Monday March 9th, 2009 @ 2:49 PM
Filed under: Ear
Hullo!
I’ve recently been having problems with my stretched lobes that I can’t figure out. I haven’t stretched them in atleast 6 months nor have I changed the type of jewellery I’m using for over three year. (New sizes, obviously, but always the same type..) Yet they’re suddenly (Well, for the past month..) ithcy, red, flaking, gunky and leaking a clear fluid. :/ Sometimes, clear crust builds up too.
I did have a problem the last time I stretched.. One ear could handle going up a size while the other ear couldn’t. I left it in for the day hoping it would adjust but ended up taking them both out (I hate having uneven ears..) and going down a size as it was uncomfortable. It was a little red and swollen for a couple days but that was it..
I’m not alone, though, my husband hasn’t stretched or changed his jewellery in years yet his ear suddenly flared up a couple days ago and is now swollen, gunky and crusty. >_<
What is going on?? O_O (P.S We both wear silicone plugs.)
While a reaction to silicone isn’t incredibly likely, it is possible. And, the symptoms you describe certainly sound like your ears are reacting to something. Sensitivities and reactions typically build-up over time, meaning you may be fine with something for a while and then develop a reaction to it.
Having said that, it would be one heck of a coincidence if you and your husband developed a reaction to silicone at nearly the same time. So, this leads me to think maybe you are reacting to something else in your life. I would suggest thinking about any recent changes you’ve made to laundry detergents, fabric softeners, soaps, body washes, shampoos etc. Things such as changes in your diet could also be the culprit; or a change in your water source also. It seems that perhaps something new has been introduced into your little ecosystem and it’s causing you and your husband problems. It could be something that is reacting with/to the silicone, which might explain while you aren’t seeing a reaction anywhere else on your body.
If you figure it out, I would definitely like to know what the culprit was.
+8 / 8 votes 
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
Monday March 9th, 2009 @ 2:42 PM
Filed under: Nose
I had a deviated septum and have since had surgery to correct it. I was poking around in there as I contemplated a septum piercing and found that I don’t really feel a sweet spot anymore. I’m wondering if it would hurt the results of the surgery to pierce my corrected septum, and also if it is wise to pierce through cartilage instead of the sweet spot?
Unless you are planning on doing a large-gauge piercing, I think it’s unlikely the piercing will interfere with the corrective surgery you have done. However, I would also suggest consulting your surgeon just to make sure. They probably won’t be thrilled at the idea of you doing it, but hopefully you can get them to give you some straight talk about how it might affect things.
Septum piercings can be done through cartilage. In general, you should expect it to hurt more to get it done, be sore for a longer period of time afterwards and in general, take a bit longer to heal. That’s just the nature of cartilage tissue.
You may want to consult with your piercer about different options for piercings, such as a needle that is a bit larger than the jewelry or perhaps a dermal punch (even at a smaller size). These things may help the piercing be more comfortable while it’s healing and perhaps heal a little faster.
Also, if you decide to stretch the piercing at some point, expect the stretching to be more difficult.
+5 / 5 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 2 Comments
Saturday March 7th, 2009 @ 9:28 AM
Having just turned 18, I am doing my best to make good choices when it comes to modifying my body, regardless of how many years I’ve yearned over the possibilities. I’ve always wanted a lip piercing, but being a clarinet player going to college in 4 months or so, it’s not really an option. However, I recently started considering getting a monroe done. Obviously, I would wait as long as possible (realistically, probably about a month or so) without doing any intense playing, but I recently realized something that could create a problem: When the piercing is mostly/fully healed, will it be air tight? In other words, would I be able to maintain enough pressure in my mouth to force air through my horn without any leaking out the piercing?
Thanks for your time!
Assuming you’re wearing jewellery in your piercing, it’ll be airtight for all intents and purposes. While I am by no means an expert on the subject, I can’t imagine that a healed monroe would have any effect on your embouchure at all. And hey, if it does, you can always retire the piercing. :O)
+6 / 6 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 5 Comments
Thursday March 5th, 2009 @ 9:19 PM
in your opinion, what’s the viability of healing a microdermal in the lip area? as in, in place of a standard labret or philtrum piercing?
thanks!
Search Function! Top right!
http://ask.bmezine.com/index.php?s=microdermal+anchor+in+lip
http://ask.bmezine.com/index.php?s=anchor+oral+piercing
+2 / 2 votes
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Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | Comments
Thursday March 5th, 2009 @ 9:07 PM
Good morning ASKBME,
Well í’ve seen to have a stupid question, i know the answer already but would love to hear your view about.
I currently own and run my own Piercing Studio in a small town. With 2 other places that do piercings. I’m somewhat of the person people will go to for a top service, repair or actually information about what to do with the piercing.
So yesterday morning had a young lady come in. She wanted her horizontal nipple pierced, already having a vertical one there. Nothing hard, proceeded to prep the skin and all that other fun stuff. And notice the bar in her nipple was only a very small 16g curved barbell. So changed it for nothing to a bit longer and recommended to stretch it to 14g. As i was place the new jewellery into the piercing, notice something wierd(and that takes alot) There was a thin whitish flesh coloured tube of “what i thought was dead skin” I ask her if it hurt she said nope. So grab a pair of tweezers and slowly pulled on it.. And to my jaw dropping amazement it was the remains of the Catheter Tube, from the piercing. Which was done about 4months earlier.
