F ebruary, 2001 Issue 17 THE POINT The Of ficial Newsletter for The Association of Professional Piercers CONTENTS APP Conference 2001 1 APHA 2000 1 Legislative Update-APP in Paris 4 Piercing / Tattoo Studios 6 Classifieds 8 Internet Resource Guide 8 Consistency is a Virtue 9 Studio Review 10 Tribalectic 11 The Presidents Corner 12 Latex Reactions 13 The APP at work for you 14 APP Conference Slated for April in Las Vegas Save the dates now! You will not want to miss this year’s APP Conference and Vendor Fair taking place at Bally’s Hotel and Casino on the “strip” in Las Vegas. The Conference runs from April 9 to 12. The Vendor Fair takes place from April 10-12. This will be an event that no professional piercer or individual wanting to learn about the industry would want to miss. There will be 22 classes from which to choose. If you can bring more than one piercer per studio you will best benefit by taking in as much of the information as possible. As always, we will offer CPR and First Aid and Bloodborne Pathogens training. Both full courses and recertification are available. Other course offerings include Equipment Management, Tray Set-up and, Documentation; Grounding and Bedside Manner; Anthropology and Urban Legends. We will have Anatomy I (body) and Anatomy II (oral and facial anatomy) Tissue Preparation, Stretching and Aftercare. The Piercing Technique class is available only to current APP members. There will also be courses on Liability and Taxation; Legislation; and Appropriate Studio Set-up. Last year’s vendor expo was so success- ful that we are doubling the size and expanding it to three days. There will be many fine jewelry manufacturers, medi- cal supply companies, insurance providers and others. Also we are extending the hours to make it easier to attend classes and view the vendors’ offerings. We will kick off with an opening party at Gameworks. It is a 47,000 square foot adult arcade. Check out the site www.gameworks.com for more informa- tion. Last year’s Banquet Dinner was a huge success, so we will be having one again this year. There will be food, drink, entertainment, a few short speeches, and the President’s award will be presented. The open meeting will take place fol- lowing the Banquet. A new feature this year will be Round Table Discussions. There will be an established topic, and a facilitator to keep things on track. The rest will be up to the participants. Everyone attending is expected to contribute. The industry has matured enough that many piercers have a lot to offer other professionals in the field. This will be a fantastic forum for sharing of information. ...continued on page 9 APP Attends APHA Conference in 2000 In November the APP Board met in Boston to represent professional body piercers at the annual American Public Health Association Conference. All the Board Members were in atten- dance and rotated through staffing the booth to educate doctors, nurses, public health officials, health inspectors and others about body piercing. As with our prior appearances at the APHA Conference, we were well received, and some folks even said we were their favorite booth there! A new feature this year was the data port that we had at the booth. Attendees to the conference each had a card contain- ing a magnetic strip. If they were inter- ested in more information they would swipe the card in our machine. This resulted in a new data base of names and addresses for medical personnel who want to stay updated on the piercing industry. This year we ran a video tape depicting different types of jewelry being inserted and removed from healed piercings. This tied in well with the distribution of our newest APP brochure: ...continued on page 9 APP Conference 2001 APHA 2000
Transcript
February, 2001 Issue 17
THE POINTThe Official Newsletter for The Association of Professional Piercers
CONTENTSAPP Conference 2001 1APHA 2000 1Legislative Update-APP in Paris 4Piercing / Tattoo Studios 6Classifieds 8Internet Resource Guide 8
Consistency is a Virtue 9Studio Review 10Tribalectic 11The Presidents Corner 12Latex Reactions 13The APP at work for you 14
APP Conference Slated forApril in Las Vegas
Save the dates now! You will not wantto miss this year’s APP Conference andVendor Fair taking place at Bally’s Hoteland Casino on the “strip” in Las Vegas.
The Conference runsfrom April 9 to 12.The Vendor Fair takesplace from April 10-12.
This will be an eventthat no professionalpiercer or individualwanting to learn aboutthe industry wouldwant to miss.
There will be 22 classes from which tochoose. If you can bring more than onepiercer per studio you will best benefitby taking in as much of the informationas possible.
As always, we will offer CPR and FirstAid and Bloodborne Pathogens training.Both full courses and recertification areavailable. Other course offerings includeEquipment Management, Tray Set-upand, Documentation; Grounding andBedside Manner; Anthropology andUrban Legends. We will have Anatomy I(body) and Anatomy II (oral and facialanatomy) Tissue Preparation, Stretchingand Aftercare. The Piercing Techniqueclass is available only to current APPmembers. There will also be courses onLiability and Taxation; Legislation; andAppropriate Studio Set-up.
