What is the white thread legend?
The white thread from the piercing is an urban legend that spread mainly among young people in the 1990s. A girl had a friend pierce her earlobe, and a few days later something like a white thread came out of the hole. Curious, she pulled it, and the white thread kept coming out and out; the moment it snapped, everything went black and she could not see anything. The white thread was actually the optic nerve connected to her eye, the story goes.
Why it spread
The 1990s were a time when piercings spread rapidly among young people. Many pierced their ears themselves or among friends with safety pins or piercers rather than at a clinic, and anxiety about “making holes in the body,” along with adults who disapproved of piercings, is thought to have helped the rumor spread. It was also featured on TV shows and spread across Japan.
Can you really go blind?
Medically, no optic nerve runs through the earlobe, and an optic nerve cannot come out of a piercing hole. The optic nerve runs from the back of the eyeball to the brain, in a place that has nothing to do with the earlobe. The white thread-like things that come out of holes are thought to be skin secretions, dead skin built up around the piercing, or clothing fibers.
However, piercing in unhygienic conditions can cause infection and inflammation. It is important to have piercings done properly, for example at a medical clinic.
