If parents fret about their collegeage children doing crazy, irreversible things, punching holes in their bodies should be the least of their concerns.

According to two professional piercers and a number of Penn State students, body piercings are relatively safe forms of self-expression.

Jim Rupeka, a piercer at Ink Inc. Tattooing by Paul, 110 Hetzel St., said if people care for their piercings the way they are advised to by piercers, the health risks of body piercings are very low.

Another professional piercer and tattoo artist, Bobby Trefz of Local Color Tattooing, 2210 West Chester Pike, Broomall, said people don't usually get infections from the procedure, but from poor hygiene instead.

He said infections occur mainly because people frequently touch their piercings with dirty hands. Another way people get infections is by not heeding piercers' advice to stay out of public swimming areas, including the ocean, for 2-3 weeks to allow the piercing time to heal. Besides these factors, he said most piercings, such as naval piercings, are "cut and dry."

Danielle Mimnaugh (sophomore-public relations) said she has never had an infection with her naval piercing because she used Provon soap, something Rupeka suggests using along with Satin soap.

"Alcohol and hydrogen peroxide are the worst for piercing," he said, though doctors usually recommend them. Most doctors tell patients to take out piercings if they become infected.

But Trefz said this is the worst thing to do because it allows the hole to close up and the infection to fester.

Other than the possibility of infection, many people are concerned about the ability of the piercer. Trefz said license regulations differ among boroughs, and some places don't require piercers to be licensed.

"[In] downtown [Philadelphia] they are very strict," he said and added that he worked at a place in New Jersey where health inspectors came in a once a week.

"You want to make sure [piercers] have a working autoclave [for equipment sterilization] and that they discard old material into [biohazard] containers," Trefz said. He also suggested word of mouth as a good way to know if a piercer has "time under his belt."

"If you've been around long enough like we have, you tend to get a reputation," Rupeka said.

Mimnaugh said she was not worried about infection since she was pierced at a world-renowned studio in New Jersey.

Although some piercings, such as tongue and naval piercings, carry low health risks, others can have damaging effects. Rupeka said many people chip their teeth with tongue piercings, but if they are "put back far enough," people will do less damage. Nape and wrist piercings put pressure on the skin, which can produce scarring; however, he said these are often done for their "shock value," and are usually temporary. When asked what is the least frequent body part he has pierced, Trefz responded with the uvula. He also said naval piercings are the most popular because women mimic pop stars who have them.

Students have varied opinions of body piercings.

"I'm all for it," said Ryan Beck (junior-advertising), whose girlfriend has numerous piercings and has never had an infection.

As for Alaina Schroeder (freshman-political science), she is quite content to only have her ears pierced because she knows many people who have infected body piercings.

Other students have limits as to where they can express themselves.

Matt Checchio (junior-marketing) said, "When you go below the waist, that's a little extreme."