Ear hole
An ear hole is a canal pierced through the auricle , which is usually used for wearing jewelry such as earrings . Ears are usually pierced through the soft earlobe as a so-called lobe piercing.
species
- Helix : Piercing through the cartilage tissue of the ear edge.
- Industrial piercing : Here a barbell is inserted into two opposing helix piercings.
- Rook : Piercing through the anti-helix.
- Daith : Piercing through the horizontal bulge in the auricle.
- Tragus : Piercing through the cartilage process at the entrance to the auditory canal.
- Snug : Piercing through the inner bulge of the cartilage parallel to the edge of the ear.
- Conch : Piercing through the auricle.
- Anti-tragus : Piercing through the cartilage process opposite the tragus.
- Earlobe : Classic hole through the earlobe, also called " lobe " in piercing circles.
Methodologies of pricking
Nowadays, there are basically three ways to professionally pierce ears : with an ear piercing system , with a needle or with dermal punching .
Modern ear piercing systems are instruments into which a sterile cartridge is inserted, each of which contains a medical ear plug and an ear plug closure. The ear hole is created by pushing the special ear plug through the earlobe using the muscular strength of the hand that operates the device. The ear studs used for ear piercing have a pin that is approx. 0.8 - 1.0 mm thin and sharpened at the end. They are made of surgical steel , titanium or real gold and must be nickel-free according to EU Directive 2004/96 / EG. Ideally, the ear does not come into contact with the instrument itself during ear piercing, but only with the cartridge, the sterile ear plug and the clasp. During the ear piercing process, the fastener engages behind the ear on the plug pin. Such ear piercing systems are used today by most jewelers, jewelry chains, doctors, pharmacies and cosmetic studios that offer ear piercing. A few piercing and tattoo studios also use these systems, with the majority of professional piercers rejecting the use of lancing devices. They argue with concerns about accuracy and security. Examples of such devices are the "Inverness 2000" or the " Studex System 75". Even modern ear piercing systems are only suitable for piercing ears in the soft earlobe. It is not recommended in the cartilage area of the ear (e.g. helix), as the cartilage could splinter. Nevertheless, such devices are also used for piercing helix, tragus and nose piercings and are mostly advertised by the manufacturers for these areas of application.
Another professional method of ear piercing is piercing . Here, the hole is pierced with a peripheral venous catheter or a sterile, medical hollow needle (a modified cannula without syringe coupling), with the help of which the jewelry is then threaded into the hole. This method is much more tissue-friendly and (due to the fact that the tools used are only used once) more hygienic and therefore recommended for all types of ear piercings compared to piercing devices; in particular those which are marked 1 - 8 in the figure above, such as industrial piercings or tragus piercings; But it should also be the method of choice for the praise marked 9. This type of ear piercing is offered by most piercing and tattoo studios today.
The best method for piercing piercings through the ear cartilage is the dermal punch , whereby a medical biopsy punch is used instead of a piercing needle , which is otherwise mainly used in dermatology for taking skin samples. A small, circular piece is punched out of the cartilage. This results in a pressure relief of the jewelry after its insertion into the hole, which leads to significantly shorter healing times, less pain during healing and lower complication rates. Disadvantages of the method are a slightly stronger pain when stabbing, slightly higher costs, an uncomfortable crunching noise and the tendency to bleed.
Even if modern ear piercing systems resemble a "pistol" in appearance , the term usually refers to traditional instruments by means of which ear piercings are "shot" with spring pressure. These systems are nowadays used less in countries such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland, because the modern systems are more hygienic, gentle on the tissue and almost noiseless. Therefore the latter are preferred especially when dealing with children. Hairdressing salons or jewelry stores that are not part of chains, however, often still use classic ear-piercing guns that have mostly been in use for years. The classic pistols have come under strong criticism because they cannot be sterilized, are often insufficiently disinfectable, and they usually do not use cassette systems, but come in direct contact with the customer's ear. Therefore, the transmission of diseases such as AIDS or hepatitis C is to be feared with such pistols . When used on the ear cartilage or nose, there is a considerable risk of irreversible cartilage damage, which can result in permanent deformation of the ear, for example.
Disposable piercing systems are variants of the modern, fully encapsulated systems. The plug is in a sterile, single-use plastic cassette, on which pressure is applied; whereupon the sleeve, which is attached to the earlobe, breaks and the plug is pressed through the earlobe. These systems are sometimes used for self-piercing ear holes.