Last year’s vendor expo was so success-ful that we are doubling the size andexpanding it to three days. There will bemany fine jewelry manufacturers, medi-cal supply companies, insuranceproviders and others. Also we areextending the hours to make it easier toattend classes and view the vendors’offerings.
We will kick off with an opening party atGameworks. It is a 47,000 square footadult arcade. Check out the sitewww.gameworks.com for more informa-tion.
Last year’s Banquet Dinner was a hugesuccess, so we will be having one againthis year. There will be food, drink,entertainment, a few short speeches, andthe President’s award will be presented.The open meeting will take place fol-lowing the Banquet.
A new feature this year will be RoundTable Discussions. There will be anestablished topic, and a facilitator tokeep things on track. The rest will be upto the participants. Everyone attendingis expected to contribute. The industryhas matured enough that many piercershave a lot to offer other professionals inthe field. This will be a fantastic forumfor sharing of information.
...continued on page 9
APP Attends APHAConference in 2000
In November the APP Board met inBoston to represent professional bodypiercers at the annual American PublicHealth Association Conference.
All the Board Members were in atten-dance and rotated through staffing thebooth to educate doctors, nurses, publichealth officials, health inspectors andothers about body piercing.
As with our prior appearances at theAPHA Conference, we were wellreceived, and some folks even said wewere their favorite booth there!
A new feature this year was the data portthat we had at the booth. Attendees tothe conference each had a card contain-ing a magnetic strip. If they were inter-ested in more information they wouldswipe the card in our machine. Thisresulted in a new data base of names andaddresses for medical personnel whowant to stay updated on the piercingindustry.
This year we ran a video tape depictingdifferent types of jewelry being insertedand removed from healed piercings.This tied in well with the distribution ofour newest APP brochure:
President Patrick McCarthyVice President Steve JoynerSecretary Bethra SzumskiTreasurer Scott BrewerOutreach Coordinator Elayne AngelInternational Liasion April Williams-WarnerMedical Liasion Dr. John Ward
The Association of Professional Piercers goalis to circulate vital health, safety, and education-al information to the piercing industry. The Pointis copyrighted under Federal Law. Any reproduction of it’s contents is prohibitedunless written permission is obtained.
Any material submitted for publication will besubject to editing. The Point cannot guaranteereturn of any such materials unless accompaniedby a stamped, self-addressed envelope.
The Point is not responsible for claims made byadvertisers. we reserve the right to reject adver-tising which is unsuitable for our publication.
Editor - Elayne AngelDesign / Layout - Lilia Judd
If you wish to advertise and would like a speci-fication sheet please contact:
T-shirts will be on sale at the conference or can be purchased from the website (www.safepiercing.org]Cost is $15.00 plus $3.00 S/H. Slightly higher cost for size XL
Bowling shirts are $24.95 each and are available in the two styles shown.
Contact Pat McCarthy 614-297-4743 if you are interested in purchasing shirts.
Atthe invitation of the FrenchGovernment, APP President, Pat
McCarthy and Treasurer, Scott Brewerwent to Paris, France. There they repre-sented the APP to provide opinions andadvice at meetings held for the importantpurpose of establishing rules and regula-tions for the entire country regardingbody piercing and tattooing.
Big thanks to Dominique Mincelli of23 Rue Keller for all of his assistance.Without his help the week would nothave nearly been so successful.
The French were very happy to see us,and were most hospitable and polite.
We arrived several days ahead of themeeting in order to see the city of Parisand research the environment for pierc-ing and tattooing. With DominiqueÕshelp, the metro (subway) and a goodmap, we were on our way.
We visited some great studios andsome bad ones. It was quickly decidedthat studios in the US and those in Francehad lots of similar problems. There werea couple of Òfull service studiosÓ whereyou could get pierced, tattooed, and get ahaircut all in the same chair. Some stu-dios did not use ultrasonics and someobviously had no concept of cross con-tamination. Two studios in Paris wereoutstanding and the piercers were veryinquisitive, informative, and looked for-ward to the meeting.
We also, of course, had to see theEiffel Tower, the Louvre, and sample thelocal wines.
We spoke with one of the doctors priorto the meeting and were pleased to
hear that they were very interested inwhat the APP had offer. There was somecontroversy about Òsterile versus asep-ticÓ techniques but no real decision wasreached. We also learned that the termÒsterileÓ can mean varying things inother countries.
