I cant peirce her ears?

[nevaehsmommy]

I was told at claires today that they will not peirce my dd ears bc she is not fully vaxed. I quit all vaxe at 4 months. Was the worker correct? We are in Missouri.

[alegna]

There are no laws about it. Some places seem to have that policy though.

From my research there is no medical support for such a rule.

Perhaps you could wait until she is old enough to decide for herself about ear piercing? I've never heard them question it on older children.

-Angela

[Kirsten]

My kids aren't allowed to pierce thier ears til they are in junior high, so this hasn't come up for me - but I've never heard of that here. When my dd1 had hers done last year, they didn't even ask about vax status. How did that come up? They actually asked you if she was fully vaxxed? That seems so unusual, but must vary from state to state?

[rhiandmoi]

I have never heard of that before, but I wouldn't recommend using Claire's or any place that reuses the piercing guns. Even with cleaning, they can't be adequately sterilized, and could harbor Hep B. There are single use piercing kits that you can either do yourself or take in to a shop, or you can use a piercing studio that sterilizes their needles.

[Treece]

Why not let her decide? At this age, you're going to have to take care of them and all.

[Sharlla]

You shouldn't use a gun anyway. Hollow needles are the best way. You can always buy the supplies and do it yourself. I think I spent $10 on everything I needed, to go to a piercer would have cost me $50 + tip.

[runes]

Yes, you're problem isn't Claire's policy concerning vaccinations, but the fact that they use guns.

Please please please, if you are going to pierce (and since it is a form of body modification, may I gently suggest waiting to let your daughter decide, it is her body), go to a professional piercer and stay far far away from a place like Claire's. Professional piercers are far more regulated by the health department, far more trained, their equipment causes much less pain/trauma to the tissue, and their piercing jewelry is much higher quality. Yes, it is more expensive, but imo if you can't afford to go to a professional piercer, you can't afford to pierce.

[luminesce]

I agree with other posters. I'd wait until she is much, much older and can decide for herself. I also would not have it done at a place that uses guns due to health risks.

My mother let me get mine pierced when I was around 9-10 or so. I hated it. I didn't like taking care of them, didn't particularly like wearing earrings and had small knots in my ear lobes that hurt. They finally closed up as I got older and lost the pressure to conform. I wish I'd been given all the info and more time to better decide.

[crazycandigirl]

Please go to a piercer and have hollow needles used or find someone who will use a single use piercing gun.

Most pediatrician offices will pierce ears at the office if you ask them to.

[groovynaturemama]

i am with the "let your dd decide" camp. it's her body, afterall, and i highly doubt that a young child knows what kind of pain ear piercing entails. when/if she does decide to get them done, take her to a professional body piercer; they use universal precautions and vax status should not be an issue.

[DQMama]

I got my second holes done a few years ago at Piercing Pagoda (similar to Claire's but a kiosk-type place in the middle of the mall). I had never heard the guns were bad, but anyway, I had to sign a waiver saying I had a tetanus shot in the past 10 years. They didn't ask me directly and I couldn't remember so I just signed. (I knew nothing about vaccines before I had kids so it's possible I had a tetanus shot in the past 10 years and didn't think anything of it--can't imagine that happening now!!!)

It just means that if your child got tetanus or hepatitis B from a piercing (highly unlikely) you couldn't sue if you signed their form.

[Igraine]

Originally Posted by kidspiration

Yes, you're problem isn't Claire's policy concerning vaccinations, but the fact that they use guns.

Please please please, if you are going to pierce (and since it is a form of body modification, may I gently suggest waiting to let your daughter decide, it is her body), go to a professional piercer and stay far far away from a place like Claire's. Professional piercers are far more regulated by the health department, far more trained, their equipment causes much less pain/trauma to the tissue, and their piercing jewelry is much higher quality. Yes, it is more expensive, but imo if you can't afford to go to a professional piercer, you can't afford to pierce.

Wow. What an education. I pierced my ears myself years ago (much to my parent's dismay!) so I had no idea about any of this. Thanks for the advice kidspiration! I am not looking to pierce my little ones ears, but I think she may ask sooner than her teens years and she is not vaccinated.

Would the Professional piercers ask for proof of vaccinations as well? Or is that only folks who use the guns?

[~Megan~]

Take her to a real piercing studio. You will have better results and they will heal better. Just a word of caution to call first some will not pierce infants because they only will pierce people who give permission which an infant obviously can't do.

[jeliphish]

please take her to a real piercing studio....the guns they use at claire's can be dirty and that way of piercing can cause a lot of trauma.

[emma1325]

Originally Posted by crazycandigirl

Please go to a piercer and have hollow needles used or find someone who will use a single use piercing gun.

Most pediatrician offices will pierce ears at the office if you ask them to.

using a hollow needle?


And OP, I live in Louisiana, and I've heard through mothers here that Claire's has the same policy of requiring vaccines. Since someone mentioned the possiblity of hep b being transmitted through the guns, I wonder if the Claire's corp believes it is a policy that will protect them from liability somehow. (Not that I think it makes sense.)

[AFWife]

I don't remember being asked directly...but I'm sure it was on the paperwork my mom had to sign.

I'm another that would recommend going to a pro to get them done. I've heard nothing but bad things about guns since getting mine done. I let mine grow in because it turns out I'm allergic to almost every metal known to man (my holes swell up and get infected minutes after applying an earring) but I still have the hard knots in my ear lobes...people have said it's scar tissue because I got them done with a gun. *shrugs*

^But that's another thing to think about. I'd wait until she's older because a lot of my metal allergies didn't show up until then...

[crazycandigirl]

Originally Posted by emma1325

using a hollow needle?

This is an informative article about it.

A hollow needle is a professional piercing needle.

[MelMel]

I am in Ohio, and we had our unvaxxed baby girl pierced at 6months old. We had a medical tattooist and piercer do it. It was VERY expensive....but worth it for something like that.

she never asked us about vax status. It really doesn't matter for a piercing that gets alot of oxygen and isn't an internal/closed wound.

[nevaehsmommy]

The issue came up bc my sil had her dd's ears peirced this month. The baby is 4 months old now.

My dd told me she wanted the jewlery in her ears. So I took her down to cliare and we watched another little girl get her done. When the girl started crying my dd told me "no peirce ear, other girl cryed, must hurt"

So I was talking with the worker ( about pain/ caring for the ars etc) and she asked if I had a copy of her vaxs that they could not even do it (the pericing) w.o seeing a copy.....

I guess it does not matter. I had my ears done at 8, I liked them for about a year. Now I wear earing maybe once a year. They have never closed up but I do have the little lump in them.

I dont think our pedi would do her ears. Maybe but I really doubt it.

[Turquesa]

Originally Posted by jeliphish

please take her to a real piercing studio....the guns they use at claire's can be dirty and that way of piercing can cause a lot of trauma.

And this touches on the OP's dilemma! Hep B is a blood-born pathogen, and in extremely rare cases has been transmitted in tattoo and piercing parlors. So this may be the particular vax that they have in mind.

If it's true that Claire's is reusing their piercing guns, it is extremely disturbing that they're placing the burden on parents to vax their kids rather than on themselves to provide clean needles.