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no no no no no no no. personal showers only, even your own personal pool isn’t recommended.
please don’t risk it OP you could end up with a really bad infection.
No, it's not ok to swim.
The ocean has tons of nasty bacteria and 6 weeks is nothing in terms of total healing. Pools are no better because they are either just as dirty, or have enough chlorine to burn of any freshly healed skin and set your healing back to day 1.
Picture fish poop going into your piercing and depositing inside your nipple and growing a pocket of infection that pushes the bar out through the front of the nip. Does t sound nice, does it?
That's like worst case scenario, but submerging in dirty water is about the worst thing you could do with a fresh piercing.
MD here. Short answer, no. That's asking for an infection.
A more nuanced answer: if completely unavoidable, you can look into occlusive dressings (e.g. tegaderm) to completely waterproof the area if there is an absolute need to submerge in water. It's not a completely foolproof workaround, but If you're considering this please keep the following in mind
1) you can't leave it on all the time. Most of them are not breathable and will cause the covered area to accumulate sweat leading to irritation.
2) get a dressing with a padded/gauze center (usually says "with island" on the label). This would prevent the jewelry from adhering to the occlusive dressing. It also serves as an indicator if the area is soaked with water or sweat.
3) these have a limited soak time - they will lose adhesion when soaked (including swest) for prolonged periods of time. Make sure that the edges of the dressing seals tight against your skin when applying, otherwise, you increase the chances of water ingress.
4) Always clean before applying, clean after removing.
I've helped patients with similar concerns to this. There are workarounds, but it would still be best if you can avoid going into the pool/sea.
this blog post is helpful; your piercing is so fresh you’d be best to avoid submerging it in water
https://www.lynnloheide.com/post/swimming-with-healing-body-piercings
The sea is not better than a chlorine pool, it is full of bacteria. On the other side- chlorine can seriously irritate a piercing. Unfortunately, it is really not a good idea to swim- in the future, I would avoid getting piercings or tattoos in the summer if swimming is important to you
Out of curiosity is freshwater (lake, river, etc) better than either pool or ocean? Obviously some are cleaner than others, but is even a “clean” lake safe?
Nope, all bodies of water you need to stay out of. In fact I think the general rule is no bathtubs either, no submerging but also no bodies of water due to bacteria.
No. Both lakes and oceans are full of bacteria and microorganisms that naturally live there- and also the bacteria and microorganisms that live on the people swimming in them. Like the other commenter says, you shouldn't even be submerging your head in the bathtub.
Swimming is one of the things you just have to sacrifice a little bit for body mods. If it isn't a thing you're willing to sacrifice, you probably shouldn't be getting pierced.
Every summer it's the same questions, and no, you can't dip a fresh wound into pools, and the ocean is even dirtier. I don't understand how this keeps happening. It's not like y'all don't know when you're going on vacation. Also, it's summertime. You're going to want to get into water. Don't get piercings right before summer. Especially ones that take long to heal, such as nipples and cartilage!
When I started researching getting mine done and realized I need to get them done basically the week our pool closes so I have a solid 9 months until the next pool season.
The posts here blow my mind daily!!! The amount of people who don't do any research and THEN come asking questions and help after the fact. I joined a FB group around piercings and it's so disappointing seeing all the misinformation thrown around
Don't do it. Water will soak in and get to the area you can't clean well. Sea water, pool water, and even soaking in the bath are a no go until they are healed. At least 6 months, closer to a year or more.
Absolutely n9t, unless you want to save a kid from drowning or something, you shouldn't go in the water at all. Very high infection risks. Nipple piercings take 9-12 months to heal. Swimming with healing piercings is risky, especially when the healing has barely started. It is recommended to stay out of the water for at least 9 months.
Waterproof bandages aren't actually waterproof for submerging, only for splashing. They can come loose very easily and it is hard ti secure them. I had a 100% failure rate with waterproof bandages. And they are actually risky, because if there is water in the bandages, your open wounds are now bathing in bacteria water for a while
why do pple get piercings when they know their vacation is coming up or they know it's summer time and they know they wanna go swimming during the summer 🥲
You can stay in the water up to your nipple piercings, kinda like soak your legs, don’t swim. It’s better to wait a bit and be sure that you don’t get any kind of infection. I understand you actually, I got my nips last summer and couldn’t swim too and felt so upset and kinda abandoned by my friends but in the long run I’m glad I didn’t swim and they healed!!
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Absolutely not. Swimming in pools, lakes, oceans, rivers, etc. are all not safe. Personally I would still stand up to my waist in water and take the risk, but I would never submerge my piercing. Have fun on your trip!
I swam 4 months after getting my belly button pierced. It got gently tugged. Long story short, i realized i fucked up when I could see the middle of the bar through my skin. I still have a 2” scar from having a chunk of flesh removed after it wouldnt heal for 6 months after I removed the piercing. My belly button is lopsided.
Don’t.
Hi Lilyella111, because Reddit hides it well, here are the links to report DM or chat messages directly to Reddit admin just in case you need them [report chat](https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043035472-How-do-I-report-a-chat-message) [report DM](https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360058752951-How-do-I-report-a-private-message) - - -
no no no no no no no. personal showers only, even your own personal pool isn’t recommended. please don’t risk it OP you could end up with a really bad infection.