The main meeting was held at HospitalRothschild, and Dr. Jean-BaptisteGuiard-Schmid of the French Public
Health Ministry presided. There wereabout 40 people in attendance. Themajority were piercers and tattoo artists,plus some doctors and officials from thegovernment. We were introduced andasked to speak about the APP. We gavea short address stating the mission of theAPP and our purpose for attending themeeting. Many piercers spoke English,and Dominique Mincelli translated forthose who didnÕt.
Once we explained that we were pre-sent to assist and support them ratherthan tell them what to do, things movedalong well.
We are happy to announce that theentire country of France has adopted,and is using the APP suggestedAftercare Guidelines.
4
Legislative Update APP Assists AbroadBy Scott Brewer and Pat McCarthy
Post meeting chat
Pat and Scott meetwith the French
resentatives
Dominique Mincelli
We separated into 3 teams to work ona variety regulation issues; sterilization,tray set-up, and aftercare. Scott workedon the infection control team and dis-cussed methods of sterilization docu-mentation. Pat worked on the aftercareissue.
After the meeting most of the piercersand tattoo artists went to a coffeehouseand chatted for hours. It was very infor-mative to see what piercers in othercountries are doing. As the APP growsin stature and popularity, more time andenergy will be spent visiting other coun-tries to assist them.
The entire board would like to thankDominique again for making the trip sosuccessful and for making Pat and Scottfeel at ease so far from home.
6
One of the fastest growingproviders of piercing ser-vices in recent times is tat-
too studios. Unfortunately, piercersare often hired quickly to fill demandwithin tattoo studios, rather than byvirtue of cleanliness, skill or ability. Bythe same token piercers often findthemselves fighting seemingly losingbattles in studios where there is gen-eral disdain for piercing or resistanceto health and safety upgrades.Despite the potential drawbacks,some of the world’s best body modifi-cation venues have been born of thisunion.
For those who are not the propri-etors of both businesses or in estab-lished partnerships, one of thebiggest hurdles is finding like-mindedpeople with whom to work. Becausemany crucial areas of a studio willoften be shared, there must be coop-eration between piercers and tattoo-ers. Many piercers will find them-selves making proposals to the own-ers of established tattoo studios, andothers search for partners to open abusiness together. Either way it isimportant to agree on key points andpotential conflicts from the beginning.This will help to prevent misunder-standings down the line. Establishinga studio procedural manual will helpgreatly to ensure that common areasare treated consistently and appropri-ately.
There should be a separate roomor rooms designated for piercing ser-vices only. Actual walls and doors arevery important for the separation.Curtains do not allow enough privacyfor the client to feel at ease, and theytend to harbor bacteria.Studios withan abundance of space often havepiercing on its own floor or in a sepa-rate part of the building. A hand-washing sink in each room used forservices is ideal, but an accessiblebarrier-free hand washing sink that isnot used by the public is an option aswell. For those working with lessspace, arranging the studio can betricky but with forethought and plan-ning it can be achieved affordably.
Any time either service is offeredthere must also be adequate steril-ization facilities. A separate, enclosedroom for processing contaminatedequipment is one of the most impor-tant parts of any studio. This spacewould ideally contain a “contaminat-ed” sink, a handwashing sink, anautoclave, and separate ultrasonicunits and pre soak bins. Tattoo equip-ment tends to be saturated with pig-ment and blood once used. Cleaningpiercing equipment (which has rela-tively low body fluid saturation) in thesame ultrasonic is clearly inappropri-ate. If having two units is not costeffective for the studio, special caremust be taken to drain and refill theunit prior to processing contaminatedpiercing equipment.
Although piercing and tat-tooing are sibling industries,particularly in the minds ofthe general public, they arealtogether different process-es. It is crucial that there bea clear delineation betweenthe two services within thestudio.
Most often they are handledseparately in terms of book-keeping and businessaspects.
Keeping jewelry display and pierc-ing photos out of the general areawhere people view tattoo portfoliosand/or reference material will givebetter access to preferred service.Commonly, the public is shopping forboth services but it is important not toalienate clients who have an aversionto either piercing or tattooing.
A well-trained (or trainable) andversatile counter person is on thewish list of every business owner.This person can answer both piercingand tattoo questions, set appoint-ments, and generally free-up tattooartists and piercers to focus on theirclients without interruption. Whenyou find a good one, make it worththeir while to stay; they are few andfar between, and are the public’s firstimpression of your business.Cooperation between employees isimportant. Obviously many tattooistswill only possess basic piercing infor-mation, prices, etc.. Likewise,piercers may lack extensive tattooknowledge. Saying something like,“please allow me to pass this call tosomeone with that information” or“please let me take a message so wecan get you the information youneed” is a better reply than “I don’tknow” which will send the client run-ning. The highest volume of phonecalls will tend to be for prices anddirections. Posting this basic infor-mation near the telephone will allowany person answering the call toreadily assist the potential client.
