Tongue piercings are some of the trendiest pieces of jewelry.
Getting a tongue piercing can give you a boost of self-confidence, and it can be one of the best add-ons for couples that want to add more physical sensations during oral sex and kissing.
However, it’s best to wait until a tongue piercing is fully healed to take advantage of all the benefits of kissing with a tongue ring.
Kissing with a recently inserted tongue ring can make the experience painful.
It can also increase the risk of infection, as well as slow down the healing process.
Because tongue piercings are sensitive and are located in one of the most sensitive areas of the body, you should hold off until you ask your piercer for more advice about kissing with a tongue piercing.
However, a healed tongue piercing can make kissing more pleasurable.
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Is a tongue piercing painful?
The short answer to whether or not tongue piercings hurt or not is, it depends. Some people have a higher pain tolerance than others.
As such, it can be easy for these types of people to recover from the pain of a tongue piercing and even get double piercings!
On the other hand, other people report tongue-piercing pain as being on par with getting their ears pierced. Everyone’s pain level is different.
During the piercing process and during the healing process, chances are you will be in quite a bit of pain.
Before you even begin kissing with a tongue piercing, it’s best to recover from the pain of your piercing beforehand.
After all, no one can focus on kissing when they’re in excruciating pain.
Reducing your symptoms
There are several things you can do to reduce pain after a tongue piercing. For starters, taking over-the-counter pain medication can help.
These medications are known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs.
Ibuprofen, such as Advil and Motrin, are the most popular brands for these medications.
NSAIDs are thought to be a safer option than aspirin.
Aspirin has a tendency to thin the blood, making it difficult to fully heal from your piercing and increases the risk of bleeding (who wants to kiss with a mouth full of blood?)
It’s important to check with your doctor for more information on what types of medications you can take to reduce your symptoms and your level of pain.
Only a trained medical provider will be able to let you know if NSAIDs or other pain medications are right for you.
Some people, such as those with a pre-existing condition or pregnant women, might not be able to take ibuprofen and should take another type of medicine to reduce their pain. Talk to your doctor to discover your best option.
How do you heal from a tongue piercing?
Taking the time to heal from your tongue piercing is also a great way to get back in the kissing booth with your loved one.
In order to properly heal from a tongue piercing, check with your piercer.
They will inform you of the best way to heal from your piercing and how long it will take you to get back to your regular routine.
The regular healing time for an oral piercing is anywhere between three to four weeks.
In general, there are several things you can do to speed up the healing process or stop it from going past the three to four-week mark. These include:
Ice the area
If you want to reduce swelling, pain, and redness around the site of your piercing, getting a piece of ice and putting it around the piercing itself can help. It’s never a good idea to put the ice directly on the piercing.
Even the ice from your freezer is prone to having some sort of debris on it, so limit your exposure to direct ice contact as much as possible.
You can suck on these ice cubes a few times a day.
However, you should stay away from eating them, as you’ll need to stay away from hard foods for a while after your piercing.
This brings up our next self-care tip to help you heal.
Avoid crunchy foods
While your tongue piercing is healing, you’ll want to reduce the amount of irritation on it as much as possible.
Therefore, make sure to eat only soft foods that won’t get stuck in your piercing. This can include things such as:
- Apple sauce
- Yogurt
- Mashed potatoes
- Ice cream
- Frozen yogurt
- Shakes
- Blended smoothies
- Green juices
- Other liquid substances
It’s best to avoid foods like chips, popcorn, or extremely salty foods as these can all irritate your piercing. You should also stay away from alcohol and spicy foods.
Alcohol can thin the blood, much like aspirin, and make it difficult for your piercing to heal.
Certain alcohol, like beer, has yeast in it that also has the potential to infect and interact negatively with your piercing.
Rinse your piercing
Perhaps one of the best ways to keep your piercing clean and make sure it heals properly is to continue to rinse it.
Rinsing your piercing with a saline salt solution or alcohol-free mouthwash is an easy way to keep the affected area clean.
You should not, under any circumstances, put antibiotic ointment or use antibiotics for your piercing without permission from a medical doctor.
These can have other ingredients in them that aren’t appropriate for your piercing.
Rinsing your piercing can be an easy part of your nightly and morning routine.
Remember to continue to practice good oral hygiene such as flossing and brushing your teeth while you have your piercing in as well.
After all, you’ll want your breath to be minty fresh when you have the chance to kiss your loved one again.
Can a tongue piercing get infected from kissing?
Yes. If there are other bacteria present inside of your mouth introduced by your partner, this can lead to a piercing infection. Signs of a piercing infection include:
- Redness around the area
- Pain that is severe
- Fever
- Pus coming from the piercing site
- Inflammation
You should never kiss someone without being sure of their bill of health (and without consent).
In fact, certain sexually transmitted diseases are known to be transferable through kissing.
These infections can also wreak havoc on your tongue piercing. They include STDs such as:
- Cytomegalovirus
- Herpes
- Syphilis
Because your piercing is also considered an open wound (a bar has literally been inserted through your open skin), it is possible to be infected with STDs that can be transmitted from blood-to-blood contact.
These STDs can, although rare, be transmitted if your partner has blood in their mouth from another cut or wound and kisses you (with a wound in your mouth). These STDs include:
- Hepatitis B
- HIV
At the end of the day, it’s best to stay away from kissing with a new tongue piercing in general, but even more so if you are unsure of the sexual health of your partner. It’s better to be safe than sorry!
Benefits of waiting
Perhaps the biggest benefit of waiting for your tongue piercing to heal before kissing is the fact that you won’t have to go through the discomfort and pain of kissing with a new piercing.
French kissing with a lot of tongue action can be painful if you’re trying to prevent your piercing from being bumped or moved.
Accidentally moving your tongue piercing can impact the healing process and can be excruciatingly painful and lead to excess bleeding.
In addition, there are lots of benefits of having a healed tongue piercing during foreplay.
Want to enjoy these benefits ASAP? Let your piercing heal fully! When you do, you can enjoy improvements in:
- The increased sensation during make-out sessions. Make-out sessions tend to be a bit boring. It can be tedious to continue to kiss your partner, but for some people, this is an enjoyable experience. To make it more interesting, use your tongue piercing and experiment with your partner to see what piques their interest.
- Oral sex improves. When having oral sex with a partner (be it male, female, or another gender), piercings can improve the sensation on the clitoris and the male head! Having a tongue piercing can bring in a whole new playing field of sensations you can take advantage of during sex and foreplay.
Getting creative with kissing
Although you should hold off on kissing your partner until the tongue piercing heals, there are other ways you can be intimate with your partner without kissing.
For instance, you can practice pecking on the cheek or pecking on the lips for some added intimacy
You should also avoid oral sex and use other intimacy measures in the bedroom, such as your hands.
There are lots of ways to give yourself a break and give your tongue piercing time to heal without risking your health and safety.
Final Thoughts
If not properly healed, a tongue piercing can make it unenjoyable to kiss your partner, and it can also possibly lead to bacterial infections and possibly even STDs.
Both of these conditions are incredibly difficult to deal with without the proper medical care.
It’s best to avoid these complications by staying away from kissing for a while.
Letting your piercing heal and practicing good self-care will allow your piercing to heal faster, allowing you to enjoy the benefits of a tongue piercing during kissing and oral sex.
