January 4, 2005
Other
Question from Hamburg, New York, USA:
I am a seventeen year old type 1 diabetic that is wondering if it is okay for a diabetic to get their nose pierced? I read your response to another girl about getting her tongue pierced. You told her that diabetic risks, such as a higher infection rate, would decrease when getting something pierced if your A1c is lower than or between 7.0 to 7.5. My A1c is 6.5. I have very good control of my diabetes since I have had it for 15 years and I know what is good for me and what isn’t. I eat healthy and exercise daily. Do you feel that it is impossible for a diabetic to get a piercing without any more complications than a non-diabetic would have?
Answer:
I think that you will always be at increased risk for infections and healing from those infections when you have diabetes and you choose to have a piercing. Whether you’re comfortable with that increased risk or not is entirely up to you.
MSB