As both industries continue to growand gain respect, maintaining a pro-fessional, comfortable, clean envi-ronment is the objective of any dedi-cated professional. This sense ofpride must extend to all of the ser-vices offered within the studio. Theresearch, effort, time, and moneyrequired to provide truly exceptionalservices will be rewarded with a bet-ter-informed and loyal clientele.
Bethra Szumski & April Williams-Warner
Piercing / Tattoo Studios
Internet Resource Guide
8
Below is a short listing of just a few ofthe many internet web sites that may beof interest to those in the piercing com-munity. This guide is not intended to becomprehensive nor to endorse these spe-cific sites. This listing merely serves toprovide a jump start to the piercer/websurfer. They include medical web sites,piercing sites, product sites and more.
www.apic.org/Association for Professionals inInfection Control
www.asmusa.org/American Society for Microbiology
www.bme.freeq.com/index.htmlPhotos, news, live chat, classifieds,personals, articles, FAQ, glossary,body art event listings, links, evenBME radio, etc.Also photos and information for thehardcore fan on extreme and unusualpiercings and other forms of bodymodification
www.bodypiercing.com“is a website dedicated to the art ofpiercing. You will find piercing shops,piercers, jewelry manufacturers anddistributors, equipment suppliers,piercing resources and a classified sec-tion. Bodypiercing.com does not rec-ommend any shops or piercers, anddoes not sell jewelry or supplies. Theyare merely a source for information,and trust that the shops and piercershave the highest standards of steriliza-tion and training.”
www.caretechlabs.com/care products including Technicare,Tech-2000, satin, etc.
www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/index.htm
For information on Hepatitis, theCenters for Disease ControlIncludes:Hepatitis AHepatitis BHepatitis C• On-line trainingHepatitis DHepatitis EResource Center
www.cdc.gov/the Centers for Disease Control
www.faqs.org/faqs/bodyart/huge comprehensive FAQ on bodypiercing from the rec.arts.bodyartsfolks
www.glogerm.com/sells a product good for demonstratingproper handwashing, asceptic tech-niques, and general infection control
www.go.com/WebDir/Healtha medical encyclopedia
www.gojo.com/ andwww.healthcare.gojo.com/
the makers of Provon, with MSDSsheets, etc.
www.members.home.net/wnor/homepage.htm
anatomy lessons
www.newdream.net/beadring/“The Bead Ring was formed as ameans to unite people, organizations,and web sites interested in the world ofbody art and modification.”
www.osha.gov/Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration
www.piercinglinks.com/Has well over 2000 links includingarticles books, magazines, editorials,experiences, employment, interviews,studies, theses, regulations, chat,newsgroups, web rings and more.
www.redcross-indy.org/hss/bbp-tattoo/intro1.asp
online Bloodborne Pathogens Trainingcourse for Piercers and Tattoo Artists
www.safetypeople.co.uk/consult.htm
www.tribalectic.com/Home.asComprehensive resource with 3 differ-ent forums: one each for piercers,piercees and jewelers. Live chat, mag-azine, jewelry, shop directory, inter-views, photo gallery, video and more.
www.woundcare.org/information on woundcare
Professional and reliable. Hardworkingand clean. Good knowledge base, 2years bloodborne pathogens certifica-tion, need to renew CPR and First Aid.I have been running all aspects of mypiercing business and shop manager forlast year. Looking to work with pierc-ing professionals who are professional,honest, and open. Many accomplish-ments in shop including putting togeth-er Hazard Communications program,Exposure Control Plan, TrainingManuals, running spore tests, invento-ry/ stock, website, too many to list. I amaccomplished in many of the basicpiercings and looking to advance myskills. Will relocate just about any-where for the right opportunity.References, resume, portfolio and let-ters of recommendations shown onrequest.
Does this title sound boring or what?This was not the dynamic title I had beenhoping to come up with on this morningof January 1st after a rather “interesting”New Year’s Eve celebration. On furtherreflection, it came to me that the point Iwas trying to make was that in at leastone way, a body piercer has to be boring:being consistent with general businessprocedures. Without this, the piercermay not be able to run a successful busi-ness.
