Short Sharp Shock! (Body Piercing)

Member Name: superbird

Product:	Body Piercing
Date:	02/07/02 (400 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: looks good

Disadvantages: can be painful

I have got four piercings, plus five holes in my ears. These are nose, navel and both nipples. Firstly, in order of painfulness (because everyone asks that!) they were:

1. Nose - made me cry
2. Left nipple
3. Right nipple
4. Ear lobes
5. Ear cartilige
6. Navel

If you're getting anything other than your ear lobe pierced, it's best to go to a piercer who will use a needle on it rather than a gun. This is pretty self-evident with most body piercings but some people, including me, get their ear cartilige or nose pierced with a gun and it generally ends up infected and manky. I was 13 when I got my ear cartilige done and I didn't know any better but when I was 19 no one was gonna come near my nose with a piercing gun! You should also check that they autoclave the jewellery they put in to sterilize it.

When you are getting pierced they will disinfect the area, then mark the spot where they are going to pierce and get you to check it. After that they will get a little pair of forceps to stretch the bit of skin out then they'll put the needle through, which will hurt a bit. Then they'll take the needle out which leaves a little tube through the hole, and then they'll take that out and put the jewellery in. You can usually choose the style and type of jewellery they put in, depending on where the piercing is. After this they'll put a dressing on it and send you home and tell you to leave the piercing to air for an hour or so.

When I got the nipples pierced, they didn't want to do both at once so I got the other one done two weeks later. This was because people often start to feel faint 15 minutes or so after the first one, which is just when the second one is being done! I didn't go wobbly but my brother passed out after he got his done (he only has one done). The other reason is that if you get an infection in one nipple you often get one in the other and having two infected piercing
s can weaken your body.

With the aftercare, I've never done anything apart from clean them in the bath or shower, apart from my ears that is which I put TCP on. The only things I've had get infected have been my ears, which was probably a combination of being too immature to look after them properly and the awkward location (because of sleeping on them etc.). If you do need to put stuff on them, salt soaks are reccommended. You get some hot water and mix salt in with it, then soak the pierced body part in it. Shot glasses are good for this, and you can also get the liquid in them, put them on the piercing the right way up, then turn over and keep the water in. (dunno how clear that explanation is)

Navels can often be painful because you bend there, so it's wise to avoid long car journeys or working at a desk for a couple of days after, ie. get it done Saturday morning or Friday afternoon.

You'll usually pay anything from £25 upwards for a piercing done with a needle, and it depends on the type of jewellery used.

I don't regret any of my piercings and some are pretty enjoyable ;) If I had kids I'd let them get their ears pierced even after mine were infected half the time because they'd only sneak out and do it anyway, and the inevitable infections will save me having to punish them!

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