The tragus piercing is a perforation of the ear for the purpose of inserting and wearing a piece of jewelry. The tragus projects immediately in front of the ear canal. The piercing itself is usually made with a small gauge hollow piercing needle, and typical jewelry would be a small diameter captive bead ring or small gauge post style piercing jewelry. A related piercing is known as the Antitragus piercing.
The hollow, low-gauge needle used for the piercing can be either straight or curved, depending on the piercer's preference. The piercer has to be careful not to allow the needle to penetrate any further than the tragus.
Application
The pain caused by the piercing and the application of its jewelry varies from person to person. The needle is driven through very little skin and thicker cartilage than that found in the helix (another common piercing site), but less than that of the conch. Although the tragus itself has no nerve endings, some piercees experience pain. The application of the piercee's chosen jewelry can amplify the pain due to the enclosed space in which the piercer works. Typical tragus piercings use a 16g captive bead ring, though stretching to larger gauge jewelry is not unheard of. Bleeding is typically low when the tragus is pierced due mostly to the lack of flesh on the tragus, but can sometimes bleed for an hour or so, depending on the person. An easy solution for this is to wipe it with a tissue or paper towel.
See also
External links
References
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