Tongue Piercing

What is a brain abscess?
A brain abscess is when bacteria from a local infection in your body spreads through the blood into your brain. Typical infections include middle ear infections, sinus infections, or dental infections. Once the infection spreads to your brain, it collects into a large amount of puss surrounded by the brain tissue. Without treatment, this can become fatal.

How did a tongue piercing cause a brain abscess?
In 2001, a 22 year old woman got her tongue pierced. A couple days later, the piercing became badly infected and so she removed the piercing. The tongue healed quickly, and for the next 4 weeks, she noticed no more problems.

After four weeks, the woman became very ill with headaches and nausea. She went to the doctor, and after various tests, they performed a brain scan. This revealed an abscess in her brain, and she was operated on to have it removed. The operation was successful, and within six weeks the patient was fully recovered.

There is another similar story about a girl from Ajax, Canada who also developed a serious brain abscess 10 months after a tongue piercing. The infection became so large that doctors had to remove a piece of her skull, to prevent damage to her brain.

In both cases, doctors are unsure of the exact cause of the brain abscesses in question. Through various tests and theories, they ruled out most causes, and found bacteria in the brain that is commonly found in the tongue. Therefore it appears most likely that the infection triggered by the tongue piercings are what led to the abscesses.

What does this mean?
There are a handful of cases where it appears as though brain abscesses can be linked to oral piercings. However, this does not mean that if you have an infection after piercing, there is a good chance you too will develop a brain abscess. They are extremely rare, and are something you should be aware about, but there is no need to start having nightmare about brain abscesses. The most important thing to remember is to go to a professional, experienced piercer, and religiously follow the aftercare instructions that you are given. This is IMPERATIVE to help prevent infection to your tongue. If you get an infection, be sure to visit your doctor in case you need to be prescribed antibiotics.

More tongue piercing information:

Tongue Piercing Home Page
Caring for your Tongue Piercing
Tongue Piercing Risks
Tongue Piercing Benefits
Types of Oral Piercings
Tongue Piercing Infections
Tongue Piercing Horror Stories

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