Sunday September 28th, 2008 @ 9:53 PM
In December I’m having surgery and right now I have three piercing that I haven’t stretched (tongue (10g), septum (14g) and PA (12g)), my doctor told me I will be in the hospital for about 10 to 14 days and would have to wait about 4 to 6 weeks before I can get a new piercing, most likely all three will close up, but this is a long shot but could I stretching out my piercing to prevent them from closing up?
Also if they will close up should I take out my piercing now or wait till I’m going to have surgery?
There are a few variables in determining how long a piece of jewelry can be left out of a piercing without it closing up on you.
Having your piercings (large jewelry or not; stretched or not) completely healed in place for an ample amount of time will reduce the chance of them closing up, though you can expect some level of tightening to occur. A new piercing will be much more likely to close or tighten up than a piercing that’s good and healed. Genetics as well as physical condition at the time can also play a role in this.
Certain piercings will be more prone to tightening up than others, respectively tongue piercings. Tongue piercings often close or tighten rather quickly, even if they are fully healed. Trans-urethral piercings such as PA’s tend to hold their size; even after shorter periods of healed time. Septum piercings would usually fit in between these two examples.
To answer your question more specifically, stretching your piercings this soon before surgery likely won’t give them any more chance of remaining in place. It could possibly even irritate them and instigate a quicker closing.
I’m not sure what kind of surgery it is that you are about to undergo and how it may affect your specific piercings, but your best bet may be to simply take them out right before your surgery and put them back in immediately post-op.
+12 / 12 votes 
Loading ...
Posted by Russ Foxx | Permalink | Comments
Friday September 12th, 2008 @ 1:02 PM
When will BMEshop be up and running again?
very soon!
the last time I spoke to Rachel (5 mins ago) she was working in the new BMEshop HQ…. so keep checking back to the main page of BME and Modblog!
+5 / 13 votes 
Loading ...
Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | 9 Comments
Thursday September 11th, 2008 @ 12:34 PM
Should piercers be using sterile gloves all throughout a procedure? (Including glove changes to eliminate cross contamination.) Or are clean, but non-sterile gloves good enough?
Properly washed hands donning clean gloves from a box is completely acceptable for a body piercing procedure.
+4 / 12 votes
Loading ...
Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | 6 Comments
Saturday September 6th, 2008 @ 6:32 AM
How do I list my tattoo studio on BME?
Thank You,
Leticia
You can list your studio on BME’s studio directory at http://411.bmezine.com/studios/add. BME411 is aimed to be the largest online resource for studios in the body modification industry. This directory also allows visitors to rate the studios listed in a 1-5 star rating system.
+1 / 3 votes
Loading ...
Posted by Russ Foxx | Permalink | Comments
Sunday August 17th, 2008 @ 6:41 AM
To heal my piercings, have have bought a bottle (1000 ml) of saline solution. I pour it into a small bottle, and when I run out, I will re-fill the small bottle. I have strict “contamination controls” over the 1000 ml bottle (I don’t allow myself to even dip new q-tips in.)
However, the saline solution’s label says to “discard within 24 hours of opening.” Although 24 hours seems quite unreasonable, should I be worried about how long the bottle’s been opened for? Perhaps it’s best to buy a new bottle of saline solution after a month? What do you think?
You can often prolong bacteria contamination of the bottle by placing it in refridgeration, as that slows bacteria growth.
However know that as soon as you open up a sterile bottle of saline, you only have a certain amount of time before the contents become contaminated. If the company declares that the sterile solution needs to be discarded after 24 hours of opening, that is not an “unreasonable” situation. Because the fact is that bottles contents won’t be sterile after 24 hours.
Now provided that you keep it under strict lock and key and let nobody else touch it and you yourself handle it properly. Then realistically you can continue using the saline, but you need to realize that after 24 hours the solution will not be sterile.. However I would say having/using it for an entire month is not really an ideal thing to do.
Personally I’d suggest buying in smaller quantities and using only what you need. You can also purchase items like Sterile Saline Wound Wash that comes in containers that remain sterile and last longer then 24 hours.
+6 / 8 votes
Loading ...
Posted by Warren Hiller | Permalink | 12 Comments
Thursday August 14th, 2008 @ 1:19 AM
I work at a Hot Topic in the Midwest and lately (I think because of back to school) I’ve had a high number of parents asking me or my associates about piercing rights almost??
