Ear Piercing Gun
The piercing gun is intended to be used on ear lobes only. Even so, ear piercing studs are of one length and too short to accommodate swelling or earlobes which are thicker than average.
Ear piercing studs are very difficult to clean thoroughly. The butterfly clip backing can become clogged with hair, discharge, dirt, and bacteria. Studs also have a tendency to become wrapped with hair, embedding the hair in the piercing.
The piercing gun procedure causes more tissue trauma than the piercing needle procedure. The studs are considerably duller than a piercing needle and literally tear a hole through the tissue, whereas the needle slices a clean hole the gauge of the jewelry to be installed. A cleanly made hole is especially important in cartilage piercings.
Most importantly, the cleanliness of the piercing gun method is questionable. Ear piercing guns are usually made of plastic and cannot be properly sterilized in an autoclave. While stores performing piercings with the gun claim that their services are safe and sterile, simply wiping the gun with a surface disinfectant is not adequate when the piercing gun could possibly be exposed to bloodborne pathogens. Although the piercing studs themselves may be sterile, piercing guns which touch the earlobe before and after piercing and can easily be contaminated with blood or blood plasma. Some piercing guns are designed with stud cartridges to reduce the risk of contamination. However, if the cartridge is reversible, the used half of the cartridge contaminates the gun when it is reversed. The gun is also contaminated if the piercer touches the studs after they are installed and then touches the piercing gun without changing gloves.
"In 1985, CDC issued routine precautions that all personal service workers, such as hairdressers, barbers, cosmetologists, and massage therapists should follow, even though there is no evidence of transmission from a personal service worker to a client or vice versa. Instruments that are intended to go through or penetrate the skin, such as tattooing and acupuncture needles or ear piercing devices, should be used once and thrown away or thoroughly cleaned and then sterilized. Instruments such as razors, which are not intended to penetrate the skin but which may become contaminated with blood should be used for only one client and thrown away or thoroughly cleaned and disinfected after each use."
Single-Use Disposable Needles
Piercing needles are hollow, lancet-point needles, beveled and sharpened similarly to the hypodermic needles used by medical professionals. Most are about 2 inches in length. Piercing needles slice a crescent-shaped hole and do not remove tissue. The larger the needle, the more exaggerated the crescent shape of the hole. Most piercers in Europe use cannula needles designed for intravenous drips, which are fitted with a plastic sheath that is used to thread the jewelry into the piercing.
The needle should remain in its sterile, utoclave package until the piercer is ready to proceed with the piercing. Needles should be used only once and placed in a Medical Sharps container which is disposed of through a medical waste disposal service. Aside from cleanliness concerns, needles are noticibly dulled from a single use.
References:
"Complications of Ear Piercing: Treatment and Prevention," W.M. Hendricks, Asheboro Dermatology Clinic, North Carolina. Cutis, 48:5, 1991 Nov, 384-94, ISSN 0011-4162.
"Embedded Earrings," H.A. Cohen et.al., Pediatric Community Clinic, Petach Tikvah, Israel. Cutis, 53:2, 1994 Feb, 82, ISSN 0011-4162.
"Embedded Earrings: a Complication of the Ear Piercing Gun," H.R. Muntz et. al., Department of Pediatric Otolaryngology, St. Louis Children's Hospital, Washington University Medical Center, Missouri 63110. In J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol, 19:1, 1990 Mar, 73-6, ISSN 0615-5876.
"Experts Discourage Use of Home Piercing Kits," WRAL-5, Oct 20 97,
http://www.wraltv.com/features/healthteam/1997/1020-ear-piercing/
"Hazards of Ear Piercing Procedures which Traverse Cartilage: A Report of Pseudomonas perichondritis and Review of Other Complications," V.L. Cumberworth and T.B. Hogarth, Department of Otolaryngology, Queen's Medical Centre, University Hospital, Nottingham, England. Br J Clin Pract, 44:11, 1990 Nov, 512-3, ISSN 0007-0947.
"Infection as a Consequence to Ear Piercing," J. Gearge and M. White.
Practitioner, 233:1465, 1989 Mar 22, 404-6, ISSN 0032-6518.
"The Piercing Gun," Association of Professional Piercers Procedural Standards, 1998 edition, pp 31-38, http://www.piercing.org/app/
"Pseudolymphoma of the Earlobes Due to Ear Piercing," I. Zilinsky et. al., Department of Plastic Surgery, Chaim Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel. J Dermatol Surg Oncol, 15:6, 1989 Jun, 666-8, ISSN 0148-0812.