Friday March 20th, 2009 @ 6:04 PM
I’ve had my medusa pierced for about 1 1/2 years and its never really healed all the way and just lately (the past month) its gotten really bad with scar tissue growing on the inside and swelling. I am doing everything to try and get the swelling down and get it back to normal (sea salt soaks and alchohol free mouthwash) but it doesnt get better.
Is there anything else i can do to get it to calm down?
Also i read somewhere it could be my toothpaste i use one that is cinnimon flavored from crest… also heard from a piercer that it might be getting irrated from drinking from straws (which i cant drink anything without one its like a crazy habit). I LOVE my medusa and i dont wanna lose it im just afraid it will get irrated enough to get infected or swell to the point i have to take it out.
Please help lol
A year and a half with an open wound in your mouth isn’t normal nor is it healthy.
What kind of jewelry are you wearing in it? Is it plastic? Is it implant grade steel or titanium? Jewelry quality and size will greatly affect the healing of your piercing. It might not be placed on your lip in an optimal spot.
Toothpastes, mouthwashes and common compulsive movements CAN cause irritation to new piercings. A year and a half later? Not as likely.
If you’re finding a scar tissue buildup, I’d check out placement as the main culprit.
+8 / 8 votes 
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Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | 2 Comments
Friday March 20th, 2009 @ 5:59 PM
Hey, I was wondering if migration in vertical labrets is very common and if it stops or will continue. I’ve had my vertical labret for about 11 days now and just noticed today it’s migrated towards the right about 1mm and though it doesn’t bother me, I am wondering whether it will continue to or if it will heal and settle more or less where it is now?
Migration in vertical labret piercings is quite common, unfortunately.
The risk of this can be greatly reduced with several precautions that can be taken starting with finding a reputable piercer who knows how to actually do these piercings properly.
Chances are that if it’s on it’s way out, it will continue to move.
Be sure that you’re wearing appropriately fitted, implant grade body jewelry. That will help. If you have a big long dangly barbell weighing on the piercing itself, it will move out even faster.
+2 / 2 votes
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Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | 1 Comment
Wednesday March 18th, 2009 @ 7:46 AM
Hey, I was talking to a few different piercing artists in my city hoping to get an apprenticeship (got one potential) and i found out something that scares me about one shop (not the potential one) they don’t use an autoclave they have some chemical that they say is just as good and takes less time and money. I don’t remember the chemical off hand but it seems weird that people would still use an autoclave if there was a cheaper way to get the same results. am i right to be scared by that shop or are there a/some chemicals that can be used to sterilize stuff?
Chemical sterilization is briefly discussed in the BME Wiki, but honestly, most (if not all, and feel free to correct me on this if I’m wrong, people) better shops use autoclaves to ensure sterilization of their tools and instruments. Chemical sterilization uses pretty nasty stuff that can be dangerous to the health of the people working around it all day, and it’s not terrifically cheaper than the long-term cost to purchase and maintain an autoclave properly.
I, personally, wouldn’t feel comfortable getting work done in a shop that used chemicals to clean their tools - there’s too many ways to screw it up and not sterilize your stuff properly, and no real way to ensure that it’s worked properly, unlike the spore tests and indicator strips commonly used with autoclaves. Most digital autoclaves have a display that will spell it out for the operator if the cycle fails for whatever reason. It just doesn’t make sense to me not to use an autoclave!
+21 / 21 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 3 Comments
Wednesday March 18th, 2009 @ 7:42 AM
I work for a retail body jewelry company and currently we are having a debate about what the true millimeter size of a 00G is. This debate was spawned by us recently getting new digital calipers.
Those of us who have been with the company for a while, and have experience with stretching consider a 00G to be 10mm, which would roughly be 2mm larger than a 0G. BUT, all of the technical charts that I have managed to dig up online; less maybe two, have listed 00G as a 9.2mm. Could you please help us end this debate.
I would say that it’s fair enough to translate 00ga into 9-and-a-bit millimetres. The fun thing about digital calipers is that you really get to find out how wildly the actual thickness/gauge of your jewellery varies from the expected/listed size, I don’t think ANYTHING is ever spot-on once it’s been well-polished, ha ha! And then G-D help you if you’re looking for exact measurements in glass or organics… 
+8 / 8 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 1 Comment
Wednesday March 18th, 2009 @ 7:37 AM
I have three surface anchors on my wrist (up-down) arrangement and they each have their own personalities. The first one I got has no problems. I recently had two more done about 6 days ago. The problem one is the middle piercing where it is constantly producing a pool of lymph fluid (clearish color). I have no redness in any of the piercings. I’m not normally concerned about this but the lymph fluid is being producing is A LOT. Every 5 minutes a small pool of fluid forms around the piercing. It’s almost been a week now and it’s still pushing out this much fluid. Should I be concerned?
At this early juncture, I wouldn’t fret TOO much about excessive lymphing. I’m a noted fan of the “better out than in” theory, if it weren’t draining, it’d be much more worrying! I’d salt soak it twice a day or so to encourage that drainage, and it SHOULD start to settle down within a week or two as it begins to heal. If it’s still playing up in a few weeks, consider popping in to see your piercer to get their take on it. 
+9 / 9 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | Comments
Wednesday March 18th, 2009 @ 7:30 AM
Hi,
My name is Efrain Espinoza .I am a tattoo artist from Los Angeles. I was wondering if you could help me, I am trying to come to a fair business arrangement with my two piercers. I just want to know if there is a “standard” arrangement, and what a fair percentage be for procedures, jewelry sales, etc. would be.
