Kylie Jenner Instagrams Nipple Ring Amid Travis Scott Dating Rumors, But Are Breast Piercings Safe?

“Keeping Up With the Kardashians” star Kylie Jenner took to Instagram Sunday to flaunt a new sexy picture of herself, but people weren’t looking at her beautiful face or famous curves. Instead, social media users were focused on her sheer, lace bra that showed off her nipple ring.

The youngest Kardashian-Jenner sister didn’t caption the black-and-white picture. She sported a blonde wig and a heavy smoky eye for the post, resting her hand on the side of her head. By the following day, the post amassed more than 2.4 million likes by her 94 million followers and garnered more than 153,000 comments.

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While the piercing is in fashion, it isn’t always safe. Women with nipple rings have a higher risk for breast abscesses, which are painful and could be recurrent, the New York Times wrote in 2010.

An abscess is an infection that is filled with puss. When on the nipple, it is surrounded by inflamed and swollen tissue under the areola. An abscess can form as little after a month after a nipple was pierced, or up to seven years later.

Even if a trusted piercing does it properly, an infection can still occur. “This is not a totally benign procedure,” Dr. Vinod Gollapalli, a breast surgeon at the University of Iowa, said in a 2010 study published The Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

The doctor was the first to document possible complications with nipple piercings. “A lot of women will say, ‘Well, I never had a breast abscess,’ ” he said. “But there is always a risk.”

In rare cases, nipple piercings are associated with possible HIV infection, Dr. Judith Reichman told Today.com in 2006. “Potential risks include infections (or even breast abscess formation), nerve damage, bleeding, hematoma (a blood-filled cyst), allergic reactions, nipple cysts, and keloid scarring (raised, red scarring). Unfortunately, nipple piercing is also associated with hepatitis B and hepatitis C infection, and even HIV. The latter, thankfully, are rare.”

While it’s rare, Reichman said people with nipple piercings should be tested for infections. “I would advise anyone who has had her (or his) nipple pierced, to get screened for hepatitis B and C and HIV. Also, if I have a young patient who wants to get her nipples pierced despite the above mentioned warnings, I would encourage her to first be immunized against hepatitis B and tetanus if she hasn't already had these shots,” she said. “If a bacterial infection does develop, the current recommendation includes the use of antibiotics and removal of the nipple ring.”

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Jenner, 19, hasn’t publicly commented on having her nipple pierced. She recently faced rumors that she’s seriously dating rapper Travis Scott. TMZ reported last week the duo are exclusively dating.

“They've been inseparable since Coachella and have decided to do the committed relationship thing,” TMZ reported. “We're told she's been spending a lot of time with him in his hometown of Houston -- including a party after the Rockets' game Thursday night.”

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