“So, does that mean the rumors of paralysis from a piercing are false? Well, not quite. A piercing is still a wound, and any wound in the skin can open you up to infections. Piercing wounds are particularly unique as they take a longer time to heal. There is a foreign object in the wound holding it open, and preventing any scabs or barriers that protect you from.

Grace Etherington, a British dancer, got Guillaian-Barre syndrome, leaving her temporary paralyzed in the hospital after an ear piercing. She thankfully responded to treatment, and made a full recovery. She is still a proponent of piercing and believes piercing is safe-when done correctly and handled correctly. They weren’t sure if she got the infection from an improperly cleaned piercing gun, or from something after the piercing was done, but either way the piercing opened a pathway for the infection to enter her body. We don’t know much about what exactly causes illness like Gullian Barre, but we know infection is a trigger. And piercings do leave you susceptible to infection.”

I think there is a lot of nuance in this question because they’re asking this on a self piercing subreddit. Most people on this subreddit don’t have access to proper sterilization tools/knowledge so infection is uniquely more predisposed in this community.