KOCHI: Do you know that you are literally pushing your baby towards infections when you opt for ear piercing guns available in jewellery shops? Gone are the days when parents of newborns approached goldsmiths to get the babies’ ears pierced.
As time passed, doctors entered the scene. They used needles for ear piercing, by following the necessary precautions. But, recently, to make it a painless affair, parents have started using piercing guns. Much to the surprise of many doctors, even 28-day-old babies are brought to jewellery shops to have their ears pierced.
Before piercing any part of the baby’s skin, the area has to be cleaned as a primary step to avoid infection. But, the majority of the jewellery shops that offer the service do not follow it. “If the procedure is done in an unhygienic way gunshots could invite various infections,” warns pediatricians.
When employees of a jewellery shop were asked what were the procedures followed by them while piercing ears, they said, “There is nothing to worry as the studs are sterilised.” According to them, many parents bring their newborns to jewellery shops for ear piercing. “Here lies the trouble,” said noted pediatrician Dr Sachidananda Kammat. “It would do no good. The skin has to be cleaned as it is the protective covering. The surface of the skin also contains many bacteria. Hence, when you break that protective cover, the bacteria enter the body, causing infection,” he said.
Rekha Zacharia, consultant pediatrician at the Medical Trust Hospital, said that 28-day-babies are too small, for whom gunshots are definitely not advisable.
“Even a minor infection could flare-up and cause serious infections. Besides, if the material used to make studs is sub-standard it could trigger an infection. Also, the pierce will be in the wrong direction if the baby moves during the procedure, especially in the case of very small babies,” she added.
A piercing gun resembles a handgun. It has a piercing apparatus at the end of its barrel. The front portion of the apparatus holds a stud earring and the back portion holds a buckle. The earlobe is placed in the slot between the two parts and the trigger is pulled, pushing the stem of the earring through the ear into the buckle.
Dr Sachidananda said that it does not take much to make the process healthy. “Just clean the surface of the skin with soap and water. Above all, the gun has to be cleaned. Otherwise, the blood stain that remains on the gun would cause infection when it is used on another baby,” he added.