A New Challenge For ER Docs - Removing Nipple Jewelry

Posting Date: 10/27/1999

Here?s another good argument against body piercing ? doctors may not know how to remove your tongue, nipple or belly button jewelry in an emergency.

In a survey of emergency physicians, only six of 28 knew how to open the three most common types of body-piercing jewelry, according to an article published in the Journal of Accident and Emergency Medicine, a publication of the British Medical Journal.

text continues below

About 30 percent of people who get body piercings end up with side effects such as bleeding, local infections and swelling of surrounding tissues ? irritations that can usually be treated by general practitioners.

However, emergency physicians must often cope with body jewelry because of excessive swelling, or if the patient is unconscious and requires radiological services. In this survey, four doctors suggested cutting out surrounding tissues to remove body jewelry, which is totally inappropriate.

If an x-ray is required, body jewelry needs to be removed because it may interfere with the process and render images unusable, the study says.

Most body piercing jewelry is fastened with studs that have removable balls on one end. The common straight barbell stud is used in the tongue and genitals while a curved variety is used in the navel, eyebrow or nipple.

Another type is the captive bead ring that looks like a closed circle with a removable ball in the center. It is used for the nose, navel and eyebrow.

If a patient is alert and can remove his or her own body jewelry, so much the better. Otherwise, emergency physicians need to know how to unthread jewelry studs.

I don?t know if I could remove body jewelry but it sounds like most doctors need to develop the skill, since there are health issues at stake.

Source: Journal of Accident and Emergency Medicine, October 1999