The various procedures one takes in order to properly heal new body piercings and tattoos. This is almost as important as the "No piercing guns!" rule - most people who get in trouble have ignored their aftercare instructions. Considering the relatively unlicensced nature of body modification, it's no surprise that there's a large number of different schools of thought on the topic, but there's basics that nearly everyone agrees upon.

First, some instructions on preparing to go in for a body piercing or tattoo. Make sure you get a good night sleep so your body will be more able to handle the shock. Get a good meal one or two hours before so you won't faint or have a problem with blood sugar levels. If you do those two simple things, it will hurt a lot less, and you probably won't pass out. Make sure not to take any anti-coagulants before, as you'll bleed far more and heal slower. In other words, no alcohol, aspirin or vitamin E. I suggest no caffeine either, but do as you wish.

After the procedure, make sure to sit down and get something with a high sugar content, like Gatorade and such, if you feel woozy. Make sure to avoid anti-coagulants for a while. That night, start your regiment of daily care.

Tattoo aftercare:

• Leave the bandage on overnight.
• The next day, clean with soap and water and apply a thin coating of antibiotic ointment. Repeat when necessary and for the next two days.
• Keep the area clean. If you wish, you can use a small amount of vaseline to prevent crusting and itching.
• Do not go swimming or sunbathing while healing the tattoo.
• Don't pick at the scab, and be gentle - don't have the shower stream hit the new tattoo, for example.

Piercing aftercare is slightly more complicated due to the various types of piercings. Some basic tips:

• Do not use hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, iodine or Betadine for aftercare. These products are far too harsh and tend to dry out the piercing while killing new cells.
• Wash your hands with soap before dealing with new piercings.
• For most piercings, soap and water should be sufficient. Clean twice a day, gently removing crusties. After cleaning the body jewelry off, rotate the jewelry and wash again in order to completely clean the piercing. Dry using a tissue or cotton swab. Avoid cleaning too much - this can cause problems as well.
• Soaks with saline solution can help with irritation and circulation. Use 1/4 teaspoon of salt per 8 ounces of warm, not hot, water. You can simply dunk it or use a cotton swab.
• Avoid possible sources of infection. This includes hair, bedding, clothes, telephones, hats and other people's bodily fluids. Swimming in hot tubs or pools is a very bad idea. If you have a lower body piercing, avoid taking baths for a while.
• Watch for sources of irritation. If you suddenly change soaps, shampoos or laundry detergents, you can irritate the piercing. Cosmetics should also be avoided.
• After it's healed, make sure to clean the piercing on a regular basis when you bathe or shower. This avoids a buildup of dead cells and the resulting smell and irritation.

Special instructions for oral piercings:

• For the first few weeks use mouthwash every time you eat, drink anything but water or smoke. Even better, don't smoke. I suggest not drinking alcohol either. If you use a mouthwash with an alcohol content such as Listerine, make sure to dilute it by half with water. Try to obtain an alcohol-free mouthwash. Get a new toothbrush.
• Salt mouth washes are a good idea. They help with discharge and healing. 1/4 teaspoon salt to 8 ounces of water, warm, not hot.
• No kissing or other bodily fluid exchanges for the first two weeks, and then mouthwash afterwards.
• If it's a tongue piercing, it will swell. A lot, and your jaw will ache. Take ibuprofen for pain and less swelling, and eat ice almost constantly.
• For a tongue piercing, some small amount of discharge is normal, usually of a sticky and white nature. Get concerned if it's dark yellow or green - you probably have an infection.
• Read foods to eat after getting a tongue piercing.
• If it's a lip piercing or labret piercing, clean the inside like an oral piercing and the outside like a normal body piercing.

Special instructions for genital piercings:

• Clean them just like body piercings, but watch out for soap. Don't let it enter the urethra or vagina. Your urine is sterile and does not require cleaning, as long as you don't have a bladder infection or urinary tract infection.
• Some bleeding is relatively normal due to high blood circulation. Prince Alberts, Ampallangs, Apradravyas and Triange piercings can bleed profusely for the first several days - past that is a warning sign.
• No unprotected sex. This should always be a rule, but especially now. Avoid even the slightest touch of other people's bodily fluids. You should wait a while before masturbation or sex depending on piercing. When it's healed, it should not hurt - stop if it does.

In the context of BDSM, "aftercare" refers to the attention of an affectionate and caring nature that should take place after a scene.

BDSM relationships frequently push the boundaries of the participants' limits--physically, mentally, and emotionally--and in the process of this "push", a participant may feel overexposed or intoxicated. When in this state of mind, he or she is unable to think or rationalize as clearly as usual and may even have trouble differentiating between a good idea and a bad idea, fantasy and reality, or even past and present.

In any case, this kind of exposure necessarily requires a period of time after the scene during which participants can communicate about it and generally reassure one another if feeling shaky. This often takes the form of holding one another, kissing, or the best-held-together participant (often, but not always, the dominant or top) bringing water and other restoratives to the one needing more time to recover. In a scene in which a participant gives up control to another, it is imperative that the one in control ensure that there is both enough time for aftercare and a suitable place for it. Also, certain scenes involve more extreme physical sensations and activities such as piercing, cutting, abrasion, or branding, all of which require proper cleaning and protection of the affected area after the scene in order to ensure good healing. Failure to ensure adequate aftercare, as well as putting someone at risk of infection or other physical problems, can lead to the other parter feeling lost, abandoned, or otherwise distraught, and generally not very happy with the world--or his or her partner.

In a more ordinary relationship context, aftercare refers to the attention and care needed after one partner gives the other bad news or another similar shock. The easiest example of this would be in the case of an unforeseen but non-malicious breakup; aftercare in this case would be the partner doing the breaking up being there to help the other partner deal with the shock of the breakup and the resulting negative feelings that would arise from it. It is recommended that you do not break up with your soon-to-be-ex-partner's e-mail inbox or answering machine if you wish to remain friends afterwards, as not being there to help him or her through the grieving process may lead to feelings of anger and abandonment, among others. Aftercare takes place more rarely in breakups than in BDSM, however, due to the larger tendency of breakups to involve bitter or otherwise negative feelings on the parts of both partners involved.