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Piercing among Teenagers

Piercing among Teenagers

The latest fad among teenagers is piercing. It is also called gauging. The pierced lobes are stretched to accommodate larger ear plugs. The plug size is almost dependant on the preference and taste of the teenager. The size starts from 1 millimeter to the size of a grandma’s tea saucer.

How to start a pierce?

The initial piercing is done with a normal sized pierce. This is called 20 gauges. with increasing size the number decreases. The pierce takes sometime to heal. After it heals the pierce is again pierced with a larger sized pierce. The process if safe as far as the piercing is healed. For some it takes a few weeks to heal for other the pierce heals a bit faster.

When is pierce dangerous?

Piercing is a very simple and easy process. It becomes infectious and dangerous only when the teens try to do the increase in size quickly. It may become infected and if the infection lasts longer it becomes dangerous. Infections are caused when the earlobe is not kept clean. There is also the danger of the scar tissue growing around the piercing. They do not heal properly and this slows down the process of piercing. In extreme cases the help of a plastic surgeon is required.

The other danger is “blow out” where the fistula is forced out of the loop. This is due to impatience of the teenager. Normally piercing can be easy and are safe. Sometimes the gauge becomes too big. This point is a concern for parents. From 10 to 4 gauges the ear lobes will naturally close once the teen stops wearing the plugs. Beyond 4 gauges and up to 2 gauges which is 6 mm the ear lobes do not close. Once the plug is removed from such big holes the gauge will become small only to the size of 6 or 8 gauge.

Gauging is a fad which is very popular with teenagers. It is in the hands of the parents to ensure that the teen knows the long term effects of the process to avoid any scars or ill effects in future.

Smoking among Teenagers

Almost one out of five high school children smoke. This is the statistics today according to American Lung Association. The images of rebelling teenagers are not far from wrong. Every day a teenager takes to smoking.

Factors causing teen smoking

There are many factors that influence the teen smoking behavior. Of them the main factors are media pressure, peer pressure and the novelty of experience.

Media advertising has an important effect on teen smoking behavior. Research has been done on the effect of advertising on teen smoking. Companies use this research to push their products by advertising that their role models also smoke.

The euphoria of new experience is always present during teenage days. Teens want to experience something new day in and day out. The new, pleasant, physical experience offered by the cigarettes is almost compelling. Teenagers get hooked to this sensational experience. Slowly but steadily they develop a physiological and physical addiction to the dreaded nicotine.

The other factor peer pressure has the worst influence on teen smoking. During teenager years peer pressure has more influence than parental or family influence.

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