What can you do to reduce the pain?
Many people who feel a lot of pain when piercing a navel piercing are very afraid of the procedure. If the anxiety can be alleviated, the pain felt is usually less. In return, you can bring along a companion, such as a good friend, who can hold your hand and have a calming effect.
Also distraction with music over headphones and closing the eyes can help to reduce the pain of the pricking of the navel piercing. Many piercers use a cooling spray for the skin in advance, which can also relieve the pain. If necessary you should ask for such a spray.
If you get the piercing stitched at a doctor, he can also set a local anesthesia with a syringe. Apart from the short sting with the thin needle, no or only very little pain is felt during the following piercing. Before piercing a belly button piercing you should not take any painkillers of your own accord.
The expected effect is small, because the pain during piercing lasts only for a few seconds anyway. In addition, many of the common painkillers such as Ibuprofen® reduce the coagulation ability of the blood, so that the danger of an increased bleeding by the piercing of the navel piercing increases. Only Paracetamol®, as an over-the-counter analgesic, does not have this effect and can theoretically be taken in advance to reduce pain. However, the expected effect is small, so that no recommendation can be given to take an analgesic before piercing.
How long do you have pain afterwards?
How long one has pain after the stabbing of a navel piercing can be very different. If everything goes well, the injury heals completely in a few days to a few weeks. During this time slight dull pain is still considered normal.
If a complication such as bacterial inflammation occurs, the pain is usually strong and throbbing. The pain then remains until the piercing is removed and the navel can heal. Mostly even a medical treatment is necessary.Even without signs of inflammation, some navel piercers claim to still have pain in the navel after months or years. In such a case you should consider carefully, whether you should accept this or remove the piercing.