piercings

i know this doesn't belong here, but theres not a topic related to piercings. I'm kind of wondering for those of you who had piercing experiece, especially with cartiledge, what are you suppose to do after you pierce it?
One piercer told me to change it to 24k gold or pure silver within the first week. One told me not to change it till a month. One told me to change it to plastic earings so it wont get infected. I basically tried everything except the plastic, and it got infected.
I just pierced another 2 today, cartiledge and the middle of the ear. I really don't want another infection. I think i have a keloid on my other cartiledge. The bumps been there for almost half a year. never completely went away. Anyone have any comments or answers or suggestions.
Anything would be helpful. What should i change it to, gold, silver, plastic, or no change? It'd be nice if anyone can help. Thank you

I have both of my nostrils pierced as well as three piercings in each ear. I usually wear small gold or diamond studs in my nostrils, sometimes small noserings.
Rule no. 1- Don't get piercings with a piercing gun. Go to a reputable tattoo parlor and piercing parlor.
Rule2- Don't take out your initial piercing jewelry for at least a month, preferably 6 weeks.
Rule3- Don't put plastic or cheap costume jewelry into your piercings. Use only fine jewelry such as 14 ct. gold.

I have five earrings in each ear. I have my septum pierced in the middle of my nose too, and my nipples pierced. I also have many tattoos.
I agree, don't use the piercing gun. get it done with a needle at a piercing place that specializes just in piercings or tattoos. Use clean equipment. Make sure the piercing place has a license to do it.

It sounds really obvious, but be careful what you clean it with. *sweatdrops* I'd been using alcohol to clean a new ear piercing once, and one day happened to look into the bottle. . . and see a bloody Q-tip in the bottom, seriously! Needless to say, it got infected, and I had to take the earring out and get it done over again later. Not a fun experience.

I had the best luck getting pierced with titanium. Definitely don't get pierced with a gun. Needle is the only way to go. The way I have cleaned all my piercings (except tongue! lol) was to just use antibacterial soap on them in the shower and make sure to rinse them well. I have heard people having luck using tea tree oil to clean piercings with as well due to it's natural antibacterial properties. Good luck! Cartilage piercings can be a real pain to heal!

The needle scares me, though. All needles scare me, but the piercing needle is hollow and like takes a chunk out of your skin, which is extra-scary! I guess a sharp, pointy thing being shot through you with a gun sounds pretty scary, too, but it seems (at least emotionally) less traumatic to me than having a chunk taken out. I'm 5'1", I have less skin than most people-- I need all I've got :-P .

wow, no one ever told me not to get it with a gun on the ear. What's so bad about it anyways? Maybe that's why its still not healed yet? it's been 2 and a half weeks. It doesn't hurt anymore, but it's still uncomfortable to sleep on that side of the ear. Any suggestions please? It's getting on my nerves to avoid sleepin on my left ear...

I just have my ears pierced.
I know women are getting all kinds of piercings these days but I just was never interested in any piercings other than my ears lobes for earrings.


I have heard the same thing that others have mentioned.
Do it with clean sterile equipment and don't use a piercing gun, use a piercing needle.

Maybe go to a doctor if you have a problem with soreness or infection.

i also heard piercing with a gun is not sanitary but i did it anyways because i never knew they still pierce ears with needles. Is it true that it's unsanitary and is it because "it can't be cleaned"? anyone know what i can do now because its swollen to the point i can't close the earing with the backing....

my ears were pierced when i was a baby and i guess the first earrings they put in there was real gold. Ive never been able to wear any earring thats not real gold else it gets infected and hot and swollen and im now 19. wierd. My belly button is pierced and i love it

Ouch that sounds painful. I don't know how people can get thier piercing infected. I'm not a pro at the ear piercing thing, since I've only gotten two, but I have my nose and navel pierced. The piercer who did mine suggested I clean the newly pierced items with BACTINE it's a First Aid antiseptic it works. (I was allergic to the herbal sh*t... Dragon Mist)

So if any of you get further piercings try it. Swab the area with it as much as you can, whenever it get's gunky. I also moved my piercings in the hole, keeping them free, and oftenly used Bactine.


~Bambi~

Other reasons not to use the Gun...

It breaks Cartilage especially in the ear. There has been reports of it shattering people's cartlage and never let them pierce you with a gun.
Go to Piercers.. unless you are getting ur LOBE done, I wouldn't suggest it.

Hi All,

I am having my nose peirced next week, I know I sound like a scardy cat , but is it sore.

karen

[QUOTE=karen s]

Hi All,

I am having my nose peirced next week, I know I sound like a scardy cat , but is it sore.

karen

[/QUOTE]

Well I would lie if I say that it doesn't hurt but it's only for 2-3 sec. so it's bareable I took mine out last week,I had it for like 2yrs and just got tired of it! Good luck though

I had my nose pierced. Rather surprisingly, the actual piercing process is pretty painless (getting my ears pierced was much worse, IMO-that gun really hurt!). I mean, the actual needle going through the skin is always going to be a bit disconcerting, I'm not going to lie, but I recall more pressure than pain, to be honest. I agree with poisongirl-any pain that there was was very fleeting.