Recently we had an insurance claimthat illustrated this point. A motherbrought her 14 year old daughter into apiercing shop for an earlobe piercingwhere a piercing gun was used. Whenthis particular shop used a piercing gunfor ear lobe piercings, they did not fol-low their regular business procedures.In other words, they did not ask motherand daughter to sign a consent form andthey did not give the clients aftercareguidelines which is what they did withall their “professional piercings”.
(Now the purpose of this article is notto go into the issues involved with pierc-ing guns, which I know the APP feelsvery strongly should not be used.Hopfeully readers can skip to the practi-cal matter here which is the point I amlooking to make.)
Just before the statute of limitationsran out, the mother filed a lawsuit againstmy insured piercing shop alleging thedaughter’s ear was warped due to the earlobe piercing.
My insuror started to investigate theclaim and found out a few interesting tid-bits: First, the mother and daughtercould not prove they had actuallyreceived their piercing from my insuredpiercer. Secondly, the mother anddaughter had gone to the seahsore lessthan one week after the piercing wherethey played in the sand. Thirdly, themother confessed she did not have herdaughter use any aftercare procedureswhen the piercing was done. So youask, why would an insurance companycontinue to handle this claim? Why nottell the claimant to go fly a kite?
The first point is no one wants to go tocourt against a minor. Jurors often willside on behalf of the poor child who is“damaged” for life and then award hugejudgments. Legal fees to go to court canbe as high as $10,000/day in many majorUS cities.
More to the point, the piercing shopwas unable to prove they did not do thepiercing. Here was the biggest problemof all. The shop owner, under sworndeposition, said in the case of piercingguns, he did not make anyone sign a con-sent and he only offered to “sell” themaftercare kits. The owner did not keeprecords of ANY ear piercing clientswhere he used a gun. He also did notgive them any kind of handwritten after-care guidelines. Since he did not makeany real money on ear piercing gunclients, he would only sell them aftercarekits, which this client did not elect tobuy.
This child’s ear can be repaired at acost of about $15,000. To date we havepaid close to another $10,000 or so inhandling and legal fees. If this is set-tled, which still remains doubtful, thecost will be probably near $50,000-$100,000 to cover legal and any “dam-ages” for pain and suffering.
The piercer’s case would have beenmuch stronger if the shop had followedconsistent procedures for every singleclient. No matter what type of piercinga piercer does, and no matter what agegroup the client is, all must be treatedequally. Every piercing client needs tosign a consent form and be given after-care instructions. The piercer shouldmake enough money from a piercing tobe able to follow professional procedureswhen dealing with clients. If not, dis-continue the service or raise prices for it.Without being boringly consistent, thepiercer may not be in a position to sur-vive a legal challenge.
Consistency is a VirtueBy Susan Preston, President, Professional Program Insurance Brokerage
..Conference 2001 continued
The room rate is $99.00 per night. Wewould strongly advise you to bookimmediately, as the rooms are expectedto sell out quickly. Do not book yourroom through Bally’s website becauseyou will not get the discounted rate.
If you are an APP member in goodstanding (dues are paid, with a video onfile) you can deduct $50.00 from theconference cost. Also, there is a discountfor early registration, before March 15,2001. To encourage international partic-ipation, we are charging less for atten-dees not within the continental U.S..
You can register online atwww.safepiercing.org using yourMasterCard or Visa.
For vendor information contactPat McCarthy at: (614) 297-9925
For conference information visit thewebsite at www.safepiercing.org or call Bethra Szumski at: (404) 315-6925
...APHA 2000 continued
We also had a jewelry display thatshowed high quality body jewelry, andpoor, unsuitable jewelry for comparison.The Board distributed a tremendous pileof literature including our AftercareSheets, Choosing a Piercer brochure, andthe Troubleshooting brochure.
Vice President, Steve Joyner presented aseminar: Are Piercing Studios a HealthRisk? This was targeted at HealthInspectors and involved a Power Pointpresentation that was created by boardmembers Pat McCarthy, Dr. Jack Ward,and Scott Brewer. The content focusedon how to inspect a Piercing Studio.
Many attendees approached to ask spe-cific questions about body piercing, andsome came to us for general information.All in all, it was another very successfulvisit to the APHA Conference.
10
Studio Review Evolution BodyPiercing Albuquerque, New Mexico
Evolution body piercing is locat-ed along the historic Route 66in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The piercing-only studio, founded inApril of 1999, was built with equalconsideration for aesthetic beautyand for health and safety.
