What you should know

• Equipment used for body piercing can become contaminated with blood or body fluids carrying blood-borne diseases such as Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV and other communicable infections and diseases.
• In order to prevent transmission of diseases, instruments should be cleaned and then disinfected or sterilized using approved methods.

What you should look for

• The premise must have a sink with hot and cold running water, for the purposes of handwashing and cleaning of instruments/equipment.
• The personal services worker must thoroughly wash hands using liquid soap and warm water before and after servicing you.
• Single-use, disposable gloves must be worn for each client and discarded after each client.
• Only pre-packaged, single-use disposable needles must be used on you.
• Needles should be cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner and then sterilized in individual packaging.
• If the piercing site is to be marked, it must be done with indelible ink (not easy to wash away) before your skin is cleansed.
• After needles have been used on you they must be discarded immediately into a puncture-resistant sharps container, labelled "Biohazard".
• Only sterile jewellery should be used for your piercing.
• Only sterile forceps and pliers must be used to reduce the risk of infection.
• There should be an approved sterilizer such as an autoclave on site.
• You should receive written and verbal aftercare instructions from the establishment.
• Remember ear piercing guns should only be used to pierce the fleshy part of your ear lobe. Using them anywhere else can increase the risk of infection and may cause damage to delicate tissues.

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