Ear piercing
Safe, clean, and
sterile ear piercing
If your child wants to get their ears pierced, your best bet is to have it done by a doctor, nurse, or other trained professional. That way, you can ensure the procedure is done safely and correctly. At Children's Medical Group, your child’s safety is our priority. We use the Blomdahl Medical Ear piercing system which is available ONLY to physicians.
We offer medical ear piercing for children and babies over 4 months of age to 12 months of age and older than 5 years of age. Please call the office to make an appointment.
The Blomdahl System is only available through medical professionals.
The Blomdahl Medical Ear piercing system uses single-use cassettes which minimizes chances for infection. It uses medical grade plastic and medical grade titanium studs which eliminates the risk of nickel allergy.
Using this system also eliminates the possibility of patient-to-patient cross-contamination because the single use part of the equipment never comes in contact with the skin of the patient at the piercing site.
Why medical ear piercing?
Having your child's ears pierced by a medical professional ensures your child will have a professional service, a sterile system, and a better outcome than at a mall or tattoo parlor.
Cleanliness and safety
Two of the major risks of piercing a child’s ear are infection and allergic reactions. Using completely sterile, hypoallergenic, and medical-grade earrings, we reduce the risk of allergic reactions and infection.
Accuracy
A trained professional is more likely to pierce your child's ears correctly than someone who is not medically trained. This is especially important if your child has unusually shaped or small earlobes.
Pain management
The ear-piercing procedure takes only a few minutes, and we want to ensure the process is as pain-free as possible. Our physicians can give your child a numbing cream to help reduce ear-piercing pain. Once the earlobes are numb, they will then proceed with piercing.
Lower risk of infection
When done correctly, ear piercing by a medical professional carries a very low risk of infection. It is very common for children to experience some redness and swelling after getting their ears pierced, but this usually goes away within a few days.
Why age matters
Children's Medical Group will do ear piercing for infants aged 4 months to 12 months and for children 5 years of age and older. This ensures that infants have received the first two sets of vaccines, including the DTaP, and allows the ear to grow big enough for more accurate placement of the earring.
After 12 months of age, children are more active making the actual piercing experience more difficult and less safe. For children over 5 years of age, it is important that the child has requested to have their ears pierced and the parent/guardian has agreed.
Ear piercing appointments
You may schedule an Ear Piercing Visit with our providers which would be to solely perform the medical ear piercing procedure. Ear piercing will not be performed during any other Well Check or Sick/Problem Visits.
We only pierce earlobes and will only do one piercing per earlobe. We do not pierce cartilage or other body parts.
Pricing
Payment is due in full when you check in for your ear piercing appointment. Since this is a cosmetic procedure, it is not covered by your insurance and will not be billed to your insurance. The payment includes the ear piercing stud made of medical grade plastic or titanium, and the cost of the ear piercing procedure by the provider.
Medical grade plastic
$130
for both ears ($65 for one ear)*
Blomdahl’s Medical Plastic is the only ear piercing earring in the world with 0% nickel! This eliminates the risk of developing a nickel allergy. Medical Plastic is recommended for anyone who wants to avoid developing a nickel allergy.
*Discount available for current patients who have had a well check-up in the last 12 months
Medical grade titanium
$150
for both ears ($75 for one ear)*
From an allergy perspective, Blomdahl's Medical Titanium is the safest of all metals. It is accepted extremely well by the body and is therefore used more and more in implants and other medical applications, often replacing stainless (surgical) steel.
*Discount available for current patients who have had a well check-up in the last 12 months
Ear piercing
risks and after-care
We recommend NOT replacing the original ear piercing studs for 6 weeks. The ear piercings studs we use are thicker (1.3 mm) than the standard earring post (1.0 mm). The larger piercing hole makes it easier to switch to normal earrings after the healing period and reduces the risk of repeatedly re-injuring the ear-piercing site when replacing earrings, which should, therefore, reduce the risk of piercing site infection.
Before we begin the procedure, the parent/guardian will be asked to sign an informed consent form which reviews the risks and after-care instructions listed here:
Infection
There is a risk of infection anytime the skin is broken. We reduce this risk significantly by using sterile technique. The Blomdahl Medical Ear Piercing System utilizes sterile, single use piercing cassettes. This also eliminates any cross-contamination because only the sterile, single-use part of the equipment ever comes in contact with the skin at the piercing site. We also provide specific after-care Instructions to keep the piercing clean and healthy during the healing process.
Pain
The experience is similar to a vaccine injection using the Blomdahl system. Some patients may complain of a warm, flushed feeling on their earlobes after the procedure.
Bleeding
There is a risk of bleeding anytime the skin is broken. However, the earlobes do not contain significant blood vessels so that this risk is minimal.
Nickel allergy
Allergic Contact Dermatitis is an itchy rash that occurs when your skin comes in contact with a typically harmless substance. Nickel is one of the most common causes, and once you develop a nickel allergy, you will always be sensitive to it. Nickel is commonly used as a metal hardener and most metals used for ear piercing contain or “leak” enough nickel to trigger a potential allergic reaction. Fresh piercings allow direct and constant contact between a minor open wound and the metal which contains the nickel. However, the Blomdahl Ear Piercing studs utilize only medical grade plastic or medical grade titanium, the most superior non-allergenic metal, thereby eliminating this risk.
Keloids
Keloids are shiny, smooth and rounded skin elevations, which are a type of scar tissue, which can form at the piercing site in some patients after the earlobe piercing because of altered wound healing. Keloids tend to run in some families, are more likely to occur in patients with darker skin pigmentation, and generally occur in people 10 to 30 years of age.
After-care instructions
Clean the piercing site thoroughly twice a day, using liquid soap and clean running water at least once a day (preferably after showering or washing the hair).
Dry area well with clean gauze or a cotton tipped applicator and leave open to air.
For supplementary cleansing, or when running water is unavailable, ear care solution is available at Claire’s or you may purchase Blomdahl® Ear Care cleansing swabs at our office.
Leave the ear piercing studs in the ear lobe for 6 weeks before replacing with earrings.
Unlike conventional ear piercings, there is no need to rotate the Blomdahl medical-grade plastic studs to prevent them from adhering to the skin.
Click here to read more about medical ear piercing aftercare on Blomdahl’s website.
CONTACT US
Here for you
7 days-a-week
Monday - Friday | 7:15 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Saturday & Sunday | 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Airport office:
251-342-3810 (P)
251-344-6752 (F)
3920 Airport Blvd
Mobile, AL 36608
Providence office:
251-639-1300 (P)
251-639-1380 (F)
610 Providence Park Dr
Mobile, AL 36695
