I'm curious about it getting infected - as I said in a previous post, I had mine done at 8 and they were infected for a very long time, as a PP said - I could only wear sleepers to stop it being infected and even now - 21 years later, if I wear studs, they still get infected. I have also got a nose piercing which I have had for about 10 years - it got badly infected for the first 3 or 4 years as well. I thought I must just be a person likely to get infections with my piercings but all my piercings were done with a gun (I also have 7 other piercings in my ears also done with a gun but none of them were infected like my lobes and nose). So guns are more likely to cause infection? and playing with the earrings? I never knew that. I don't remember the piercing itself being painful, I remember the weeks following being quite horrendous painwise - that it what turns me off having my baby's ears done the most. I also didn't realise peircings were permanant because if I take mine out for more than a few days, my holes all close over ...

I don't know if there is really a question in there, I am just talking out loud
All piercings can get an infection, gun or needle. Yes, some people are more prone to infections. My main problems with the gun method are 1, they use blunt studs which tear through the skin 2, there is no way to completely sterilise the gun because of the plastic components 3, they are usually not done in sterile surroundings 4, they are usually done by people who have VERY little training.

I've seen people who have had lobe piercing with a gun and the ear has swollen so much it completely covered the stud front and back, I've also seen piercings with a needle rejected by the body. To me it is about minimising risks. The gun method just isn't something I'm willing to risk for my child.