Belly Piercing

The following article on gemstone belly rings focuses on the possible (though imagined) pairing of such a gem-decorated ring and an insulin pump. Despite that focus, an insulin pump should not be viewed as the only type of medical implant that has a well-recognized association with the region of the belly. A patient with a ventricular peritoneal shunt has a plastic tube within his or her lower abdomen. That tube is prone to infection. That tube would need to be protected from any bacteria that might grow on a ring or barbell that has been stuck into the shunt wearer’s belly.

Can a diabetic with an insulin pump expect to find some matching gemstone belly rings? Should a diabetic with an insulin pump even consider getting a gemstone belly ring? Are there medical reasons why someone with an insulin pump should not arrange to purchase gemstone belly rings?

The person who agrees to wear a belly ring invites the arrival of an infection. In order to reduce the chance of infection, the person with the belly ring must keep the area around the ring as clean as possible. Should that area become infected, the bacteria growing in that region might spread to other parts of the body.

That fact needs to be foremost in the mind a diabetic who would like to have a barbell or a ring in his or her belly. Should the area with the accessorized belly become infected, the bacteria growing in that area might migrate to a nearby region of the body. The bacteria might decide to populate the plastic tubing that carries the pumped insulin.

That possibility should give pause to any diabetic who has thought about having a pierced belly. Moreover, the person with a belly ring needs to keep that ring in his or her belly for 3 to 9 months. Unlike the insulin pump, the gemstone belly ring can not be removed whenever the ring wearer takes a shower or enters a swimming pool.

Because the belly ring can not be removed at those times, the skin around the belly ring can easily come in contact with bacteria. For that reason, any person who has a belly ring needs to apply antiseptic to the region around the ring. That application of an antiseptic should take place at least 3 to 4 times per day.

While cleanliness of a pierced belly can prevent the development of an infection, it can not insure the maintenance of the hole that is supposed to hold a gemstone ring. If someone with a belly ring wants to be sure that his or her “hole in the belly” does not disappear, then the ring wearer needs to give the ring a regular “twist.” Rotation of the belly ring prevents eventual closure of the hole that is meant to hold a ring or a barbell. 

A person with a belly ring should consider setting-up some sort of schedule, Such a schedule would set a pre-arranged time for the rotation of a newly acquired belly ring. At first such rotation must take place on a daily basis. A diabetic would need to coordinate that schedule with his or her routine for glucose testing. If the diabetic were to have an insulin pump then he or she might want to coordinate that pump with at least one gemstone belly ring.