The Southwestern United Statesseems to have an abundance of arti-sans, and it is evident that theseresources have been well utilizedwithin the studio. The lobby boasts awaterfall and handcrafted displaycases with counter tops bearing theappearance of still water. One caneasily imagine the sense of ease thatcustomers will feel as they step in offthe street.
By virtue of proper planning andthe blessing of sufficient spaceEvolution has both “clean” and “dirty”equipment processing areas. Glasswindows allow clients to view thesetwo areas safely from the lobby. Alldoors within the studio are doublehinged to allow easy hands-freeaccess; the door to the 'dirty' area ispainted red. Piercing rooms are tidyand well lit and each has a hand-washing sink.
Co-founder, Crystal Sims, attendedGauntlet training seminars in Marchof 1995, after having served a one-year apprenticeship at Kent Fazekas'studio, Body Accents. She pierced offand on over the years before under-taking her full time position atEvolution.
Co-founder, Sean Taylor, attendedthe Fakir piercing workshop inJanuary, 1994. He then worked at apiercing studio in Albuquerque until1996. He took a hiatus from piercingto focus on jewelry manufacturing,and he now holds a position piercingpart time in the studio.
“It's our job to help breakdown the stereotypes directed at piercing”.
Other Evolution staff includes:
Noah Babcock, who attended Dr.Kris Sperry's seminar on diseasetransmission in 1997 and has beenpiercing for 5 years.
Myra Shoults, who attendedGauntlet seminars in 1996, after herone-year apprenticeship at BodyAccents. She is a long-standing APPmember and has joined the crew asa counter assistant and part timepiercer.
And also Tyler Cancro, who hasbeen with the studio since it openedits doors. He is working as anapprentice.
There is a free flow of informationamong the crew, and positive interac-tion with piercers across the country.It's not hard to see that these folkshave done their homework!
“It's our job to help break down thestereotypes directed at piercing. Wesee a large variety of professionalshere. It's important to provide a com-fortable environment for everyone.I'm really rewarded to see peoplearrive excited and leave even moreso! I can't think of anything I wouldrather do,” says Crystal.
Evolution4517 Central N.E.
Albuquerque, NM 87108505-255-4567
As of late August 2000 a new bodypiercing community has taken form onthe Internet.
Tribalectic --www.tribalectic.com--was founded and created by threefriends: a body piercer, an avid piercee,and a tech wizard. Together, DamienHoffman, Jason Malec and DrewMichael are aiming to fill a digital voidand provide both the general public andprofessional piercers a place to call homeon the Web.
Tribalectic offers a host of body pierc-ing resources. The major component ofthe website is the Pierced, Piercer, andJeweler Communities. These communi-ties offer chatrooms, forums, FAQ’s, pic-tures of featured piercings, piercingmyths, a piercer employment directoryand, for the general public, informationabout “What to Expect” from a piercingexperience.
“We want piercees to feel as thoughthey can come to an objective place toget all the information they’ll needwhether they’re considering a first pierc-
ing or want to talk about their twentieth,”comments Jason, a pierced Internetsurfer who was unsatisfied with bodypiercing information online. Jason con-tinues, “We also constructed the PiercerCommunity to be password protected soprofessional piercers can have a place toexchange information privately withtheir colleagues.” This goal to deliverthe body piercing community with top-of-the-line resources keeps Tribalecticinnovating and asking its communitywhat they want next.
Tribalectic also reserves space in theircommunities to post information provid-ed by the Association of ProfessionalPiercers. “As a piercer, I used a lot of theguidelines and information the APP hasto offer … I think the general publicshould also be able to access informationthe APP finds necessary for all piercees.Elayne Angel has been extremely helpfuland interested in helping Tribalectic ful-fill this goal.”
In addition to information, Tribalecticaspires to bring piercers and shops the
benefits of Internet business solutionsthat have eluded the piercing industry todate. Drew, whose interests and educa-tion include both computer programmingand business, leads the team in theireffort to help the lagging piercing indus-try conduct business like other compa-nies have been for the past five years.“Other industries have saved extraordi-nary amounts of time and money bring-ing their supply and inventory manage-ment operations to the Web … we hopeto bring these same savings to the pierc-ing industry as well.”
Tribalectic also produces a monthlyonline magazine that interviews piercers,jewelers, and shops. You can also findarticles about popular issues in the bodypiercing world or simply read a musicreview. Tribalectic’s interactive natureencourages piercers and piercees alike tosubmit stories and artwork to be featuredin the magazine.
Whether you’re looking to ask a fel-low piercer a quick question about tech-nique, hoping to offer your clients aplace to convene online, or want to learnhow to make your shop more efficient inthe digital age, Tribalectic is a greatplace to start.
