To Pierce or Not to Pierce

In the AQUAMARINE movie of the singer JOJO who played the role of Hailey offered earrings to their mermaid friend Aqua, and the mermaid was shocked when she was told that they will drill a hole in her ear lobe - “you humans are so primitive, you hurt yourself to bore holes in your bodies to accessorize yourself”. She then got earrings from the sea - star fishes, these earrings compliments you but they don’t tell lies. I wish we had those types of earrings.

Now, do you ever wonder why human beings pierce their ears? Why do we pierce our ears? Is this a necessity to do our daily tasks? Is this a requirement to be accepted in society? Does it have any benefits?

Brief History of Ear Piercing:

There is no specific information when “ear piercing” began. The oldest mummified body in the world was found frozen in an Austrian glacier in 1991 with pierced holes in the ears that had been enlarged to 7-11mm in diameter. Primitive tribes probably pierced their ears for magical purposes. Tribes believed - demons entered the body through the ears, so earrings were worn to ward off these spirits.

Later on, sailors began piercing their ears, some believing it would increase their eyesight. The other bonus was that if their bodies washed up on shore, the earring could be sold to finance a Christian burial. According to Acupressure Therapy, the earlobe is supposed to represent the brain of a baby, and the meridians connecting the brain pass though this area. So when a child reaches the age of two or three, parents take the baby to a goldsmith to have its ears pierced. This is said to help in the quick development of the brain. Hence, the earlier the ears of the child are pierced, better the results will be.

In certain Indian communities, even a boy’s ears are pierced. Ear piercing ceremony is called “Karnavedana”. For “pinoys” and some western cultures, they pierce the ears of babies to differentiate the baby boy from the baby girl. But for modern times, I guess that is not quite applicable anymore – baby girls can have the pink studs, and baby boy will have the blue studs.

Benefits of Piercing:
Theory: It has been found that if earrings, or “jhumkis”, are pierced properly at a tender age, ailments related to the throat, eyes and tongue can also be reduced.
Theory: Piercing the point which is one inch above your earring could cure acute back pains.
You can accessorize yourself anytime you want.

Disadvantages of Ear Piercing:
However, strict hygiene and after care should be followed when you are having your ears pierced.
Did you know that if men had pierced ears, they are more susceptible to Hepatitis C, and they can not donate blood because of that? For women that’s not applicable.
After ear piercing to avoid any deformity you have to lie at your back for an entire 6 weeks for the complete healing of the piercing. Thus, you can’t turn comfortably at night.
For women who wear heavy dangling earrings have you noticed that the holes have stretched thus deforming the skin
Having pierced ears means the person will be tempted to buy more earrings at every sale. That’s what Rosanna Roces said when she was asked how she saved a lot of money, because she too didn’t have any ear piercing, and she’s not prone to shop a lot for earrings for unnecessary expenses.
More prone to snatchers if you are wearing real jewelries.
More prone to injuries.
For our ladies here, when you had babies, how many mothers removed their earrings so as to avoid being pulled by the infants in their interest at those “shiny-shimmering things” that’s near to the faces of their mothers.
Not piercing during the baby years: You would often hear women say “ay ang pangit nang pagka-pierce nang ears ko” piercing can be done only once and that deformity will last for a lifetime. Yes, you can have another piercing if the holes would close but then again the scar/deformity would still be there.
Having pierced ears means you are also prone to eczema.

Alternative accessories to earrings made for pierced ears:
Clip-on earrings
Magnetic earrings
Screw earrings

Benefits of not piercing your ears and using Alternative earrings:
Some people say that pinching your ears can suppress your appetite for foods thus helping you control your food intake.
Without the 6 week healing period of pierced ears, you can comfortably sleep at night, and that is priceless.
You save more than Php700 because you don’t need to pay for the piercing and the medical treatment during the healing period
No worries when you’re doing rough activities outdoors, nothing is going to get hooked up somewhere. Or having “roscas” “earring stoppers” from getting lost in the ground. “Nawawala hikaw ko!”
If you loose Alternative earrings to the snatching of a baby’s hands or to thieves, you will feel no pain, because they are not attached to your skin.
Your ear lobes will not have any deformities.
Less hassle in cleaning your earring holes, ‘cz you have none.
There’s a certain feeling of freedom of not having pierced ears, or a certain feeling of nakedness when a woman is not wearing any earrings on pierced ears. You often hear ladies saying “I can’t go out without my earrings, ‘cz I feel naked without them.”
Give your children the freedom to decide on their own if they want to pierce their ears or not.

Disadvantages of not piercing your ears and using Alternative earrings:
You need to remove them after 5 hours; almost the same with the usual earrings made for pierced ears, you can’t wear them the entire day. You still need to remove them at the end of the day.


Conclusion: After I laid down all these facts – benefits and disadvantages of piercing, I suggest that you consider them if you are thinking of piercing your ears, or any other part of your body. I also recommend that you allow your children to make that decision when they are old enough to make the decision.