Sunday November 4th, 2007 @ 7:46 PM
Filed under: Ear
so, a week ago i went to a tattoo and piercing shop and bought some acrylic crescents and the piercer lady put them in for me. i had 14g crescents in before, but now i’m in spain where they do millimeters instead of gauge. but i got 2.0 millimeter ones. or they were supposed to be. but i realized the next day that one is bigger than the other, like significantly. i assume it’s 2.4 millimeters. so now a week later my ear with the 2.0 millimeter crescent is fine, but the other one is still kinda sore and pusing. ordinarily i would go back to the shop and ask to exchange it, but my spanish kinda sucks. i figured i’d just let it heal, and it would eventually. what i’m getting concerned about is that under my ear there’s a lymph node, i think, that is kinda swollen and hard and painful. is that something i should super worried about?
The joy of Imperial and Metric Systems…I think personally we should just throw them BOTH away and come up with something better, what that is…Who knows…
14ga = 1.6mm, 12ga = 2.0mm,etc.
Acrylic honestly is not something that is an ideal material to stretch your piercings with, and leave that in. For starters the more prominent acrylic out on the market cannot be autoclaved. Also products like Alcohol and Disinfectants will break the material down and cause it to crack,etc.
My advice to you is to go back to the shop or another shop and have them put in either a CBR/BCR, Circular Barbell, Labret Stud that is either Steel or Titanium and treat your ears as if they were just pierced (ie: salt water soaks, for ten minutes, gently remove discharge, etc).
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 3 Comments
Sunday November 4th, 2007 @ 4:53 PM
Filed under: Ear
I have gone from a 10 gauge to 9/16 in about 6 weeks time professionally by someone who has been in the buisness for over 15 years so i do trust him. I actually had my ears cut and stretched from a 10 to a 0 and then to separate stretches to get to where i am now at 9/16 with no problems. I plan on going to 5/8 and sticking with that.
He told me i only have to wait a week or 2 befor coming in again to stretch to 5/8. I need a second opinion.
And i’ve noticed my lobes seem to be swelled. There’s no pain or discomfort at all and the holes are very clean i’ve just noticed they’re a little swollen is this normal since it’s only been a few days since my last stretch? or is there a problem? and if i have or get a blowout is it painful?
There are some piercers who utilize a “rapid stretch” method. Regardless of all the philosophical arguments (i.e, it’s not a race, patience is part of the reward etc.), I think simple logic makes it fairly obvious it’s not the ideal way to go. While you “can” do stretching in this fashion, it doesn’t mean you should.
The main thing I’d be concerned about would thinning of the your lobes…most likely at the bottom. By not giving your body a chance to rebuild some of the skin cells lost in the stretching, you have a higher chance of the tissue becoming thin, which could result in poor circulation on the serious end of the spectrum and could result in unattractive/poorly-placed holes on the not-so-serious end of the spectrum.
As for whether you should wait for more than 2 weeks to stretch to 5/8″, I personally think so. But, considering you’ve gone from 10ga to 9/16″ in 6 weeks, does it really matter at this point? It’s probably a little late to be thinking about whether you’re stretching too quickly.
Best of luck.
Also…lots of people will probably post comments about how they stretched from (fill in the blank) to (fill in the blank) in some really short period of time. As I said….lots of things are possible…whether they are the best approach is a whole different topic.
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
Sunday November 4th, 2007 @ 4:49 PM
Hi there!
Just a quick question about the emla cream. I have had all my piercings so far without using it, but now I got hold of some and I would like to try it for nipple piercings. Thing is, my piercer would prefer I did not use it at all, he has seen some really bad reactions to it. I say problems should only arise if you use it for genital piercings ( I did mine without ) but female nipples should be fine. What do you think? ( I asked this about a month ago, but no answer yet… I know you are busy and this is not an emergency at all, but I still would appreciate your advice!!!)
thank you
manu
I think that realistically, there is a pretty small chance of the EMLA causing any problems with your piercings. However, there is no way to know for certain. So, that’s one thought. My first thought however, was that using EMLA for any piercing is really not necessary, so why bother. I also think that you’ll likely get very little benefit from it, unless it’s psychological.
And hey, if you have a piercer you trust to do your piercing, why not trust their judgment when comes to whether or not to use the EMLA.
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 5 Comments
Saturday November 3rd, 2007 @ 12:54 AM
I’ve had my medusa (aka upper middle lip) for about 2 years now and it has refused to heal. I get a small infection every now and then to one side of the hole. This just involves a small pustule forming under the skin, more often than not it’ll leak out on its own accord but I’m left with a swollen lip and goop coming out. I also experience a lot of crusties. I salt soak it twice a day and I’ve been putting vitamin e cream around the area (I have very dehydrated skin). I’ve also changed the jewelry to a different metal twice but that didn’t help. When I take the jewelry out I notice a patch of very different textured skin on that side…that may or may not be scar tissue. I’m reluctant to remove and heal it for some stupid reason, but if that is my only option I’ll take it. It’s just really annoying and I know that putting up with it for 2 years seems really absurd. Any suggestions as to what is causing it and how I can fix it?
