Piercings change human skin: scientists discover what happens

Young people actively use their appearance for all kinds of experiments to express their inner selves. For example, most of them prefer piercings on different parts of the body.

Metal objects create significant changes in the body because they "interfere" with the "personal space" of microorganisms living on the human skin. ScienceAlert has published a study by scientists on this issue.

A team from McGill University in Canada, together with a local tattoo studio, collected skin swabs from 28 volunteers who had ear piercings. The swabs were collected before the piercing procedure and then two weeks after.

There are many microorganisms on our skin and piercings disrupt their environment. According to the researchers, the piercing site was thoroughly cleaned and this created a new moist area, which over time, under the influence of a metal object, became similar to the armpits or nose.

The bacteria Staphylococcus epidermidis and Cutibacterium acnes were found to be particularly prevalent around piercings. They are both potentially dangerous, but when they exist together in the same place, they maintain each other's balance.

The skin's microbiome needs to be carefully balanced for us to stay healthy, and foreign objects disrupt this.

With this study, scientists have shown that skin piercings are an intervention in the human skin ecosystem, which changes its properties, appearance, and functions over time.

Earlier, OBOZ.UA published a study by scientists on why our brain "erases" memories from childhood.

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