Body piercing risks while on warfarin

[ManiSham]

Hi
I have done an AVR and VSD closure surgery which was complicated with Endocarditis.been on warfarin for almost 9 years without a problem (6mg daily). I really really want to get my ears or nose pierced and would like to find out if anyone else has been able to get a piercing while on warfarin & is there a risk of endocarditis?.
Thank you in advance
ManiSham

 

[pellicle]

been able to get a piercing while on warfarin & is there a risk of endocarditis?.

well any cut is a potential for infection into the blood stream. Having said that your gums (around your teeth) are a higher source.

Assuming that your piercing is done in proper sterile manner (swab the site, sterile instruments) I can't see why a piercing of your ear or nose will be any more infection risk as long as its handled properly.

As when I got my ear pierced (ages ago now) I had to bathe it carefully and prevent infection. As long as you follow that it should be no greater infection risk than cutting your hand while gardening.

I would add however that at the first sign of infection at the site you should cover yourself with some antibiotics. I would of course consult a doctor, but for instance I'm daily taking 3 doses of 500mg of Amoxicillin (500mg every 8 hours). I would cover yourself in a similar way for as long as any sign of infection persists, and then a week longer. Amoxicillin is quite low priced. In Australia its about $4 for a box of 20 capsules.

 

[Agian]

I'm curious as to why you take Amoxyl every day.

 

[pellicle]

I'm curious as to why you take Amoxyl every day.

because I have still not defeated that infection in my sternum that I got during my last OHS.

I will update that existing thread when I begin the next phase of treatment.

 

[Lynlw]

Hi
I have done an AVR and VSD closure surgery which was complicated with Endocarditis.been on warfarin for almost 9 years without a problem (6mg daily). I really really want to get my ears or nose pierced and would like to find out if anyone else has been able to get a piercing while on warfarin & is there a risk of endocarditis?.
Thank you in advance
ManiSham

Hi Manisham, I wouldn't worry about risks of bleeding for ear or nose piercing, even if you are on warfarin. As for infection, I dont see that big of a risk w/ ear piercing since it is pretty easy to keep the front and back clean, but IMO nose would probably be riskier, since there are usually bacteria in your nose and it would be hard to keep the inside of your nose clean and free from bacteria in the time it takes to heal. I would probably be even more nervous since you already had endocarditis (BE). I would talk to your cardiologist and see what they recommend and why or suggestion to keep the risks lower. Do you know the (probable) reason for your BE or what bacteria caused it?

FWIW my son also had BE, he got it when he was 11 after losing a baby molar, (he already had 3 heart surgeries by that time) he isnt on any meds. He asked his Pediatric Cardiologist, who knew him since he was 2 days old, about piercing and later tattoos.
For Justin, he didnt see a problem w/ getting his ear pierced, but really suggested he not get his tongue or nose pierced because of bacteria.
Since he did have BE we pretty much treated his ear pierce like when he went to the dentist and took antibiotics a couple hours before and then again later that day, for HIM it might not have really helped, but we all figured it wouldnt hurt. ( and it made me feel better
He did the same thing when he got a tattoo, altho by the time he got that he had already had a sternal infection and since the tattoo was by his incision, I think he took the antibiotics for a few days while it healed.

I don't know how it works other Countries, but he needs prescriptions to get antibiotics.

ps, I just looked and found this http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Body-piercing/Pages/Risks.aspx Its from the NHS It isnt for Heart patients just the risk for anyone getting piercings and the different risks. "Bacterial infection is the main risk associated with body piercings."

for ears "Earlobe piercings are generally safe, but care must still be taken to keep the piercing clean and dry"
later on it says
"Nose piercings are riskier than earlobe piercings as the inner surface of the nose (which can't be disinfected) holds bacteria that can cause infection"

 

[Gail in Ca]

Pellicle, maybe you should try the bleach baths! That seemed to do the trick for me. Ask your doc about that basic treatment that finally stopped my staph aureus.
About the piercing, I would think you would bleed more than the average person, but still not a lot. When I cut myself pruning roses, it does bleed a couple of days longer and takes longer to heal than when I wasn't on coumadin.

