Colonization of Candida After the Placement of a Tongue Piercing, a Case Report

Abstract

The practice of piercing the body’s different areas is a commonly observed form of body modification. It implies puncturing the skin tissue resulted in an opening, in which specific jewellery or an intradermal implant could be inserted. The tongue piercing is a highly popular form of this practice, but can be followed by multiple acute and chronic complications, such as bacterial and fungal infections. Our case describes the clinical situation of a 25 year old immunocompetent woman, who sought medical help after observing tissue abnormalities, following a newly inserted tongue piercing. We identified a correctly and professionally placed tongue jewellery associated with all clinical hallmarks of oral Candidiasis. Our aim was to microbiologically identify and treat the present yeast colonies.

Candida Carriers among Individuals with Tongue Piercing—A Real-Time PCR Study

“…In the Israeli youth population, for example, the prevalence of oral piercing is reported as being between 3.4% and 20.3% [ 13 ]. However, the Candida-related complications of tongue piercing are considered rare with only two reported clinical cases [ 9 , 10 ]. The first case reported the appearance of symptoms following a tongue piercing insertion in a young woman.…”

“…The first case reported the appearance of symptoms following a tongue piercing insertion in a young woman. The case is interpreted by the authors as an acute infection [ 9 ]. C. albicans , C. tropicalis , C. glabrata , and C. krusei were identified from the sample.…”

“…There are few case reports in which Candida spp. colonization and infection are associated with tongue piercing [ 9 , 10 ], but only one microbiological study supports this hypothesis in general [ 8 ].…”