Our Hygiene Standards

As you will read from the rest of the site, high standards of hygiene are important in order to keep you safe from disease and infections. At The Piercing bodz we go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that you are safe at all times.

This section outlines the procedures that we use to ensure that cross contamination (the passage of germs from one person to another) is avoided. Every aspect of the service we provide has been assessed for risks and we are constantly evolving our standards as more research becomes available.

Premises

Our premises are designed to reduce the amount of dirt and germs that can be brought in from outside. The reception/waiting area, the treatment area and the autoclave area are 3 seperate rooms :

Staff personal hygiene

Infection control

Autoclave

The autoclave that we use is a vacuum autoclave with a seperate tank for clean and dirty water. It has a drying cycle and an automatic printer that shows the temperature and pressure every minute throughout the sterilising and drying cycle.

Ultrasonic cleaning

We use an ultrasonic cleaner to clean all the jewellery we use in order to remove polish, oil etc.. The ultrasonic cleaner is also used to clean used instruments before resterilising.

Environment cleaning and disinfection

We have very strict cleaning procedures. The walls, floor, surfaces, autoclave, ultrasonic machine, sinks, treatment bed and credenza are cleaned every morning. The treatment bed, credenza, sinks and walls around the sinks are cleaned between each client.

The disinfectant we use is specifically formulated to clean medical and dental surfaces. It is active against :

It has been tested :

And, most importantly, it's biodegradable and does no harm to the environment (unlike bleach).

Needles, Instruments, Medical supplies and jewellery

Needles

The needles that we use are imported from Germany. We have found that the highest quality needles produce the least sensation during piercing. They are sterilised and sealed at the manufacturers. Once used the cannula (the plastic sleeve) is cut to ensure that it cannot be re-used. These needles are seriously expensive, but we figure you get what you pay for.

Instruments

The instruments that we use are made from high grade surgical steel. The clamps have a small access area to ensure that 'tenting' of the tissue to be pierced is kept at a minimum to reduce the amount of surrounding tissue damage.

All the instruments that are needed for each client are packed into a sterilisation pouch and autoclaved using the "prion" cycle. After each use the instruments are cleaned ultrasonically to remove oils, tissue etc., then repackaged and re-autoclaved prior to use on anyone else.

Medical supplies

All the medical supplies we use are sourced from reputable UK suppliers. Gauze, dressings, alcohol wipes etc. are packaged at the manufacturers and are kept sealed until needed. Paper products such as couch rolls and paper towels are stored in clean, dry conditions, in waterproof wrapping until needed.

Jewellery

All the jewellery that we use is sourced from reputable UK companies. We ultrasonically clean the jewellery to remove traces of polish, dirt etc., then individually pack into sterilisation pouches. All our jewellery is sterilised using the 'Prion' cycle to ensure sterility.

Any surgical steel jewellery that we use in initial piercing conforms to directive 94/27/EC and the 'dangerous substances and preparations (nickel) (safety) regulations 2000'. We use 316LVM (low nickel and low carbon) surgical steel only when Biomedical plastic jewellery is not appropriate. The jewellery for microdermal anchors is high grade, highly polished titanium alloy.

Handwashing and aseptic technique

We follow a very strict handwashing regime that was devised in the 1970's by the Royal College of Nursing. All medical professionals still use this method today to ensure that every part of the hands is clean and free of bacteria.

We also use instant hand sanitiser as an additional precautionary measure.

We use a full aseptic (non touch) technique. Once the client has been touched anything else that is touched will be either sterilised or thrown away. Proper use of latex gloves ensures your safety at all times.

Skin disinfection

Disinfection of the skin prior to piercing can be acheved in many ways. It is important to remove dirt, make-up and fake tan. This is best done using isopropyl alcohol.

The skin is usually cleaned of gross dirt using isopropyl alcohol swabs and then marked for piercing using an antiseptic called 'gentian violet', which is a mixture of iodine and ethyl alcohol. This has the added bonus of cleaning the piercing during the procedure and then keeping it clean during the first few days.

We may occassionally use special surgical skin marking pens, usually to mark for surface piercings, or if you tell us you are allergic to iodine. These pens are sterilised and packed by the manufacturer and are disposed of after one use. We NEVER use ordinary pens or felt tips and NEVER use a skin pen more than once, as this would increase the risk of cross-contamination (passing germs from one person to another).

Handwashing

There has been a lot of press recently regarding the spread of so-called 'superbugs' such as mssa, mrsa, and vrsa. By far the easiest way to combat the spread of these 'superbugs' is effective handwashing.

Handwashing can prevent many diseases including diseases spread through fecal-oral transmission, such as:

Because these diseases are spread through the ingestion of even minute particles of fecal material, it is very important to wash hands right after going to the toilet.

Handwashing also prevents diseases spread through indirect transmission, such as:

Because these diseases maybe spread indirectly by hands freshly soiled by respiratory discharges of infected people, illness may be avioded by washing hands after coughing or sneezing. Diseases may also be spread when hands are contaminated with urine, saliva, or other moist body substances. Infections which may be transmitted by one or more of these body substances include:

These germs may be transmitted from person to person, or indirectly by contamination of food, or inanimate objects such as toys.

hand

Handwashing experiment

In 1978 an independent study was made into the handwashing technique employed by nurses.

A number of nurses were blindfolded and asked to wash their hands with a special soap that contained a blue dye. The dye remained on the parts of the hands that were effectively cleaned.
The results were correlated and the following pattern emerged (see "Handwashing Experiment")

This study showed the need for a standard, precise and proper method of hand washing that should be used for all those who come into contact with patients.

A good technique which ensures that all areas of the hands are covered is essential for an effective handwash and is more important than the soap used.

The following technique ensures that hands are properly cleaned:

Wet hands thoroughly and apply soap.
handwashing

Fig. 1

Vigorously rub hands palm to palm to make a lather for 10 to 15 seconds. (Figure 1).

handwashing 2

Fig. 2

Vigorously rub the back of the left hand with the palm of the right for 10 to 15 seconds and then repeat the other way round. (Figure 2)


handwashing 3

Fig. 3

Interlace the fingers of the right hand over the left hand and rub vigorously for 10 to 15 seconds then repeat the other way round. Turn hands over and repeat for the insides. (Figure 3)

handwashing 4

Fig. 4

Interalce the fingers of the left hand over the fingers of the right hand and rub vigorously for 10 to 15 seconds then repeat the other way round. (Figure 4)

handwashing 5

Fig. 5

Clasp the fingers of the right hand in the left palm and rub rotationally bacwards and forwards for 10 to 15 seconds and then repeat the other way round. (Figure 5)

handwashing 6

Fig. 6

Hold left thumb with right hand and rub vigorously for 10 to 15 seconds then repeat the other way round. (Figure 6)


handwashing7

Fig. 7

Vigorously rub the wrist of the left hand with the right hand for 10 to 15 seconds and then repeat the other way round. (Figure 7)

Cleaning the hands properly depends on the lather reaching all parts of the hands and nails. This lather will hold the germs away from the skin in a suspension. It is important that the hands are kept away from running water so that the lather is not washed away too soon. Once cleaning has been completed the hands should be rinsed from the fingers down to avoid the contamination of clean hands by dirty water.