 

[Agian]

I wouldn't get my nose pierced, given what others have said. But then again, I'm a middle-aged man :biggrin2:

 

[Jkm7]

I've wondered about tattoos for people on warfarin.
Doesn't the design smudge or run the colors together if there is any bleeding?

 

[ManiSham]

Thanks Lyn your response really helps. I got BE through a tooth cavity but after my surgery I got it extracted and I was on IV antibiotics before the dental procedure. I'm really scared of BE since I was hospitalized for three months since the IV antibiotics weren't responding properly and the bacteria was taken off properly only during my surgery. But it's been close to 9 years now without a problem... so let's see!

Need to talk to my cardiologist as well though.

 

[ManiSham]

As when I got my ear pierced (ages ago now) I had to bathe it carefully and prevent infection. As long as you follow that it should be no greater infection risk than cutting your hand while gardening.

T

hanks, were you on warfarin during the time you got your ears pierced? and did it cause extra bleeding

 

[pellicle]

hi Gail

Pellicle, maybe you should try the bleach baths! That seemed to do the trick for me

well the wound is healed over and so that is not possible. There have been no 'erruptions' since I last posted about one and so its just steady as she goes with long term anti-biotics. Come June and it will be the year on antibiotics that my specialist suggested.

Then it will be 'go off antibiotics' and start a series of PET scans to see if anything grows back.

Fingers crossed.

 

[pellicle]

T

hanks, were you on warfarin during the time you got your ears pierced? and did it cause extra bleeding

no, back then I wasn't. Back then I had a homograft replacement valve.

Recent stabs and cuts don't seem to bleed significantly more than pre-warfarin.

I wonder if the view that warfarin causes worse bleeds comes from experience with patients who are over anti-coagulated? Monitoring ones own INR weekly is documented as giving tighter control. So perhaps the difference between being 4 without knowing (due to excessive anticoagulation) and being 2:6 and knowing it makes the difference.

Go for it I say

 

[Gail in Ca]

Hi Pellicle,
Good Luck on the healing process. Even though my wound was healed, I still did the bleach baths 2x's a week for 2 months! But my bacteria was different obviously.

Actually, I do feel I bleed more on coumadin than before I was on it and I am very well managed with my own machine since forever. In the beginning, I was the only person at my medical clinic that had their own machine! Most cuts heal slower, I find, and do open up and bleed for a couple of days longer than when I wasn't on coumadin. And my leg, well, it certainly did bleed more than it would've had I not been on coumadin, according to me and my doctor. And I'm trying to keep my inr on the low end of my range of 2-3. I'm pretty certain, now, that my inr being 2 or 3 had not much influence on my bleeding. Just that I'm anti coagulated does it, no matter the number.
Still, I would think a ear piercing would heal eventually! It might open up and bleed a bit longer, but it should heal.
That being said, I'm not sure I would do it now that I've had BE. But, if a person really feels the need to pierce, I guess he should ask his cardio about it and if he approves, then go ahead.

 

[yotphix]

I've wondered about tattoos for people on warfarin.
Doesn't the design smudge or run the colors together if there is any bleeding?

Four different tattoo artists have said that they don't think I bleed significantly more than anyone else (different people and different locations bleed differently anyway) while they were working on me. The bleeding part really isn't a problem if you are in range. Infection is a concern with tattoo though, as it is for piercing, so choosing your studio, and post care are key to your continued good health if you're going to go down that road.

 

[Jkm7]

Four different tattoo artists have said that they don't think I bleed significantly more than anyone else (different people and different locations bleed differently anyway) while they were working on me. The bleeding part really isn't a problem if you are in range. Infection is a concern with tattoo though, as it is for piercing, so choosing your studio, and post care are key to your continued good health if you're going to go down that road.

Thanks for your response.
It was curiousity that had me ask the question.
I am not going to have a tattoo nor am I on warfarin but I certainly see why you
might have thought I was doing each.