Piercings are everywhere. Seeing a piercing — whether on a bellybutton, eyebrow, lip, nose or cheek — has become an everyday occurrence. This fast-growing trend among teenagers creates an outlet for self-expression, but it doesn't come without a downside.

The safety risks and effects on everyday life that come along with a piercing are not to be taken lightly and need to be thought about before the decision is made to get a piercing.

The first step in the decision to get something pierced is where to go. It is helpful to ask friends who have piercings where they got theirs done, and about their experience there. Call around and make sure that the shop is licensed and ask questions about your specific piercing; making sure the shop has an autoclave (a sterilizing machine).

Another important thing to do before a piercing is to make sure that you're up to date with your immunizations (especially hepatitis and tetanus), and if you plan to get a tongue or mouth piercing, that your teeth and gums are healthy.

The risks that come along with piercings are great. Chronic infections, bleeding, scarring, hepatitis B and C, tetanus, skin allergies, abscesses and nerve damage are just some of the side effects that can occur.

Consider how a piercing will affect your life. If you get an eyebrow piercing, how will that affect your job? Some workplaces have strict rules when it comes to body piercings, so you have to ask, is it worth losing your job for a lip ring? One would hope that people can look past appearance and pre-judgments, but there will always be people who associate piercings with trouble makers. So it's important to weigh out the pros and cons and consult your boss beforehand.

Arianna London, a sophomore at Capital High School, pierced herself for the first time at the age of 12. Now 15, she has six piercings and her ears gauged.

She has pierced her bellybutton, nose and lip (in three places), snake bites (two piercings under the bottom lip) and a Monroe (a piercing meant to look like a beauty mark) — all piercings she did herself. Her tongue is also pierced, which was done by a friend.

"It started out as me hiding my piercings from my mom," London said. "I figured if I didn't do them professionally, it's not like she can really stop me from getting the piercing. And now I just do it because I like piercing."

She has not experienced any bad infections, but has had problems with swelling.

"At times I get tired of having so many piercings and I take them out for a while, but overall I don't think I could say I have regretted doing any of my piercings except for when I decided to pierce my lips and didn't like them too much.

"People do look at you differently when you have piercings like I do and they are quicker to judge you," she said.

Kayla Lujan, a senior at Santa Fe High School, started piercing when she was 13. She has eight piercings, including gauged ears, bellybutton, nose, tongue, another hole in her ear, and both cheeks, all done professionally. When she was 16, she got her lip pierced but took it out.

"I regretted piercing my lip because I hate the scars that they left but at the time it seemed like a good idea."

At 17, Kayla got her most recent piercings, her cheeks, or dimples.

"My dimples and my nose have both been infected. I had my dimples pierced by someone who wasn't too experienced in doing that type of piercing since it's not very common," Kayla explained. "He pierced them curved and it's supposed to be a straight piercing. So I had to have them redone the right way, and my face was secreting pus and blood for about three weeks or so, and it was really swollen."

When she got her cheeks pierced, her workplace refused to let her work during the healing period and said she could come back when she could take out the metal jewelry and put in clear retainers, forcing her to take two months off of work.

Even though all the pain, Kayla has no regrets when it comes to her piercings.

"I love piercings and I don't really care what people think of me," she said. "It's what makes me who I am."

Leigh Mahlum is a junior at Santa Fe High School. You can reach her at Leighmahlum@aol.com.