Dear Doctor, 

Is it safe to pierce the ears of my 6-months-old baby? If so, when is it best to do so?

Mbabazi

Dear Mbabazi

Piercing the ears of children, particularly girls, is practised worldwide. In traditional societies it is done as early as possible in infancy. Argument is that since the baby’s skin is soft, it can be done very easily. At this age, the child is cleaned and bathed by responsible adults, hence the cleaning of the pricked site can be done easily twice a day as needed. But the risks are, the infant may hurt herself, if she holds and pulls the ears playfully or while throwing a tantrum. Also if due antiseptic precautions are not observed while pricking, there is a risk of the site getting infected. This may cause redness, swelling, discharge and even fever. A baby may develop allergy to the suture being used for pricking or the ear rings or studs she wears later, causing itching and redness.

Many pediatricians advocate pricking of the ear around 6 months or after, i.e. after the baby has received 1 or 2 shots of vaccinations. Some advocate pricking to be done when the child is grown up enough to make her own decision.

As such, pricking at any age is acceptable, if done by trained persons using proper aseptic precautions. The surgical suture used should be such as to cause minimum or no allergy. In India, traditionally gold or silver thread is used for ear pricking as they are said to be causing no allergy.

After pricking it is important to clean the point pricked at least 2 times daily with surgical spirit or some antiseptic.

The area should be kept clean and dry. One should be vigilant to see signs of any infection or allergy like redness, swelling, itchy eruptions or any watery or dirty discharge. Very light ear rings or studs should be put in the ear lobes after pricking, so that baby does not feel any heaviness or discomfort. Also if heavy studs are put on, there is risk of the hole getting big, needing suture and re pricking at a later age.

Dr Rachna Pande  is a specialist in internal medicine at Ruhengeri Hospital