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Piercing the Threat
ChrisCrossings · August 5, 1999

Q: How do airport security officials handle body piercing items which set off the security system?

-- Dan Weinberg

A: They don't. I asked Shirley King-Sanchez, a manager for Globe Airport Security Services in Miami, what would happen if someone's earring or nosering set off the scanner, and she said "nothing."

True for every airport? It's hard to generalize. At some terminals on some days, you may find yourself being sent through the metal detector a time or two and then being body searched. But in general, King-Sanchez assured me, body piercing doesn't present a security risk to the airport, airline or the other passengers. "We just let them through," she added.

Actually, the personal risks of body piercing are far greater. I'm not talking about the psychological aspects of self-mutilation, either. (I'll leave that for your shrink to figure out.) The California Medical Association recently took a stand against the practice of body piercing, citing the dangers of contracting HIV and hepatitis.

An inexperienced practitioner of body piercing can cause permanent harm, and even paralysis, by piercing a nerve ending. The most popular types of body piercing -- tongue and navel piercing -- cause the most trouble, according to a recent study. Clothing rubbing against the abdomen can aggravate a new navel piercing and cause infection. When the tongue is pierced, it initially swells, which can inhibit breathing and eating. Other problems with tongue piercings include chipped teeth and accidentally swallowing the jewelry.

Air travel with anything pierced presents its own unique challenges. A pierced eyebrow or nose can get caught on the fiber of an airline seat on longer flights, when you're trying to take a nap. Pillows and blankets are equally incompatible with rings and studs. Once the cabin attendant starts doling cushions out on your next transcontinental flight, you're better off removing the jewelry promptly.

Penis rings may become a particularly painful experience on any flight in economy class. (Never mind trying to explain one when it sets off the metal detector.) Less leg room in steerage translates into the increased likelihood that the ring will rub against a man's genitals, severely injuring him. Equally traumatic can be the nipple ring on an airline flight -- again, with special emphasis on traveling in the back of the plane. Boarding and deplaning are such free-for-alls, where everyone bolts to their feet the moment the captain turns off the "fasten seatbelts" sign, that someone's bound to bump into you from the front or the back. If you're rubbed the wrong way, you could end up in a great deal of pain.

I think the security personnel would be doing all of us a big favor if they confiscated the noserings and eyebrow studs before passengers could proceed to the gate. They'd probably prevent some of us from suffering through a very uncomfortable flight -- and maybe even save us from really hurting ourselves.

Christopher Elliott's column appears on Thursdays. He can be reached at christopher@elliott.org. Or visit his home page at http://www.elliott.org.