How to Clean Piercings With Sterile Saline

Even though body piercings are an elective procedure, they're still a puncture wound, nonetheless. Similar to other wounds, you must properly care for a piercing to avoid infection. A vital part of aftercare for a body piercing is to keep the wound clean and free of germs and bacteria. Washing the piercing with antibacterial soap helps to keep the wound clean but may not be possible as often throughout the day as recommended. A bottle of sterile saline solution enables you to care for your piercing wherever you go.

Things You'll Need

• Cotton swabs
• Paper towels

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Instructions

• 1

  Rinse the body piercing wound for 30 to 60 seconds using a sterile saline solution.

• 2

  Cotton swabs gently clean the site of the piercing.

  Soak a cotton swab with the saline solution and use it to gently clean the jewelry in the piercing to remove crusty material and germs. Use the same procedure to gently removed crusty material from around the piercing.

• 3

  Pat the piercing site dry with a paper towel. Use paper towels to avoid transferring microscopic germs hidden in the fibers of a regular towel. Repeat these steps a few times each day until the piercing has healed completely.