11
IN MEMORY OFAL D SOWERS
The President Õs Corner Patrick McCarthyWell, the current board is half-way
through its three-year term and a wholelot is going on. Much of what we havebeen doing is behind-the-scenes kind ofstuff. You will be able to observe some ofour efforts at the Annual Conference, inApril.
The new manual will be coming out. Itis entirely updated and completely differ-ent than the previous one. We will beoffering the manual in a hard-copy ver-sion as a book comprised of 4 separatemini-books. We also plan to debut the newmanual as an interactive CD disk.
You are reading the POINT that willagain begin to come out on a quarterlybasis. We have produced several newbrochures to educate the public, includ-ing: Choosing Your Piercer;Troubleshooting For You and YourHealthcare Professional; and twoAftercare Guidelines Brochures (one fororal piercing and the other for facial andbody piercings). The Aftercare brochuresare a first for our industry, establishing abenchmark for professional piercing care.The Troubleshooting brochure contains anillustrated section on jewelry removalhints and tips to help medical personnelperform safe jewelry removal, and adviceon when it is truly necessary.
We are in the process of producing a 4-color medical-style illustrated full-size
poster showing cross sections of the bodywith properly placed piercings.
We are also in the final stages of editingtwo videos; one on how body piercing jew-elry is removed that is geared towardsdoctors, nurses, and corrections facilitiespersonnel on how to safely remove jewel-ry, and how body jewelry operates. And,the second one on how to inspect a bodyart studio, that is geared towards healthdepartment officials and prospective APPmembers about how to set-up and inspectstudios.
We have established and published aposition on ear-piercing stud guns, one onoral piercings, and a policy on piercingminors. The more unified we are as anorganization on policies and procedures,the stronger and more professional weappear to the public, and the more easilyand widely our messages will spread.
The web site has been updated as aworking tool for the board. It now holdsmany databases that were not establishedbefore. There is more information avail-able on the APP web site than ever before.
The APP Survey on Body Piercing isthe first of its kind. If you did not com-plete a survey at last year’s conference,and have not participated by taking thesurvey on-line, please log-on and do so.This way we will establish a broad andaccurate baseline with as many partici-
pants as possible to answer our questions.The data we are collecting ranges fromusual jewelry sizes and styles to suggest-ed care products to average numbers ofpiercings per day and pay ranges. It isvery interesting to see what your col-leagues are up to! Results of the 2000survey are posted on the site.
I don't want to talk too much about the2001 conference except to say that thebigger the conference gets the more timeand effort it takes to produce. The VendorExposition was so successful last year thatmany more companies want to come thisyear. So, we are making the Expo biggerand better, which in turn requires moretime.
You will also see throughout thisPOINT other things we have done. TheBoard recognizes the fact that thenewsletter and Manual have been delayedin coming out, but you will soon see why!
We would like to get feedback fromYOU, members of the piercing industry,about what you want us to do, what yourneeds are, and what direction you wantthe APP to take. You can contact medirectly at [email protected].
I’m looking forward to seeing all of youat the Conference.
Patrick McCarthy
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How to Contact the APPRequests for general information and spore tests should be sentto:Association of Professional Piercers, PMB 286,5446 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Chamblee, GA 30341or fax to(614) 297-6855.
To contact the following members of the board:Office of the President
Pat McCarthy c/o Piercology872 N. High St.
Columbus, OH 43215
Office of the SecretaryBethra Szumski c/o Virtue and Vice
2271 Cheshire Bridge Rd.Atlanta, GA 30324
Outreach CoordinatorElayne Angel c/o Rings of Desire
1128 Decatur St.New Orleans, LA 70116
or visit The APP Website at: www.safepiercing.org
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by David Vidra and Derek Lowe
Aswithin the medical com-munity, the piercing andtattooing industries have
seen a large increase in the number ofpractitioners who are either sensitive orallergic to latex gloves and other prod-ucts. This increase in latex allergies canbe attributed to several factors.
One of the primary reasons for theincrease in the number of individualsallergic to latex is the institution ofUniversal Precautions. UniversalPrecautions has resulted in the increasein the number of latex gloves being usedand being manufactured. A secondaryfactor is the manufacturing process itselfand the quality of latex used in the man-ufacturing process.
