Dr. Olvera and Dr. Hanson have been piercing ears as part of their clinical practice within the Cook Children’s Network since 2016. They both use a medical ear piercing system only available to pediatricians and medical providers.

When should I get my baby’s ear pierced?

This is truly an individual decision. If you decide to pierce your baby’s ears, we only ask that they have received their first set of immunizations at age 2 months. Dr. Olvera and Dr. Hanson prefer to pierce ears from 2 to 9 months and then after age 4 years. Piercing a child’s ears between the ages of 1 to 4 is the most difficult age in terms of cooperation. It is important to understand that most children will cry when getting their ears pierced.

As far as age, some parents prefer to wait until a child can make the decision for themselves. Again, no judgment here. For some, the decision is a cultural one. In some countries, such as Spain, infants' ears are pierced right after birth. Dr. Olvera had her ears pierced at age 8, so she offered the same for her own daughters. Many families have the tradition of waiting until age 10 or 13 to have ears pierced. We respect all decisions!

Where should I get my baby’s ear pierced?

Again, this is a personal choice. More and more pediatricians do offer this service to their patients. First, ask your pediatrician if they offer the service. Some families will choose to go to a local tattoo parlor or the local mall. We recommend that you do your research on the place you choose and determine the age groups they serve. Make sure that you know families have had a good experience at the place you decide to go to.

Dr. Olvera and Dr. Hanson provide medical ear piercing to everyone in the Cook Children’s Network, even if your pediatrician does not offer the service.

What earrings should I use?

With the system that we use, the earrings are provided. You will have a choice of either medical-grade titanium or medical-grade plastic earrings. The earrings used for piercing are only designed to stay in for 6 weeks. You are asked to remove the earrings after 6 weeks and replace them with earrings of your choice. This step is important as the earrings used for piercing have thicker posts. We caution patients to stay away from costume jewelry for the first year. It can take up to a full year for the holes to be completely healed. If a patient has very sensitive skin, we recommend buying replacement hypoallergenic earrings to use for the first year. The medical-grade plastic earrings are excellent for patients with sensitive skin.

How do I take care of my ears after piercing?

The medical ear piercing system we use requires no special cleaning agents. The company recommends cleaning the piercing site (around the earring) with soap and water twice a day. Older children should be reminded to not touch their ears with dirty hands.

What sites do you pierce?

We do traditional ear piercing, usually single lobe piercing on each side. However, we are also comfortable offering second piercings on the lobes to preteens and up. We do not offer cartilage, nose, or belly button piercings.

Do you pierce boy’s ears?

Absolutely!

While the increase in self-injuries may not seem that extreme, Lisa Elliott, Ph.D., a licensed psychologist and clinic manager of Behavioral Health for Cook Children’s in Denton, said the study does not tell the entire story. Sometimes the degree of cutting, for example, may not be severe enough to receive medical attention.

Elliott presents to schools, churches and community organizations on the issue of teens and self-harm injuries. She also treats patients in her practice.

“It can be difficult to determine the prevalence of these types of injuries accurately due to the secretive nature of self-harm prevalence,” Elliott said.

Elliott says that the most accurate numbers show that 20 to 23 percent of teens engage in some type of self-injury. The age of self-harm abuse typically begins between the ages of 12 to 14 years old.

Research shows that gender differences appear only to be associated with method of self-injury. Females are more likely to use cutting. Both genders use burning and self-battery. Caucasians are significantly more likely to engage in self-injury than non-Caucasians.

Methods of self-harm include:

• Cutting (70 percent of self-injuries)
• Carving
• Scratching/biting
• Burning/abrasions/branding
• Hitting themselves
• Picking/pulling skin and hair
• Head banging
• Tattooing
• Excessive body piercing

Injuries are most commonly found on arms, hands, wrists, thighs and stomach.

"This is something we see quite often, mainly in female teenagers, and it has increased dramatically in the last several years once it became a 'thing' that teenagers do and have seen or heard about," said Corwin Warmink, assistant medical director in the Emergency Department at Cook Children's. "It is a response to stress and anxiety and gives the performer a sense of control and eases their anxiety. It is not a suicidal behavior, but some studies have shown people who perform self-injury are more likely to commit suicide than people who do not. It also can be indicative of a more serious mental disorder."

So why do kids harm themselves?

“Kids who repeat self-harm injuries are often trying to ease some type of intense, overwhelming negative emotion such as anger, pain, anxiety or frustration,” Elliott said. “That’s the most common reason, but the second most common reason is self-punishment. They are expressing anger at themselves. This is strongly connected to self-derogation and criticism.”

Other reasons for self-harm include:

• Interpersonal influence – as a means to garner affection/caring from others, to identify/connect with others who have self-injured, to “belong” or fit in with a peer group.
• Stress management.
• To feel a sense of control over their own body, feelings or life situations.
• To provide a distraction from painful emotions through physical pain.

Kids who engage in self-harm behavior are more likely to tell and seek help from a peer their own age than tell a parent. Usually, adults only become involved if that peer tells a grownup and asks for help for his or her friend. Other times, a teacher or coach hears talk among other teens and steps in to help.

Elliott offers these tips to identify if your child is involved in self-harming behavior:

• Dressing in long sleeve shirts/hoodies even in hot weather.
• Wearing concealing outfits.
• Avoiding activities such as sports and swimming.
• Making excuses for having cuts, marks, wounds on body.
• Finding razors, scissors, lighters, knives in unusual places such as under the bed.
• Spending long periods of time locked up in bedroom or bathroom.

For more information

To schedule an appointment or refer a patient to Behavioral Health Services, please call 682-885-3917. To have Lisa Elliott speak more on this topic at your school, church or community organization, click here.