Basically I am hearing that some PUBLIC schools are banning piercings and for boys to have pierced ears.
For some reason this really doesn’t rub me the right way and it seems to be mainly located in smaller towns where piercings and gauges are seen as something that common criminal would have.
I mean I understand the reasoning and legality of a work dress code (you are being paid) but schools aren’t the same. It is required by law (in most states) that students go.
How can a public institution can both overrule parents decision making? Not to mention continue the stigma that anyone with a nose piercing must be a druggie or hoodlum?
So I guess my question is do the pierced have rights??
(By “gauges” do mean stretched piercings wearing larger gauge jewelry? 
)
I think it’s pretty unfair to ask guys not to wear jewelry in their lobes while girls can. AND I think that if someone had the time to kick up a fuss about it, a fair conclusion could come of it (ie: guys are allowed to wear earrings like girls - or no one’s allowed to wear earrings at ALL!)
I think since the beginning of schools, students have felt oppressed and hard done by by their teachers and that establishment. The best way to change the rules is approach with an educated, level-headed case for your cause.
+18 / 18 votes
Loading ...
Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | 3 Comments
Monday August 11th, 2008 @ 12:06 PM
how would i numb mylip for snake bites
You would have it injected, multiple times! with a small syringe with some xylocaine or similar. It would be painful …and silly. You might as well just have TWO needles and have the piercings over and done with.
+14 / 14 votes
Loading ...
Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | 4 Comments
Monday August 11th, 2008 @ 12:01 PM
Is there really a difference in how much bioplast and metal irritate and recess gums? or destroy tooth enamel? And can i attach a metal piece to a bioplast post?
As far as the wear on your gums go - if the material is harder than the tissue in your mouth, there will still be erosion of the gums.
There are some companies who make jewelry with metal ends on bioplast posts, but I don’t recommend wearing them as bioplast isn’t meant for long term wear in your body.
Your best bet if you’re concerned about tissue and tooth erosion is to be wearing appropriately fitted jewelry in the piercing. Some people require multiple “downsizes” in the posts within the first several months of wearing an oral piercing. If the jewelry is sitting snugly behind your lip, you’re going to have much better success with your gums down the road.
0 / 2 votes 
Loading ...
Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | Comments
Wednesday August 6th, 2008 @ 6:56 AM
Alright. Long story short.
This is my third time trying to stretch my ears to my goal of 5/8… this time professionally. They were pierced at a 6g and stretched immediately to a 4 and were perfect.
HOWEVER, the latex o-rings are irritating my ears hardcore - the skin directly underneath the o-rings looks almost raw but I know I don’t have a latex allergy as condoms don’t do anything and I’m not sure how to fix the reaction.
I’ve been using organic balm on them and it seems to be working very well - as well I’m taking allergy medication.
I’m going to get different jewelery when I go in for my next appointment, but what should I do until then?]
… my story wasn’t all that short lol.
You could try silicone ‘o’ rings or even just not have them pushed so tightly down but to be honest, I tend not to bother with ‘o’ rings at all. They make my lobes sweat a little and that in turn can make them sore. When my tunnels start to fall out repeatedly then I know it’s usually OK to stretch up to the next gauge.
+12 / 12 votes
Loading ...
Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 3 Comments
Tuesday August 5th, 2008 @ 12:36 PM
well i just got off the phone with one of my friends and hes flippen out over one of his earlobes, he stretched with hot topic silicone (i know bad idea not only because its risky with silicone but hot topics silicone is the poorest quality i have ever seen) and he said theirs a layer of skin missing blood and pus he also said his ear is a crimson red i advised sea salt down stretching and steel plugs i just wanted to see if their was anything you could advise im gonna try to get a pic of it tommorow to show you what im dealing with
This is probably the most frequently covered topic in AskBME. There are countless similar questions that have been answered by myself and my fellow panel members. A quick search will bring it all up again. So to recap.. remove the jewellery totally, advise your friend to do twice daily seasalt soaks and not to attempt to put any jewellery in the piercings until they have completely recovered and then to start again at whatever size easily slides in. Slap your friend upside their head for using substandard jewellery and advise using something like PTFE, good quality steel or titanium and NOT silicone or organics and tell them to do a quick bit of research into how to stretch correctly and safely to achieve good, healthy results.
+7 / 13 votes
Loading ...
Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | Comments