So the thing is. WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU DO THAT. lol. Wouldn’t it be just easier to remove the entire tube from the nipple when inserting jewellery?
And is actually safe for the client to have bits of tubes in there body? ie is it bio degradable?
Cheers
Dion
ps.. Thank you for your advice earlier, it really paided off. The studio is starting to move along nice ^^
WAS it actually the remains of the catheter tubing? The previous piercer would’ve had to trim that down to fit and it doesn’t make any logical sense as to why.
Are you certain that during the stretching of the piercing you didn’t disrupt the fistula and pull it out?
(It’s thin, whitish, flesh coloured and tube shaped)
The fistula could very well have been torn out… Nipple piercings do not stretch with ease.
If you’re not using internally threaded jewelry that could cause the fistula to tear out as well.
If it WERE a piece of tubing, depending on what it was made of, it likely wouldn’t be in the client’s best interest to wear it as body jewelry, no. (And as the go-to piercer for problem piercings please consider we, as piercers, don’t want our jewelry being “Biodegradable”. We want it to be “biocompatible“.)
+4 / 6 votes 
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Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | 5 Comments
Thursday March 5th, 2009 @ 8:58 PM
So I had my cleavage pierced with a bar about a year ago. The bar wasn’t evenly put in, so I took it out before I had any real issues and before I was left with a nasty scar. I now want to get it re-done but with dermal studs over where the tiny scars are.
I want to know if there is a difference between dermal piercings or dermal anchor piercings (or if those are the same thing), and if they reject at all. I don’t plan on taking these out, so I want to make sure it is done right, and by a person that knows what they are doing. Any tips on making sure the person is experienced in doing a proper dermal piercing?
Thanks, Carissa.
So I think we may have a piercing term confusion somewhere…
By the sounds of it, you had a Surface piercing done with a surface barbell previously and now you have a scar as a result.
Now you’re considering getting dermal anchors (also known as Surface Anchors, Microdermals, etc - depending on where you’re from and who’s doin ‘em)
I’ve found that surface anchors are generally easier to maintain than surface piercings are but are not guaranteed to be more “permanent” than surface piercings are.. I’ve also found that putting surface anchors directly over previous piercing scars will make a more unstable environment for the anchor so you may want to place the anchors slightly above or below where the old scars are.
0 / 6 votes 
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Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | 1 Comment
Thursday March 5th, 2009 @ 8:53 PM
Filed under: Nose
I got my septum pierced around 6 weeks ago. However it still hurts some when put my finger under my news. How long does a septum piercing take to heal? Is there any way to speed the healing along, other then to continue sea salt soaks once or twice a day?
(assuming you meant “nose”)
It’s possible your piercing may be through the cartilage in your septum and not in between it. In that case, you may experience a longer healing/stabalizing time for the piercing.
Try to avoid mashing it around (pressing it with your finger, for instance) and be very gentle in your aftercare.
Your body will heal faster or slower depending on how clean and healthy you are. So get lots of rest, take your vitamins and keep your nose clean and that will help promote the healing better than anything. And stop touching at it! 
+1 / 3 votes
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Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | Comments
Tuesday March 3rd, 2009 @ 4:34 PM
Hi there,
This may seem like a rather random question but I’ve loved surface piercings for years and I’ve never quite found the right one for me until I saw a Nape Piercing on one of the guys that works at Alton Towers. Since that day and to this day I have been dying to get one, but I’ve slept on the idea now for a year and a half and I think I’m ready. My question is this … I have no problems with getting the piercing and looking after it, but I’m wanting to know what problems I might run into with it in my lifestyle, and if it would be detrimental for me. I’m an actor, and I don’t have a problem with the fact that “it will be visible for all auditions and what not”. My problem is that I’m still in training and we do lots of physical activities, and I do lots of physical activities as it is anyway. If I’m rolling around on the floor, and having to do backwards rolls, and neck rolls even once it’s healed, am I going to cause it severe irritation and/or stretching?
I’m also a big fan of water slides … what kinds of problems would this pose, or it just a case of being careful and covering up when necessary ??
Any information is greatfully received. I’m planning on getting it done at the beginning of the Easter Holidays so it has three weeks to get properly healed, but I’m going to Tenerife for a week and visiting a water park … Just doing my research and looking for answers!
Avid fan,
Robert J Southworth
Napes are pretty durable surface piercings when healed fully. I’d probably do it with a 10 ga flat titanium surface bar with flush disc ends and not too long of a length to assure the most durable piercing possible.
+2 / 16 votes
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Posted by Sean Philips | Permalink | 2 Comments
Saturday February 28th, 2009 @ 6:12 AM
Filed under: Ear
My niece is about to turn 6 and for her birthday wants her ears pierced. My sisters had their ears pierced when they were about 5, as did I, but of course they were pierced with a gun at the mall. My sister is okay with my niece getting her ears pierced, but I am not so much okay with it knowing what I know now about piercing guns…
My question is, would a professional piercer be totally against piercing the ears of a child? Because shes not mine I of course dont get the final say as to whether or not she gets them done, so if its going to happen I’d like for it to be as safe as possible. But is it going to be possible to find a professional who would do it? Or is she pretty much doomed to the tradition of piercing guns at the mall?
While I don’t know of any professional piercers who will pierce BABIES, I know lots of professional piercers who have no problem piercing children, myself included. