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A typical ear piercing gun

An ear piercing instrument, commonly referred to as an ear piercing gun, is a device designed to pierce earlobes by forcing a sharpened starter earring through the lobe. Even though designed to only pierce earlobes, ear piercing instruments are commonly used to pierce ear cartilage, and sometimes to pierce non-ear body parts. These devices come in both disposable and reusable models that are primarily of two different designs. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Ear_Piercing_Gun. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Ear_Piercing_Gun. ... An ear piercing instrument, also sometimes called an ear piercing gun, is a medical instrument used to pierce earlobes by forcing a sharpened starter earring through the earlobe. ... On the ear of humans and many other animals, the earlobe (lobulus auriculæ, sometimes simply lobe or lobule) is the soft lower part of the external ear or pinna. ... An earring is a piece of jewelry that is worn on the ear. ... Cartilage is a type of dense connective tissue. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Instrument Designs

Ear Piercing instrument employing a Disposable Cartridge System.

An ear being pierced with an ear piercing instrument.

Starter ear studs for an ear piercing gun in sterile packaging.

Close-up of starter stud point.

The traditional design is built around a spring that stores potential energy when the ear piercing instrument is pulled into the cocked position. Pre-sterilized starter earrings of the stud earring design, are typically provided in pairs by the manufacturer in sealed plastic containers. Starter studs have a somewhat blunt point that is designed to rip through the earlobe. One starter earring is loaded into a receiving tube in the cocked portion of the instrument, and its matching friction back is loaded into a holder closer to the main part of the instrument. The earlobe is inserted between these two parts of the instrument, and the trigger is squeezed, releasing the spring, and causing the instrument to close with considerable pressure, forcing the sharpened stud earring through the earlobe, engaging it into a friction back. Most disposable models, intended for home use, are variations of the traditional design. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Earpiercing. ... Image File history File links Earpiercing. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Ear_stud_pack_copy. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Ear_stud_pack_copy. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Ear_point_copy. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Ear_point_copy. ... Helical or coil springs designed for tension A spring is a flexible elastic object used to store mechanical energy. ... Potential energy can be thought of as energy stored within a physical system. ...

An improvement on the standard piercing instrument is the Disposable Cartridge (or Cassette). These are very similar to the traditional design (above), other than the stud holder and clasp holder are entirely disposable. In some parts of the world, e.g. most of Europe and Australia, this modification is either specifically required (eg in Scotland) or implied by Health And Safety legislation. The image shows a White Disposable Cartridge System, loaded with a with a blue cartridge and a gold stud. This article is about the country. ...

The newer design uses a similar concept, however, instead of using potential energy stored in a spring to force the starter earring through the earlobe, energy is provided directly by the operator through a hand grip. This provides an additional level of control. Also, these models usually provide the starter earrings in special capsules that allow the pre-sterilized earrings to be loaded into the instrument without the operator touching them. A wider variety of jewelry shapes and designs are available for newer piercing instruments.

Ear piercing instruments are designed to pierce using 20- or 18-gauge earrings, normally made out of surgical steel, 24 kt. gold plated steel, 14 kt. gold, or titanium. Look up Gauge in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Surgical stainless steel is a variation of steel consisting of an alloy of chromium (12-20%), molybdenum (0. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... General Name, symbol, number titanium, Ti, 22 Chemical series transition metals Group, period, block 4, 4, d Appearance silvery metallic Standard atomic weight 47. ...

Advantages

Sideways view of a pierced ear wearing a Starter Stud as used by traditional instruments.

There are few advantages to using a mechanical piercing instrument over a piercing needle. The cost is significantly lower compared to a traditional piercing method with a needle. The process is also faster than a piercing done with a needle. Image File history File links Pierced_with_stud. ... Image File history File links Pierced_with_stud. ...

Controversy

Most if not all traditional piercing guns are impossible to autoclave but can sometimes be sterilized by Cold Sterilization methods. All body piercing tools are often used by persons who lack training in related health areas such as cross contamination. The manufacturers of these devices dispute the need for complete autoclaving, claiming that, when used properly, contamination risks have been minimized in modern designs. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Front loading autoclaves are common Stovetop autoclaves need to be monitored carefully and are the simplest of all autoclaves Multiple large autoclaves are used for processing substantial quantities of laboratory equipment prior to reuse, and infectious material prior to disposal. ... ...

The use of disposable cartridge systems can make the chance of cross-infection negligible, however, the safety of this system is still dependent upon the competence and integrity of the operator. It is possible to accidentally contaminate the stud by touching it with instrument during the loading process.

Another issue is the amount of trauma caused by the use of piercing instruments. Although the jewelry may appear to be pointed and sharp to the naked eye, in comparison to the surgical needles used by professional body piercers, the initial piercing jewelry used in these instruments is more blunt. Brute force is used to drive the jewelry through tissue, causing far more trauma which could lead to extended healing times. Immediately following a piercing with a piercing gun the lobe will typically feel hot and burn for a while, this does not happen with a piercing needle.

These guns are not designed to pierce through the cartilage of the upper ear, or to do any piercings other than ear lobes. Some U.S. states and some countries in Europe have already banned piercing guns for use on cartilage.

The standard jewelry for earlobe piercing has been 1/4" studs with "butterfly backs". These studs are sometimes too short to allow for swelling during the healing process, swelling often caused by the additional trauma caused by the use of an ear piercing instrument, or they are shorter than the tissue they are intended to pierce entirely, which causes unneeded pressure on the healing piercing. The "butterfly back" is a natural collector for lymph, blood and bacteria, which can lead to or prolong infection. In mammals including humans, the lymphatic vessels (or lymphatics) are a network of thin tubes that branch, like blood vessels, into tissues throughout the body. ... Human blood smear: a - erythrocytes; b - neutrophil; c - eosinophil; d - lymphocyte. ... Phyla Actinobacteria Aquificae Chlamydiae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Lentisphaerae Nitrospirae Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Verrucomicrobia Bacteria (singular: bacterium) are unicellular microorganisms. ...

Improper usage of piercing instruments upon areas of the body not intended for their use can lead to additional problems. Jewelry that is too short for the tissue, or inappropriately shaped, especially jewelry used in the mouth, can embed itself into the body, with the wound effectively healing over it. This can require the surgical removal of the jewelry in some cases and can lead to abscesses, infection and severe scarring. In many piercings, the narrow gauge of the jewelry used by piercing instruments can lead to tearing and other ongoing trauma that expose the body to infection and cause permanent scarring. For the death metal band, see Abscess (band). ... An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

History and culture

Ear piercing instruments are of modern design. They were created to aid the quickly growing piercing fad by providing a quick, easy way to provide body piercings.

There is much opposition to the piercing gun by professional piercing artists, and the body modification industry. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

See also

• Earring
• Body piercing
• Body modification

An earring is a piece of jewelry that is worn on the ear. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

External links

• http://www.earpiercer.com/howto/
• http://earpiercingstore.com/piercedearcare.html
• http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1002889546481214555