Do piercings affect your scuba diving?

Have you ever wondered whether piercings can impact your scuba diving? Let's review some frequently asked questions relating to diving with piercings!

• Can I go diving after getting a new piercing?

  A common assumption is that salt water promotes healing, & therefore getting in the ocean after getting a new piercing should be beneficial, right?  The problem with this train of thought is that the ocean is teeming with bacteria & microbes! A piercing should be treated like any open wound & kept out of the water until it is fully healed. The time your new piercing will take to heal depends on its location! Have a chat with your body piercer.
  
  

• Will my facial piercings cause my mask to leak?

  When getting facial piercings as a scuba diver, it's important to think about their position in relation to your mask. Top lip piercings & eyebrow piercings can sit in awkward positions under the skirt of your mask & potentially cause small leaks. The best way to combat this is to make sure you have properly fitted jewellery, & to buy your own mask! Try on some assorted styles of masks to find one that fits in with your anatomy & piercings best - come in store for a free mask consultation with us! 
  
  

• Will my nose piercings make it hard to equalise?

  Once your nose or septum piercings are fully healed & you have the correct sized jewellery in, your piercings will not stop you from equalising properly. If they are not fully healed, the constant pinching can cause irritation, scarring & keloids - so make sure they are properly healed! Some people dive with nose rings, & some prefer a labret stud with a flat back; have a play around with different jewellery styles to find what works best for you! 
  
  

• Ear piercings, mask straps & hair!

  Have you ever woken up with your hair tangled around your ear piercings? This can be annoying, & painful! When you're diving, your hair tends to have a bit if a life of its own & can easily get tangled around mask straps, snorkels & piercings! To reduce the risk of this happening, keep your hair braided back if possible, or even better, invest in a cool bandana to keep your hair secure & your ear piercings safely tucked away. 

• Will I lose my jewellery underwater?

  There's nothing worse than getting out after a dive & finding you've lost a piece of body jewellery! having a regulator in & out of your mouth, masks & wetsuits rubbing, & your skin softening from being in the water for extended periods can all contribute to your jewellery loosening or falling out completely. To combat this, make sure your jewellery is properly tightened, & if you're particularly worried - remove it for the dive. Be particularly careful with tunnels in stretched ears! Put a ring through your tunnels so that if they do come out you won't lose them or use a bandana like I mentioned earlier to keep them safe.

Having body piercings will not stop you from being a scuba diver!

By Greer Darlymple