The new rusty nail?

Yech, tongue piercing, can't imagine how anyone could go through with it. An article in Head & Neck several years back wonders if the metal barbell through the tongue could become the 'new rusty nail' based on a case report of tetanus that developed post-piercing in one young lady.

Doctors in Italy reported that an 18-year old woman developed episodic 'electric shock' sensations in her face due to inflammation in a facial sensory nerve from a tongue stud. Other complications noted in the medical literature include a blood-borne infection resulting in endocarditis (heart infection) and development of a brain abscess.

If we have any influence on our teenaged children's self-expression, we should discourage this particular outlet. Better a safety pin through the eyebrow than a stud through the tongue.