HELP PLEASE

Saturday May 3rd, 2008 @ 10:30 AM

Filed under: Surface/Unusual

hey i got my sternum pierced on thursday at jetty road tattoo studio i am 16 and my only other piercing is my navel. my sternum piercing is very red and a little swollen i have had it for 4 days i have been looking on the net and i have seen plenty of pictures of other peoples and they all look very good i seen one and it is fully clear and she only had it for 3 days. i have been doing everything right i clean it twice a day with a sea salt solution and i try not to touch it or move it as much as possible please help me someone i dnt kno what i am doing wrong do i take it out and get it done again or do i wait n see if it heals??

Based on when this question was posted, it has literally only been 4 days old, so its still quite fresh. Also know that you can NEVER base anything you have with what you see in other pictures of other people. Your body and how it reacts is completely different than anyone else. Not to mention you must also factor in breast size, type of bras and clothing you wear,etc.

Also without seeing the actual piercing in person I am unable to provide and concrete information on what could be wrong. But what I can ask is: 1) How are you making the sea salt solution? 2) What type of jewelry do you have in your sternum? 3) Do you know how the piercing was done (did they use forceps? freehand and needle? or biopsy punch and taper) ?

Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 1 Comment

Snug

Saturday May 3rd, 2008 @ 8:22 AM

Filed under: Ear

I plan on getting a snug piercing in two weeks. On Wiki BME, it states that snugs are “difficult to heal, largely because many piercers insist on putting small diameter, thin gauge rings into them.”

Because of this I will be insisting on a straight barbell, but my question is: What is the range that falls under “thin” gauges, and what constitutes a thick gauge that will prevent migration/rejection for this particular piercing?

I’ve never put a ring in a snug in my life (and actually think they look rather odd with rings in them, go figure - sorry if I just offended you and you wear a ring in your snug!), but I would personally say that in my experience, snugs are just cranky bitches to heal for the most part, no matter what jewellery one uses. I prefer to use curved bars over straight ones, they usually go with the flow of the ear better, and I tend to do them at around 14ga, with titanium jewellery. You can still reasonably expect a year of cleaning and looking after it while it’s fussy, they are a notoriously long-healing piercing!

Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 1 Comment

Can anyone advise me about navel removal?

Saturday May 3rd, 2008 @ 8:16 AM

Filed under: Skin Removal

I’m considering having my navel removed but as it’s a major mod I want some advice. I have a sort of inny-outy belly button meaning it sticks out a little and then folds back in, the way the two inner pieces of skin rub together it leaves raw skin which gets infected. So this modification is for both practical and aesthetic. I wondered if anyone here had had their navel removed, how they had it done, where, and how much it costs.

Thanks

Charlie

I’d strongly advise you to speak to a plastic surgeon, since you’re basically asking for a mini-abdominoplasty. Any surgery to the abdominal wall like that is pretty significant and not something I would personally trust a cutter to do, especially since actual, medically-trained and recognised surgeons do thing like that all the time. If you live anywhere near any major metropolitan area in the world, you should be able to find a plastic surgeon who could easily do this for you, but the price will vary and you’ll want to have a consultation with the doctor to explain what you’re after and get their input on the matter. And good luck!

Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 3 Comments

Navel Piercing and Minocycline

Saturday May 3rd, 2008 @ 7:10 AM

Filed under: Piercing

Hey,

I have been on minocycline for my acne for about two years. My mom is paying for me to get my navel pierced. It’s her gift to me for my 21st birthday. I was wondering whether there would be any complications with healing it or even the process if I got the piercing while on the medication.

Thanks in advance,

Tara

Minocycline is member of the tetracycline family of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Some of the side-effects that can be caused by long-term minocycline use are hypersensitivity and in some cases it can affect the immune system, which is what would be of concern to me as a body piercer.

I am not a doctor, therefore I would strongly advise you have a chat with yours before going ahead with the piercing. I, for one, would not perform the piercing without a suitable letter from your medical practitioner stating that I would not be putting you at greater risk by doing the piercing.

Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 4 Comments

‘Fixing’ Old Blow-Outs

Saturday May 3rd, 2008 @ 12:04 AM

Filed under: Ear

So, I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place. In hindsight I clearly stretched too fast.

I was pierced at 4g in Jan ‘06 and stretched by my piercer up to 9/16in by sometime in early-mid ‘07. That’s when I realized I had minor blowouts. I wish I could provide a photo because they’re not cat-assy or lippy…more like slightly concave.

Anyhow I downsized, massaged and put in a pair of 00g SSS eyelets.

A few months later I had a piercer suggest weights to ’straighten’ the skin out. So I recently tried for a good month or so with heavy hanging jewelry and it hadn’t done much of anything in terms of ’straightening’ them out.