In the past, ear piercings were often pierced with household needles (usually thick sewing needles or darning needles), usually after anesthesia with ice cubes. Often this was done using a halved apple held behind the earlobe, a potato of the same kind, a cork or a bar of soap to provide the necessary counter pressure, which is achieved when using such comparatively blunt needles (compared, for example, with the extremely sharp hollow needle on a piercer , or cannulas in general) must be correspondingly large. If disinfection was carried out, high-percentage drinking alcohol such as grain or vodka was usually used . The needle was partially sterilized by heating it in a candle flame . However, this was only successful if the needle was heated until it was red hot, otherwise it cannot be assumed that all pathogens - including spores - will be completely destroyed. At these temperatures (over 500 ° C), which can only be reached in the blue area of the candle flame, the needle oxidizes . This makes it dull and its surface becomes rough, dull and dark in color. For this reason, the needle was usually only held in the yellow part of the flame and then the soot that had deposited on it was wiped off, if necessary with a little alcohol. Another, rarer variant was to heat the needle to the highest possible temperature and, if possible, still glowing, stick it through the ear. As a result, the blunt tip could be partially compensated, but the resulting burns are - contrary to the belief at the time - not beneficial in terms of risk of infection and healing time, but actually increase the risk of complications and are also painful. Another variant is reported by Sinti and Roma who used nettle leaves for anesthesia before stinging . In addition, they often used a sewing needle for pricking, with which a thick, or multiple twisted, thread was threaded into the ear and left in it during the healing process. The use of a thread or a wire to hold the ear hole open until it healed was a common practice in Europe until the end of the 19th century, and is often still practiced in the Third World when people - usually out of poverty - don't have earrings yet. The use of a thread is to be viewed very critically, as sebum and wound secretions can easily accumulate between the fibers of the thread and thus bacteria can lodge.
distribution
A representative study by the Ruhr University Bochum in 2014 showed that 64.5 percent of women aged 16 and over in Germany have one or more pierced ears; of men aged 16 and over in Germany, 8.9 percent have at least one ear hole.
Diameter enlargement
Many indigenous peoples use bone needles or sharp hardwood awls , sometimes also thorns, to pierce ears and other piercings. Often these holes (especially lip piercings and ear piercings) are stretched for a lifetime, making very large loops from the earlobes.
There are still alternative methods in civilization to get large to very large ear piercings. In addition to the tedious stretching of healed puncture canals, the method of dermal punch can be used. When punching, a mostly circular piece is punched out of the fabric with a skin punch. Instead of circular punches, differently shaped punches can also be used. For example, the English body modification artist Steve Haworth performed star-shaped punches in the ear cartilage. Regardless of the shape of the hole, this is hardly more painful than a piercing with a needle, but there is often more blood loss. Holes created by dermal punching usually heal very well and quickly. This method is particularly suitable for cartilage tissue, as a certain amount of tissue resistance must be present for a clean result. Although it is also used in the earlobe, this is not necessarily recommended.
Scalpelling can also be used in the earlobe (and sometimes also on the lip, the navel or other places where soft tissue is pierced) . A scalpel is used to cut a slit in the earlobe through which a conical taper made of surgical steel is pushed. At the rear end of the taper is the jewelry, usually flesh tunnels or plugs. The joining of two stretched ear holes in one earlobe to form a large hole is also practiced by cutting away the bridge between the holes. If the existing ear piercings are greatly enlarged, a semicircular piece of tissue is usually cut out of the earlobe.
After the sting
After the sting, the jewelry remains in the wound until it heals completely , which can take 4–8 weeks. A skin tube forms, the actual ear hole, which is connected to the outer skin on both sides.
After healing, the lobe piercing can be carefully widened in order to insert jewelry with a larger diameter.
If heavy earrings are worn for a long time, the ear holes can tear, creating "slit earlobes". These can be corrected surgically .
Legal
On August 31, 2012, a case came before the district court of Berlin-Lichtenberg in which parents demanded compensation of € 70 for their three-year-old child from a tattoo studio due to an ear pierced in the wrong place and the pain associated with it. A judgment was not issued in this case because a settlement was concluded in which the defendant operator of the tattoo studio agreed to a payment of € 70 without recognizing any legal obligation. The case was not prosecuted.
Irrespective of age, ear piercing is clearly to be regarded as bodily harm only if it is carried out improperly, as it is then no longer covered by consent. However, it is questionable who has to give their consent or from what age children can do so.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Are tattooed and pierced people still normal? | DocTattooentfernung.com. In: doc-tattooentfernung.com. Retrieved April 24, 2016 .
- ↑ Berger A., ea: Plastic Surgery , Springer, 2005, p. 158, ISBN 3-540-00129-8 , here online
- ↑ Lichtenberg District Court: Trial of ear piercing in a child ends with settlement (PM 62/2012) - press release of August 31, 2012 . Berlin.de - The official capital city portal. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
- ↑ http://www.ferner-alsdorf.de/?p=8115