Body piercing is defined as “a penetration of jewellery into openings made in such body areas as eyebrows, helix of the ears, lips, tongue, nose, navel, nipples, and genitals”. Piercing of the earlobe (table 1), referred to as ear piercing, which has traditional roots in western societies, is not included in this definition, and is distinguished from practices that do not have a traditional background in western societies. Kelly Muldoon,3 however, has suggested that what was once considered traditional—ie, single hole ear piercings—has now come to include piercings above and below the neck. Body piercing sites other than the face are also called “intimate”or “nonmainstream”.By comparison with tattoos, ear and body piercings are not considered permanent by practitioners of body art, because the tracts, especially if small, can close if jewellery is removed for a period of time. However, in regulatory legislation, definitions are kept wider and permanence is judged differently. For example, in legislation in the state of Virginia, USA, body piercing is defined as “the act of penetrating the skin to make a hole, mark or scar, generally permanent in nature”.6 In this review, I include earlobe piercing in the definition of body piercing, especially with respect to medical complications and side-effects.