I will say, though, that keeping the area sterile is tough. I had mine for a little over a year, but then I got a terrible cold which lasted for several weeks and the piercing got infected and i just took it out for good. Be really careful and become best friends with your saline. No creams, no scrubs or anything anywhere near the area. Since it'll be on your face, you REALLY don't want to get it infected, heh. If it gets too irritated, you can get a bump near the piercing which will turn dark red (it's harmless and not too painful but just unsightly and takes a while to heal).

So, I'd say worry more about the upkeep and healing process than the actual piercing.

You know, I don't really think I'm helping your anxiety much here, so I think I'll stop, lol. Everyone's different, I'm sure you'll be just fine. I really liked my nose piercing-no regrets. And it healed over perfectly so if you don't like yours, you can' always get rid of it easily.

Hi akiz,

Thank you for your reply, yes it did ease my fears. Beleive it or not I am a 39 yr old mum, had 2 children 2 very long and painfull labours and I am fretting over a little nose peircing, how sad am I.

I am going with three of my friends who are also having something peirced , their bottom lip, and I dont mean the one on your face. (OUCH)

So thank you again for your reply, I feel better now, well a wee bit

karenxx

A few more things about the piercing gun - the reason it can break the cartilage is that the stud is not sharp - it crushes the tissue rather than piercing it neatly. So it's much more painful than a needle.

The gun can't be sterilized, regardless of how clean the stud is. Plus, people who pierce in the sorts of shops that use them have no education in sanitation, they learn from each other, basically.

A couple of years ago some people in the Northwest got upper ear cartilage infections from a piercing gun that had been sanitized with reused sanitizing fluid. Some of them required reconstructive surgery. Cartilage has very poor circulation, and the infection destroyed their outer ear!

You should ask to see the spore testing records for the autoclave of any shop you're considering getting pierced in. If they can't produce records showing they've passed at least once a month, go somewhere else.

Read up on piercing: http://www.bmezine.com/

[QUOTE=karen s]

Hi All,

I am having my nose peirced next week, I know I sound like a scardy cat , but is it sore.

karen

[/QUOTE]

Oh it will be sore for a while, raw kind of sore. It goes away, keep it clean, I always kept my piercing moving, wiggling it around, keeping the hole open.
Remember to keep it clean, clean it often. bactine!!!

i have my ears pierced and my belly button pierced with a piercing gun well the trick is to keep it clean always it doesnt hurt that much just an ouch and it would be over .....and it looks super cool

Hi

Thanks for your reply, I have had my nose pierced now , it did just hurt for a second or two , brought a tear to my eye but not as bad as I thought . Can anyone tell me when I can change my nose stud , I have had it done for a week, I have been keeping it clean with a salin soloution, and its healing up great, but I would like to change it.

Thanks

They're usually supposed to tell you when you can remove it. I don't recall precisely, but I felt it was for quite a while (4-6 months?) before you're supposed to take it out and put in a new one. I remember that it felt as though it had healed within a week, but I was told that it takes much longer to actually heal (the surface skin looks fine but the skin in the hole itself is still raw) and too much movement can aggravate it. Someone else with a more recent piercing might remember the exact instructions. I know I didn't switch mine for at least a few months if not longer.

Congrats on your new piercing!!

Hey Congrats For Da Piercing

 

u have to wait for about 3 months till u can change it ...be patient and dont try to change it now cuz u may infect or hurt ur skin cuz it aint healed yet

hi   Thank you for your reply. I will leave it for a few months , they did tell me to leave it , but I am eager to put in a new stud. I will listen to your advice and leave it.

Glad I got it done , looks cool, even though I am 39 lol.

wait a month or even more to have the orginal stud removed. Go back to the piercer and have it done. U can rip or break any healing that is being done.

Do you have a nose screw in right now or a pin?

peircings are really a lot of work to keep up on. i have my lip, nose, navel, cartilidge and ears done. how long you leave the jewelry in really depends on whats pierced. and I would never change the original jewelry until I knew it was completely healed. Bactine is good to use but in moderation too much will dry out your peircing. you want to wash it three times a day using a mild soap like dial antibacterial and water. on the hard to reach piercings use a qtip. if it's an oral piercing use gly-oxide once or twice a day. Never use alcohol on a new peircing because it dries out the new peircing. remember that a peircing is like having an open wound until it's healed. certain peircings are more likely to get infected than others like navel and eyebrow because they're surface peircings. also try sea salt soaks just delute some sea salt which you can pick up at a drug store dillute it with water and soak you're peircing it in, helps with the healing.