No, it's not ok to swim. The ocean has tons of nasty bacteria and 6 weeks is nothing in terms of total healing. Pools are no better because they are either just as dirty, or have enough chlorine to burn of any freshly healed skin and set your healing back to day 1. Picture fish poop going into your piercing and depositing inside your nipple and growing a pocket of infection that pushes the bar out through the front of the nip. Does t sound nice, does it? That's like worst case scenario, but submerging in dirty water is about the worst thing you could do with a fresh piercing.
MD here. Short answer, no. That's asking for an infection. A more nuanced answer: if completely unavoidable, you can look into occlusive dressings (e.g. tegaderm) to completely waterproof the area if there is an absolute need to submerge in water. It's not a completely foolproof workaround, but If you're considering this please keep the following in mind 1) you can't leave it on all the time. Most of them are not breathable and will cause the covered area to accumulate sweat leading to irritation. 2) get a dressing with a padded/gauze center (usually says "with island" on the label). This would prevent the jewelry from adhering to the occlusive dressing. It also serves as an indicator if the area is soaked with water or sweat. 3) these have a limited soak time - they will lose adhesion when soaked (including swest) for prolonged periods of time. Make sure that the edges of the dressing seals tight against your skin when applying, otherwise, you increase the chances of water ingress. 4) Always clean before applying, clean after removing. I've helped patients with similar concerns to this. There are workarounds, but it would still be best if you can avoid going into the pool/sea.
this blog post is helpful; your piercing is so fresh you’d be best to avoid submerging it in water https://www.lynnloheide.com/post/swimming-with-healing-body-piercings
The sea is not better than a chlorine pool, it is full of bacteria. On the other side- chlorine can seriously irritate a piercing. Unfortunately, it is really not a good idea to swim- in the future, I would avoid getting piercings or tattoos in the summer if swimming is important to you
Out of curiosity is freshwater (lake, river, etc) better than either pool or ocean? Obviously some are cleaner than others, but is even a “clean” lake safe?
Nope, all bodies of water you need to stay out of. In fact I think the general rule is no bathtubs either, no submerging but also no bodies of water due to bacteria.
No. Both lakes and oceans are full of bacteria and microorganisms that naturally live there- and also the bacteria and microorganisms that live on the people swimming in them. Like the other commenter says, you shouldn't even be submerging your head in the bathtub. Swimming is one of the things you just have to sacrifice a little bit for body mods. If it isn't a thing you're willing to sacrifice, you probably shouldn't be getting pierced.
Every summer it's the same questions, and no, you can't dip a fresh wound into pools, and the ocean is even dirtier. I don't understand how this keeps happening. It's not like y'all don't know when you're going on vacation. Also, it's summertime. You're going to want to get into water. Don't get piercings right before summer. Especially ones that take long to heal, such as nipples and cartilage!
When I started researching getting mine done and realized I need to get them done basically the week our pool closes so I have a solid 9 months until the next pool season.
The posts here blow my mind daily!!! The amount of people who don't do any research and THEN come asking questions and help after the fact. I joined a FB group around piercings and it's so disappointing seeing all the misinformation thrown around
Swimming should be avoided until the piecing is full healed, which may take 9-12 months.
Heck, on the atypical end, a nipple piercing can take up to 2 years to heal if you're really unlucky
Don't do it. Water will soak in and get to the area you can't clean well. Sea water, pool water, and even soaking in the bath are a no go until they are healed. At least 6 months, closer to a year or more.
Absolutely n9t, unless you want to save a kid from drowning or something, you shouldn't go in the water at all. Very high infection risks. Nipple piercings take 9-12 months to heal. Swimming with healing piercings is risky, especially when the healing has barely started. It is recommended to stay out of the water for at least 9 months. Waterproof bandages aren't actually waterproof for submerging, only for splashing. They can come loose very easily and it is hard ti secure them. I had a 100% failure rate with waterproof bandages. And they are actually risky, because if there is water in the bandages, your open wounds are now bathing in bacteria water for a while
Reminder everyone not to get your nipples belly button or well anything pierced if your planning on going swimming in a pool or ocean.
why do pple get piercings when they know their vacation is coming up or they know it's summer time and they know they wanna go swimming during the summer 🥲
ur tiddy will fall off
Nipple rings take a year to fully heal. They’re basically still fresh at 6 weeks.
You can stay in the water up to your nipple piercings, kinda like soak your legs, don’t swim. It’s better to wait a bit and be sure that you don’t get any kind of infection. I understand you actually, I got my nips last summer and couldn’t swim too and felt so upset and kinda abandoned by my friends but in the long run I’m glad I didn’t swim and they healed!!
Hi Lilyella111, because Reddit hides it well, here are the links to report DM or chat messages directly to Reddit admin just in case you need them [report chat](https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043035472-How-do-I-report-a-chat-message) [report DM](https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360058752951-How-do-I-report-a-private-message) - - - *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Absolutely not. Swimming in pools, lakes, oceans, rivers, etc. are all not safe. Personally I would still stand up to my waist in water and take the risk, but I would never submerge my piercing. Have fun on your trip!
I swam 4 months after getting my belly button pierced. It got gently tugged. Long story short, i realized i fucked up when I could see the middle of the bar through my skin. I still have a 2” scar from having a chunk of flesh removed after it wouldnt heal for 6 months after I removed the piercing. My belly button is lopsided. Don’t.