A 34-year-old care worker has died from suspected blood poisoning just two days after having a fashionable metal bar pieced through her tongue as a birthday treat.

The Daily Mail reports that Amanda Taylor from Caerphilly in South Wales had always wanted a tongue piercing, despite the reservations of her mother over the safety of the procedure.

Ms Taylor paid £25 for a 22mm stainless steel bar to be inserted into her tongue at Silverhand Jewellery, based in the centre of Cardiff. Ms Taylor then ate ice cream to numb the pain in her mouth.

The next day, however, her tongue was swollen. She saw her GP the following day, who prescribed antibiotics for suspected tonsillitis.

However, she continued to feel unwell and stayed at home rather than go to work. Her mother found her dead on the living room floor when she went to visit her at 5.30pm on 7 April.

The findings of a preliminary post-mortem showed that she died from septicaemia and bronchial pneumonia. Further samples have been sent away for analysis, although the results may not be available for eight weeks.

Her mother Lorraine, 61, said that a tongue- piercing was something her daughter ‘had always wanted’, even though she had not wanted her to go through with it.

'She died too young,’ said Mrs Taylor. ‘I can't believe this has happened. I want to stop other families going through what we have.'

A spokesman for Silverhand Jewellery in Cardiff said that staff followed the ‘most stringent hygiene procedures’ when piercing her tongue.

'All the staff of Silverhand Jewellery express their deepest sympathy to the friends and family of Amanda at this tragic time,' said the spokesman.

Ms Taylor had cared for elderly patients since she was 16. She lived alone with her dog. Her 37-year-old sister Ceri said that Amanda had been ‘so excited’ at the prospect of having her tongue pierced – a trend made popular by celebrities such as former Spice Girl Mel B and the US singer Pink.

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