There are several different types ofreactions that can occur. It is important tounderstand the types of reactions in orderto determine if the reaction is truly areaction to latex or if the reaction is dueto some other factor. Determining thecause of the reaction makes it possible todetermine what course of action willprove to be most beneficial.The following are the most commontypes of reactions:
A. Irritant Contact DermatitisSymptomsTypical symptoms of Irritant ContactDermatitis are dry, flaky, irritated areasof skin, most commonly the hands.Common CausesThis condition can be caused by fre-quent hand-washing and drying as wellas not properly drying hands afterhand-washing. In addition, exposure topowders used on latex gloves can alsocontribute to this type of reaction. It isimportant to realize that this type ofreaction is not a true allergic reaction.
B. Allergic Contact Dermatitis(delayed hypersensitivity)
SymptomsSymptoms for this type of reactionoften resemble a reaction to poison ivy.The skin will often develop oozingskin blisters. This condition oftenappears 24-48 hours after exposureand may spread to areas that do notcome in contact with latex.
Common causesThis condition is most commonlycauses by chemicals added to the latexduring harvesting, processing or themanufacturing process. It is importantto realize that some of the same chem-icals used in processing natural rubberlatex gloves may also be used in pro-cessing synthetic rubber gloves such asNitrile.
C. Latex Allergy (immediate hyper-sensitivity)
SymptomsThe types of symptoms that appear dueto this kind of reaction vary dependingupon the level of sensitivity. Reactionsmay vary from mild (severe skin red-ness, development of hives and/oritching) to more severe (difficultybreathing, coughing, wheezing, sneez-ing, runny nose, and/or scratchythroat). In some severe cases, a life-threatening shock may develop.Immediate hypersensitivity reactionstypically occur within minutes ofexposure to latex. Common causesThis type of reaction occurs as a resultof a direct allergy to latex proteins. It isoften difficult to determine what levelof exposure will cause this type ofreaction. In addition, this type of reac-tion is something that often developsover time, as the individual is fre-quently exposed to latex.
The issue of reactions to latex gloves inour industry has become an issue whichcan no longer be ignored. Reactions ofthis nature have the potential to affect ourability to work safely or to work at all. Itis important to be able to recognize thesetypes of reactions and to be able to pre-vent the likelihood of such reactionsoccurring.One of the most effective waysto prevent allergic reactions to latex is tominimize the use of latex products, espe-cially gloves. One common, and veryeffective substitute for latex gloves aregloves made of Nitrile. Nitrile is a syn-thetic rubber that contains no natural rub-ber latex. Nitrile provides a barrier pro-tection equal, if not better, than that oflatex.
However, as was mentioned previously,keep in mind that Nitrile is still a form ofrubber, and as such, may still be pro-cessed using some of the same chemicalsused to process latex gloves.
If latex gloves are used, the followingprecautions can be taken to reduce theoccurrence of various reactions:° Use latex gloves which are powder-free. The powder can be absorbed intothe skin, carrying with it latex proteins.While powdered-free latex gloves maybe slightly more expensive, they cangreatly reduce the potential for reactions.In addition, if hands are dried thoroughlyafter washing, donning of powder-freelatex gloves is no more difficult thandonning latex gloves that are powdered.° Wash your hands both before and afterthe procedure. This will help removelatex proteins that become embedded inthe skin.° Wash your hands using a mild soap anddry them thoroughly. ° Keep your skin in good conditionsusing lotions and/or creams. There aremany different products available whichare designed specifically for the purposeof maintaining the health of the skin onthe hands. Be sure that any hand lotionsused are not oil-based, as the oil willbreak down the latex, increasing yourpotential for exposure to pathogens aswell as increasing the amount of latexabsorbed into your skin.
For further information, feel free to con-tact us at:Body Work Productions, Inc. voice:(216) 623-0744 fax: (216) [email protected]
Health Educators, Inc. voice: (216)623-0815 [email protected] David Vidra, C.L.P.N., M.A., OSHAAuthorized Outreach Instructor, OwnerBody Work Productions, Inc. and HealthEducators, Inc.Derek Lowe, Manager/Senior PiercerBody Work Productions, Inc., InstructorHealth Educators, Inc.Jesika Bornsen -- Piercer, Body WorkProductions, Inc.Molly Szewcyzk -- Piercer, Body WorkProductions, Inc.
Latex Reactions in the Modification IndustryUnderstanding Why They Occur and How Best to Prevent Them
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Standardized Aftercare Troubleshooting for YouFor Facial and Body Piercings and Oral Piercings and Your Healthcare
Now available To order call: Pat McCarthy 614-297-4743 Professional
The APP at Work for You
Association of Professional PiercersThe Point1128 Decatur St.New Orleans, LA 70116
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