Navel Piercing Do's and Don'ts

[Seadiver5]

Question for the women out there.

My wife is considering having her navel pierced.

I am interested in the opinions of you who have had your navels pierced as to how it affects your diving, IE. hangs up on wetsuits, etc.

I also understand that it takes several months for this area to actually heal so how does that affect diving as well?

Kevin

 

[Juls64]

a year ago August. I wasn't diving anymore then thru the winter so it had a long time to heal. In the summer I dove alot and had no problems. I wear a hoop all the time and it kind of folds to the side so it doesn't catch on anything. I don't remember how long they advise you to avoid swimming or prolonged water exposure though.

Juls

 

[lisa4516]

Question for the women out there.

My wife is considering having her navel pierced.

I am interested in the opinions of you who have had your navels pierced as to how it affects your diving, IE. hangs up on wetsuits, etc.

I also understand that it takes several months for this area to actually heal so how does that affect diving as well?

Kevin

Our friends" daughter had it done awhile back, Everything seemed ok at first but later she got an infection in it. The whole situation has been a nightmare. She has had a deep hole in her abdomen next to the navel. She has had to have quite a few surgeries, and it seems that it might finally have closed up. She has a big scar on her abdomen which they will fix with plastic surgery some day, but they are afraid to attempt it too soon.Quite an ordeal for a 20 year old!

 

[SueMermaid]

It does take a long time to completely heal, about a year, that is true, but it's no big deal. I would not recommend diving for a couple of months after getting it, but after it heals to the point that it is not an open wound, you're good to go. I have never had any diving-related problems with mine. In fact, the salt water seems to soothe it. Mine is an oval ring so it tends to stay out of the way of clothing, etc.

 

[Firediver]

I will be getting mine done sometime soon. I read it takes 12 weeks for it to heal.. the longest of all piercings to heal. If your Diving in a wet suit yes you want to avoid prolonged swimming with it.. Wait at least 6 to 8 weeks.. and salt water does help sooth it.... If you dive Dry you have no worries except for the ring fetching in the fleece ouch is all I can say..

 

[dragonlady]

I've had my navel pierced since I've been diving and haven't had the pleasure of it 'catching' on any of my exposure suits. I agree with the rest of the responses you've received so far re: salt water being soothing and it taking a while to heal.

Each person heals in his/her way. Some of my piercings (not my navel one) was rejected by my body, another words pushed out, and some healed wonderfully. Others, nasty pus-filled infections.

Take home message. Follow what the directions given to you by the piercer and see what happens. Good luck!

 

[H2Andy]

Take home message. Follow what the directions given to you by the piercer and see what happens. Good luck!

or "don't engage in unnecessary surgery, even if minor?"

=P

(certified wus)

 

[anemone]

i have my navel pierced too about a year ago.And went diving actively after that, but like dragonlady said it might heal fast or it may cause infection. Just depends on individual. But salt water helps a lot of healing wounds. Just for the first 3-6 months it feels a bit sore when putting on/off wetsuit.

 

[MgicTwnger]

It is really beyond me why anyone would mutilate themselves this way. Maybe I'm just getting old, but anything much beyond pierced ears sends a shiver down my spine.
It reminds me of my Mom saying, "If everybody jumped off a cliff, would you follow?"

 

[CTurtle]

It takes about a year for it to heal completely. Never had any problems with it catching on anything. I was told by my piercer to stay out of the pool for a couple of months, but the salt water was no problem. For the first couple of months after I had it done, I was afraid that it would catch on EVERYTHING. So when I'd go diving, I'd just put a bandage over it just to make sure.