Now I’m back up to 1/2in from trying the weights (though wearing 7/16in. jewelry) and I’m wondering what else I can do.

Should I continue to downsize and massage or is it a lost cause at this point?

I doubt these last two questions are possible, but I thought I’d go out on a limb and ask anyway.

Would tapering from back to front have any impact on “retraining” the skin or would it just do more damage? (I’m assuming more damage or the possibility for more damage.)

Is there anything that can be done with a scalpel and sutures to pull the skin back into a proper position with minimal tissue loss?

The problem is essentially the waiting game. So many people, and piercers as well, have this notion that within a few months anything is capable of being stretched to a larger gauge. Sure this might work for some people, however for the majority of people it won’t work.

My suggestion to you is to downsize and massage the lobes daily until the blow outs are re-absorbed into the body. From there wear whatever jewelry fits in easily with no problems and don’t consider stretching your lobes again until anywhere from 6 months to a year, potentially even longer.

These problems occur from constant stretching and just like a rubber band when you keep tugging on it, it will eventually break/snap. So like I said remove the jewelry and massage daily till the problem is re-absorbed into the lobe tissue, put jewelry in that doesn’t stretch the pathway. Then from there allow your lobes the time to really establish that they are healed and if anything naturally let them stretch on their own. As you should never technically need somebody to taper your lobes to a larger size, if you simply just wait long enough.

Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | Comments

minor surgery and tattoo

Thursday May 1st, 2008 @ 8:08 PM

Filed under: Tattoos

hi, i’m scheduled to get tattooed this saturday (may 2nd) and am also schedule to get my tubes tied next thursday (may 8th). my mom is flipping out saying that i’m going to get an infection (i wont be on antibiotics or pain killers at all), but they are doing it all through 2 - 1/4 inch holes. i’ve never had a problem in the past with getting tattooed or healing.

sooo… should i reschedule the tattoo or take my chances (i already asked the shop they said they think it would be ok, but to double check with my dr, who i put a call into and am waiting a call back from)???

If your immune system is tapped from the surgery, it *could* theoretically slow down your tattoo’s healing. But I wouldn’t worry about infection.

Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | Comments

a pregnant piercer?

Thursday May 1st, 2008 @ 7:26 PM

Filed under: Piercing

So, I have been a piercer for a few years now and I love my job to death. I have a daughter, but took time off to travel and do family things while I was pregnant with her. Well we are adding one more to our family in August and it’s not in the cards for me to take time off of work. My question comes from something that was said to me recently that has gotten me thinking by an acquaintance that knows a lot of piercers in the area. She said to me “Isn’t it illegal to pierce while your pregnant?! It’s got to be child endangerment of some sort, your putting the baby in as much risk as yourself”. I am current on my Hep. B vaccine (as mandated by our health department) and take extra precautions while I do piercings and sterilizing tools. I guess I am wondering if you have ever heard of any such laws (I haven’t been able to find anything)? Would you go to a piercer that had a good reputation even if she was pregnant?

I don’t think it’s specifically illegal in any city, state, province or country that I’ve ever encountered….. but you never really know. It’s no more unethical than a pregnant nurse/doctor, (which is to say it’s not unethical at all) and I’m sure there are 1000 jobs that would have more risk for an expectant mother than Body Piercing.

So don’t worry about the naysayers. Avoid stress, take those vitamins and name that baby Shawn!

Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | 9 Comments

Surgery and Semi-Permanent Mods?

Thursday May 1st, 2008 @ 1:20 AM

Filed under: Pocketing

This may be pseudo-off topic but anyway…

I finally have an appointment booked for a tonsillectomy (the removal of my tonsils) and I’ve been asked to remove all jewelery from my piercings (labrets, barbells and tunnels) “If at all possible”. I’m not happy but of course, I’ll comply.

Can they legally make me remove my current dermal anchors and is there any medical reason why they should be removed? Also, is it such a bad idea to get a few more dermal anchors before the operation if they are given adequate time to heal?

The only real medical reason I can think of is because of the possibility of contamination of the sterile workspace but surely there is some other way to minimise the amount of germies so that I can keep my anchors. I haven’t discussed my dermal anchors with the hospital because I haven’t been able to contact them so, what do you guys think?

Actually, the reason they typically require you to remove all jewelry is to reduce the likelihood of you receiving burns from any of the electrocautery equipment which is very prevelant in modern-day surgery. While burns may not necessarily occur, it is a possibility and is a risk that most hospitals want to avoid.

I doubt there is any legal recourse to make your remove your microdermals…or piercings for that matter. Then again, they don’t need any legal recourse. They can simply refuse to perform the operation.

I think discussing the possibility of leaving the anchors in is worth a shot. However, don’t be surprised if they have an unsympathetic and/or unwaivering stand on the topic.

Best of luck.

Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 4 Comments