I’d be willing to bet a body part (although not one I need for piercing) that the problems you are having are related to how the jewelry is sitting in your piercing. After 2 years of never fully healing, the most likely problem is that your jewelry is causing continual irritation/pressure to the piercing, which is preventing it from healing full and is causing the recurring bump/”pustule”.
No amount of salt soaking or anything else you put on the piercing will help if you’re suffering from a mechanical irritation. Think of it like this: if you have a cut on your arm and you constantly poke it, play with it and pick the scab, your body is going to have a very hard time healing it. Your piercing is also a wound your body has to heal, and if it’s constantly irritated, your body has a very hard time doing that. Until you relieve the irritation, everything else you try is really just treating the symptom and not the problem.
While i think that jewelry causing irritation is the likely culprit, it is also possible your body simply doesn’t like the placement of the piercing. Perhaps your upper lip webbing is thicker and the piercing going through that connective tissue is causing the irritation.
Either way, it may be necessary to remove the piercing to get everything to calm down. However, a trip to a reputable piercer in your area is probably in order. Being able to see and feel your piercing will go a long ways in figuring out how to proceed. Best of luck.
1 / 1 votes 
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
Saturday November 3rd, 2007 @ 12:44 AM
I got my labret pierced about 2 1/2 weeks ago . It was a little swolen at first and i thought this was normal. Now its like a bump all around the stud in the piercing and im alittle worried that it wont go away its been like this for a while now is this normal and if not can it be fixed?
Without being able to see your piercing, it’s going to be nearly impossible to say with much certainty exactly what is going on. However, in my experience, when piercings start “acting up” that quickly after the piercing is done, it’s almost always either a badly-placed piercing and/or the jewelry is the wrong size. In the case of a lip piercing, my guess is that the initial jewelry wasn’t quite long enough to accommodate the swelling, which caused additional irritation and even more swelling, and has no contributed to the “bump” you are seeing.
My suggestion would be go visit a reputable piercer in your area and have them look at it. They should be better able to tell you what needs to be done to return your piercing to the land happiness.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
Friday November 2nd, 2007 @ 5:23 PM
I took my surfacepiercings out a month ago and now I have 2 little scars on that place , my question is , if it is possible to get 2 micro dermals on those scars from my surface or would this make it easier to reject afterwards ?
greets Robine
It would be possible to have microdermals done where the two scars from your surface piercing are. However, scar tissue can make it harder to get the microdermal jewelry in place and can make it harder for it to sit flush/correctly. If the jewelry isn’t seated properly, there is going to be a higher chance of rejection and/or difficult healing.
If there is a way to place the microdermals so that they will cover the old scars but be away from scar tissue, that would be best. Of course, that would then leave you with two sets of scars should you remove the microdermals at some point.
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 2 Comments
Friday November 2nd, 2007 @ 3:29 PM
Can I wear the kaos silicone tunnels in my 4 gauge vertical hood piercing? If not, then what is suitable jewelry? I currently wear a captive ring, but it twists and pinches, and is rather large and heavy. I’m getting sick of this piece of jewelry, but i don’t know what to switch to.
I have seen silicone eyelets worn in a variety of non-ear piercings, including genital piercings. You probably won’t know for sure if that particular style and material will be comfortable for you until you actually try it. You may want to consider getting the “parylene coated” version for use in a hood piercing, as it has a less tacky surface.
Other options to reduce size would be a straight or curved barbell. In addition to being “small”, a barbell is going to tend to sit/hang different than a ring and should help increase your comfort level. To reduce weight, you could consider titanium jewelry.
2 / 2 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | Comments
Friday November 2nd, 2007 @ 2:26 PM
I absolutely adore Hand Web Piercings, and while I’m fully aware of their very high rejection rate and how much it’s gonna affect my life, I really want to give it a shot. Scars (from piercings) just remind me of awesome times in my life and remind me I did what I wanted to while I could. So if/ when it rejects I wouldn’t care about the scarring.
I asked my favourite studio how much the piercing would cost, or if they’d be willing to do it, and they said they were worried about hitting a nerve or causing nerve damage… something along those lines.
Is that true?
I’m talking about the webbing between my thumb and index finger.
Also, which would be the best jewellery to use?
BME
The hand web is one of the piercings that just shouldn’t work….ever. However, once in a while, they miraculously heal. I had one total miracle heal on a hand web once. A client of mine was a sculptor in art college. His hands took abuse everyday and yet somehow it healed.
As for nerve damage, this was just a cop out, or an uneducated piercer. If you go into it knowing that I am more likely to sleep with Angelina Jolie than you are to have this be a long term piercing, you won’t be disappointed.