Jewelry is being purchased by the piercers.
I supply alot of the materials, disposables etc.
plus ads , promos, etc.
If you can help me thats cool .
Thanks
E
There are a lot of different ways that shops employ piercers, but I’ll tell you how I do it - I employ my staff as full-time staff members, they get paid a very fair and decent hourly wage, and they get all the perks that every other full-time worker in Australia gets (four weeks paid leave a year, ten sick days, superannuation, etc). I buy all the jewellery and supplies and everything else associated with running the business, and my staff get paid whether it’s busy or slow, so they can live their lives like everyone else does and plan their finances accordingly. I’ve worked for a few different shops in my day, getting paid per piercing or a percentage of the piercing and had to buy my own jewellery, etc, and it really sucks, frankly. I’m sure Derek and Lexci and Tiff and everyone else will be happy to chime in with their thoughts on the subject!
+5 / 7 votes 
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 2 Comments
Tuesday March 17th, 2009 @ 4:35 PM
Filed under: Ear
My earlobes are currently 1″ and I love them dont get me wrong but it definitely does not help the career process, i want to pursue a career and I feel my earlobes are hindering the process so I am wondering where (in southern california, riverside to be exact) I can find a doctor or someone certified to fix earlobes that can completely close my earlobes up back to normal? I want them closed and I have no idea where to start, or who to contact.
This is a pretty simple one- if you’re looking for a licensed medical doctor to fix your lobes- start calling up plastic surgeons in your area- explain what’s going on and you’re guaranteed to find someone who can help you out.
+5 / 7 votes
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Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | 2 Comments
Tuesday March 17th, 2009 @ 4:29 PM
i have a zero gauge pa and want to turn it into a meato. would cutting from the hole to the tip work cause my pa is a little shallow. wan what is the healing time for this prodecure
The stretched piercing channel will likely make a good base for a meatotomy.
Depending on what method you use, healing time for the procedure is pretty quick- week/two weeks. Just depends on all the normal factors- technique, your health and general ability to heal, etc.
+5 / 5 votes
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Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | Comments
Tuesday March 17th, 2009 @ 4:17 PM
I have an empty photo booth strip on the backside of my left arm. It’s about an inch and a half wide and nine inches high. The concept was nice to me. Fill it in with the things that i love to represent points of my life. The only thing is that now after I got the strip, I don’t like it. It looks awkward on my arm. Because it’s such a straight line, and my arm never lays perfectly straight the way it was put on it always looks warped or crooked.
So my questionis what could I turn it into so I don’t have to get it removed and can be happy with it?
Thank you so much.
Amy
The designs that could cover what you have are only limited to the ability and creativity of the artist covering it. This isn’t really a question we can specifically answer- the best thing to do is find a tattooist who’s work you like, show them the piece and get their feedback….
For cover-ups, it’s best to see healed pictures of their cover-up work. A creative tattooist can cover/rework just about anything- your main goal is to find a tattooist who can really get into your piece. My standard advice is to hit the web to find artists in your area (or where you’re willing to travel to) who’s work you like. Then go in for a consultation, check out their cover-up work and go from there. Anyone who gives you an attitude or treats you like you’re bothering them is someone you probably don’t want to work with anyway. Shop around- for something like this price shouldn’t be a deciding factor- just skill.
Good luck, let us know how it goes!
+4 / 4 votes
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Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | Comments
Monday March 9th, 2009 @ 2:55 PM
Filed under: Nipple
Hello
I’m planning on getting my nipples pierced, but I’m really afraid of getting mastitis. So I’d like to know:
-How high is the risk of mastitis due to nipple piercing? How often does it happen to women with pierced nipples?
-What factors can make the risk of mastitis higher and what should I do to reduce the risk?
Thanks in advance for the answer.
Unfortunately, there aren’t any hard numbers I (or anyone) can give you on the risk level of mastitis from nipple piercings. That type of research or tracking just doesn’t exist. I can tell you that in the 14 years I’ve been piercing (i.e., thousands of piercings I’ve done and even more that I’ve seen), I personally have only seen it occur a handful of times. However, being realistic about it, I would have to assume there have been other times it has happened that I haven’t been aware of.
From my perspective, I would classify the risk as real, but very low.
Some things you can do to reduce the risk of mastitis even further:
1) Have your piercings done by a knowledgeable, experienced piercer. Appropriate placement of the piercings is very important. When the piercings are done too deeply, you are at greater risk of complications.
2) Get the piercings done with barbells that are appropriately-sized for your body. Barbells are subject to much less movement and pressure, and therefore much less irritation. The less irritation, the faster the healing and the less likely you are to experience complications.
3) While I don’t think it’s that much of a factor, consider using titanium jewelry. This will virtually eliminate any chances of problems due to the jewelry material. Of course, this also assumes you are having high-quality jewelry put in in the first place. If you have poor made, poorly finished titanium barbells installed, you aren’t doing yourself any favors.
4) Be careful with them while they are healing. Take extra care when taking off clothes and putting them as well as when you are drying off after a bath or shower. One good snag can be enough to tear the piercings, increasing your chances of problems.
5) Keep your hands, as well as other people’s hands and mouths off of the piercings while they are healing. The more bacteria you put near, or into, the piercings, the greater your chances of having problems. In addition, the trauma from being played with too soon can lead to problems.
6) Appropriate aftercare is important as well. Your piercer should go over the care thoroughly.
Good luck!
+14 / 14 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
