural response system attacks the foreign body. (in this case, the jewelry piece). Thus, piercing is a wound, and as a wound, this should be considered a serious matter Protect the area, keep it clean, do not touch it unnecessarily, and finally, give it time to heal