For the best possible chance of healing use a fairly short 12 gauge titanium barbell. The short barbell will be as unobtrusive as possible, the gauge will be large enough to be tough, but small enough to not be too invasive and the titanium will be lightweight and more biocompatable than 316lvm. For placement the piercer should mark every potential fold in the webbing. Then find the spot centered between the largest gap between folds. For healing use whatever aftercare works best for you, but pay special attention toe vents in your daily life that could contaminate, irritate or damage your new piercing.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Sean Philips | Permalink | 5 Comments
Friday November 2nd, 2007 @ 2:04 PM
In my Interdisiplinary Studies class, we’re to pick a human rights issue and research it…
I chose to research discrimination against body modification. For the research paper itself, I’m using history as one of the first subtopics. I was wondering if someone could help me with this.
I’d like to know as much as possible about the beginning of body modifcation to present… people like Jim Ward and Fakir Musafar and such. It would be great help if someone would direct me to some links that I could use so I can teach my oppressive catholic school a lesson….
and possibly raise a little hell while I’m at it.
Thank you,
Elizabeth Bathory
That’s a noble cause but body modification FAR predates Fakir and Jim Ward. In fact in a lot of societies throughout history would be more likely to discriminate against people that didn’t have body modifications, which to them, were the norm. To make your paper more legit you need to word it so that you are only referring to the modern western world’s take on body modifications.
Now as far as “teaching your oppressive catholic school a lesson”, IMHO, it’s a lost cause. You (or more likely your family) made the choice for you to be in Catholic school and are paying for the Christian moral system that comes with it. You want to teach them a lesson, stop giving them your money and get your education elsewhere. Bringing up examples of non-Christian and homosexual men performing rituals devised by people with polytheistic beliefs, do you really see that changing there views?
Don’t get me wrong Christianity and modern body modification can work together in unison,. I have seen a HUGE carved silicone cross implant done in the early years of custom implants. I have seen preachers with sleeves and Sunday School teachers with nipple rings. The duality to be involved with both is up to free thinking individuals, not institutions.
Don’t let me discourage you, as I think your heart is in the right place. However, I am a big fan of choosing my battles wisely and going into any potential conflict as prepared as possible. Personally, I think your whole argument needs to be reworked to be more effective against it’s target.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Sean Philips | Permalink | 6 Comments
Friday November 2nd, 2007 @ 3:02 AM
i’ve had my nose pierced for about two months. around three weeks after the piercing, i developed a small bump. it didnt hurt and wasnt really that noticeable so i let it be. now, two months in, it is a noticeable, red, bubble. its not hard like scar tissue and it doesn’t hurt or ooze anything gross that would make me feel like it’s an infection. it looks just like its filled with something, fluid maybe, im not sure. but it just looks like a pimple. how do i get rid of this? is it the jewelry? i got it pierced with an 18g SS CBR and aside from this bump thing i haven’t had any problems whatsoever with it. i’d appreciate any input on this, because nothing i’ve tried has worked so far. (sea salt soaks, provon, LITHA, bactine (once), i don’t touch the jewelry or pick at it with my bare hands or anything, and i just can’t figure it out. HELP!
i hope the picture is good enough to see what i’m talking about
Ah yes the pesky nostril piercing bubble that many often dread. I myself had them for awhile but that was a result of a nice magnesium burn from sparklers…Remember boys and girls lit sparklers do not belong through your septum during new years eve, OUCHIES!
What I would suggest to answer your question however is to visit an experienced piercer and switch the jewelry from a CBR to either an 18ga ASTM F136 6Al-4V ELI Titanium Nostril Screw that is custom bent for your nose, or an 18ga Labret Stud (ie: like the threadless ones made by: NeoMetal). Make sure the jewelry is sterilized in an autoclave before it is inserted into the pierced pathway. Once the jewelry is in there you can do the sea salt soaks (1/4 teaspoon sea salt to 8oz of distilled water, or buy sterile saline wound wash) OR an alternative aftercare method would be to do a Chamomile Tea Bag compress by doing the following:
“Use 100% Chamomile tea bags only. Submerge the tea bag into the freshly boiled water & allow to steep for a few minutes, cool slightly & apply the tea bag directly onto the piercing, leave on for 10 minutes & whilst you are doing this you can drink the tea which is left in the cup! Chamomile is a natural anti-inflammatory, and is excellent for relieving swelling or soreness in fresh or irritated piercings.”
That is a little information guide that we personally provide our clients who are experiencing similar problems. But yeah as I said switch to either a implant grade Ti custom bent nostril screw or a 18ga implant grade Ti labret stud and don’t use the ring. As CBR’s are prime candidates for bacteria to collect onto the ring and then be rotated into the piercing to cause irritation/problems/complications,etc.
So I believe if you change the jewelry and do a mixture of the sea salt soaks & chamomile tea bag compresses, this problem will go away.
0 / 0 votes
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Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 2 Comments
