When you get a new piercing, you’ll have to undergo some lifestyle changes as your new piercing. You’ll have to stay away from alcohol and cigarettes. You shouldn’t take baths or go swimming. You’ll be required to stay on top of your hygiene (which shouldn’t be a problem for many, but some of you might need to step up your shower game).
With so many lifestyle changes, those who are more active might wonder how their exercise regimen will be affected by their piercing. The good news is that it won’t be affected that much. However, public gym equipment, sweat, and jewelry snags are all things that you need to consider when you exercise with a healing piercing.
Here’s a quick guide on how to protect your healing piercing during exercise.
This rule is always important when it comes to a healing piercing, but it’s especially important when you’re exercising, especially if you do it at a public gym. Floor mats, exercise equipment, and lockers harbor tons of bacteria from strangers. The bacteria will get on your hands, and if you touch your healing piercing, you’ll transfer it to your piercing.
If you do happen to touch your piercing, don’t panic. As soon as you can, clean your piercing with a homemade sea salt mixture or saline solution. It’s a good idea to get a travel size saline spray so that you can quickly and easily spray your piercing to clean it of foreign microbes.
It’s easy for piercing jewelry to get snagged on exercise equipment, and piercings located on the body, like belly piercings, might touch the exercise equipment, exposing it to all sorts of nasty bacteria. Do yourself a favor and keep your jewelry covered when you exercise.
An easy solution is to use an adhesive bandage to cover the piercing, especially those on the face and ears. This will protect the piercing from snagging while keeping it safe from harmful microbes. It will also keep you from touching the piercing. You should only wear a bandage for a limited time, however, since it can get damp with your sweat and harbor bacteria.
In other body piercings, like belly button or nipple piercings, make sure that they’re covered with tight clothing that won’t catch on the piercing. This will keep the jewelry in place, making it more comfortable to work out, while simultaneously protecting the jewelry.
For the most part, you won’t have to adjust your workout routine too much when healing a new piercing. However, there are some considerations that need to be made.
If you’re a swimmer, we’ve got bad news: you’ll have to refrain from swimming until the piercing has fully healed. Water harbors tons of bacteria that you don’t want anywhere near your piercing. In fact, you shouldn’t even take baths while your piercing is healing; you certainly should not expose your piercing to the chemicals and bacteria in a public pool.
Additionally, you shouldn’t put pressure on your new piercing. If you have a belly piercing, you’ll need to be careful when it comes to exercises you do on the belly, like push ups or yoga. You might want to stay away from this type of exercise until your belly button piercing heals, especially since belly piercings have such a high risk of rejection.
For the most part, your own bodily fluids won’t harm your piercing too much. However, dampness can have a negative effect on your piercing, and sweat can harbor microbes, so it’s a good idea to clean up your piercing immediately post-workout. Whether you’re the type to use the gym showers or you like to wait until you get home, you should clean your piercing the minute you exit the gym floor.
If you’re already conducting sea salt or saline soaks throughout the day, then you can simply do a spot clean with a saline solution. Just spray the piercing, dab the area dry, and you’re done. It may seem as though saline solution and sweat are made of the same things (it’s just salt and water, right?), but sweat carries a lot of bacteria, especially as it drips down the body. It’s a good idea to clean your piercing with a saline solution, just to be safe.
While you can exercise while healing a piercing, there are some adjustments that you’ll need to make. Like healing any wound, you need to be an ally to your body and do what you can to aid in healing. If you’re an avid exerciser, and you don’t want to change your regimen, then you might want to consider waiting for that body piercing. However, if you’re willing to adjust your workout to aid in your piercing’s healing, there’s no reason why you can’t have the piercing and the body of your dreams.
Here are some super adorable, yet super simple, jewelry choices that are easy to wear while you work out.
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