I love piercings, but annual MRIs make wearing jewelry complicated
With 17 piercings, I had to find ways to accommodate annual MRIs
About a year after I was born, my parents decided to get my ears pierced. Little did they know, it would become an obsession of mine years later. But little did I know, my piercings would pose problems when it was MRI time.
When I was 13, I continued getting piercings, a trend that progressed as the years went on. Four years later, around the time I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, I had my first brain MRI to check for lesions. My piercings weren’t a big deal at the time because they had all healed and it was easy to remove the earrings. (For MRIs, jewelry can’t be magnetic.) But the number of piercings I had increased during college, which started to cause problems when I had to get MRIs.
I’d wait until the very last minute to remove my jewelry, even though I knew it would be hard to do because some of the piercings were still healing. For instance, moments before my parents took me to get an MRI one day, I was stressed and frantic because I couldn’t remove one of my earrings. My hands were sweaty and I couldn’t properly grasp it.
I had to rely on my dad to help me take it out. As he removed it, I instantly became dizzy and almost passed out due to the sensitivity of healing piercings. After this experience, I told myself to stop getting piercings because MRIs were an annual requirement. But I didn’t listen to myself, and now have 17 piercings.
Before my last MRI, I had a moment to myself and decided I needed to figure out how to prevent some of my newer piercings from closing. So I revisited my friend Google and did some research on jewelry that is MRI-safe. I stumbled upon a pack of MRI-safe jewelry of various sizes and shapes on Amazon. Since then, it has become a necessary part of any MRI I have, because it eliminates my worries about piercings closing or becoming irritated.
I know the simple answer is to stop getting piercings. But they are a part of my self-expression, and I want to take care of them as best as I can. Whenever I want to get another one, I have to time it to accommodate my yearly brain MRI.
Before being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), I didn’t think too much about piercings. But this is one example of the small aspects of life with MS that are altered just a little bit.
Note: Multiple Sclerosis News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Multiple Sclerosis News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to multiple sclerosis.
About the Author
Amber Skye
So I am also a big fan of piercings and have MS and am constantly having to get MRI's as well. What I tend to do is have them give my piercings with Surgical Steel. It works for me because it's not magnetic or reflective and doesn't interfere with the MRI's, so I never have to take them out. Hope that helped.
Linda
Myself either with the MS and the MRI’s
I once had 20 piercings(10 in each ear) all over each
I never took any of them out. I did once have a problem with the one person that takes you in first. She told me I had to remove all my piercings. I told her I couldn’t cause they were hoops and had trouble getting them out. She said again, I have 2 take my piercings out. I said I told her I wouldn’t have it done then. As I was getting my stuff together she went to get the person that does the imaging. She asked me what was wrong and she got her wand to check to see if any of my earrings would pull and they wouldn’t which I knew that was previous MRI’s but in different place at time. She told me they would show on the imaging. I told her I knew and so did my dr and he didn’t have any issues with it. So needless 2 say, I took none of them out and they did my scan and that’s how it’s been thru all MRI’S I’ve ever had
Needless 2 say after getting older I decided to take them all out but two in each ear. I felt I needed to since I was getting older and I wasn’t a kid anymore.
My truth….
Angela Jernejcic
You can get titanium jewelry and not need to remove it for your MRIs. If the piercings are in your ear, yes, they’ll need to be removed because titanium piercings in your ear can leave
Artifacts on your brain MRIs. I’ve yet to have to remove my titanium nose piercing.
Marsha
I 've also got multiple piercings, and fully understand that. I have ten piercings on my left ear, eight on the right, five in my nostril, a tongue ring, and finally, two nipple piercings, and I just let the technicians remove and replace everything. That alone takes roughly ten minutes, and I've got two that don't come out. I even have to sign a disclaimer when I have surgery, (and I've had MANY surgeries!) There's nothing else that we can do. Oh, well!
Robin C
Thank you so much for writing about this! I would have loved a link or a discussion on the alternative or what is considered MRI safe. I’ve had both titanium and surgical steel I’ve removed and was never told I could leave it in during an MRI. I have a beloved nose piercing and my fine motor skills are affected by MS so removing it is such a major pain.