Piercing migration is a body piercing's movement from its initial location. Migration may be unnoticed, or painful with progression. It may be slight and brief, or continue until exiting the

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...

Potential causes and effects of migration

Migration varies widely. The most common case is heavy, small

gauge Gauge ( ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, especia ...

earring Earrings are jewelry that can be worn on one's ears. Earrings are commonly worn in a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear, or by #Clip-on and other non-pierced earrings, some other means, such as stickers or clip-ons. Earr ...

s moving down until exiting the

earlobe The human earlobe (''lobulus auriculae''), the lower portion of the outer ear, is composed of tough areolar and adipose connective tissues, lacking the firmness and elasticity of the rest of the auricle (the external structure of the ear). In ...

after most of a lifetime. It is dubbed the "cheese-cutter effect", because of its similarity to cutting

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

using a fine wire. Contemporary body and

ear In vertebrates, an ear is the organ that enables hearing and (in mammals) body balance using the vestibular system. In humans, the ear is described as having three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear co ...

piercing jewelry mitigates the effect by increasing the weight to gauge

ratio In mathematics, a ratio () shows how many times one number contains another. For example, if there are eight oranges and six lemons in a bowl of fruit, then the ratio of oranges to lemons is eight to six (that is, 8:6, which is equivalent to the ...

. However, migration remains possible, especially with heavy

jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

, even of large gauge. Another migration cause, though rare, is play or movement affecting the pierced or implanted area, either by causing a wound, or merely stretching the

fistula In anatomy, a fistula (: fistulas or fistulae ; from Latin ''fistula'', "tube, pipe") is an abnormal connection (i.e. tube) joining two hollow spaces (technically, two epithelialized surfaces), such as blood vessels, intestines, or other h ...

in one direction, thus allowing tissue growth in the void behind. The latter can affect tongue piercings, for example, but neither normally induces exit from the body. Damage to adjacent tissue can also cause migration. A damaged piercing, much like a fresh one, requires healing of its fistula. Before healing, however, a wound can provide a jewelry migration path, and allow further damage if migration occurs. After healing, the wound can enable migration if the healed tissue is weaker than other, surrounding tissue. Migration may also be caused by the body rejecting the material that the jewelry is made of. Like a case of a

splinter A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...

or other foreign object, the body will try to push out foreign material, especially if it irritates the surrounding tissue. Contemporary body jewelry is made from surgical grade implant materials, so with proper aftercare during the healing phase and good hygiene, this is rare. Pressure, especially the pressure caused by improperly performed

surface A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is ...

navel The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus; : umbilici or umbilicuses; also known as the belly button or tummy button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. Structure The u ...

, and

eyebrow piercing An eyebrow piercing is a vertical surface piercing, wherein a twelve to eighteen gauge cannula needle is inserted through the bottom of the eyebrow and exits through the top of the eyebrow to permit insertion of jewelry. Those performing the pi ...

s often leads to migration. Proper, custom made jewelry can reduce the risk of migration associated with these piercings, although it cannot eliminate it. This type of migration is sometimes accompanied by rejection due to improper

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils can prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditions that harm root gro ...

due to the length of piercing, as dead tissue builds up in the healing fistula.

Rejection rate

Rejection rate is a term used by the piercing industry. It applies to the chance of a piercing being forced out by the body. This is a body's natural reaction to a foreign object being inserted into the skin. This behavior can be witnessed with other objects such as splinters,

road rash Road rash is a colloquial term for skin injury caused by abrasion with road surfaces, often as a consequence of cycling and motorcycling accidents. It may also result from running, inline skating, roller skating, skateboarding, and longboardin ...

, or

infection An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

s. With surface piercings being closer to the surface of the skin, the tendency to reject is higher, as it is easier for the body to force the jewelry out.

Surface piercing rejection rates

Surface piercings, such as a

navel piercing A navel piercing, also referred to as a belly button piercing, is a type of body piercing that penetrates the skin of the navel. It is most commonly located on the upper fold of skin but can also be placed underneath or around the edges of the ...

, Christina piercing,

, or a nape piercing, tend to have a higher rejection rate than piercings that pass through a deeper area of flesh or have holes on the opposite side of each other. Thus surface piercings stand in contrast to piercings such as tongue piercings, earrings, or nose piercings.

References

{{Body piercing Body piercing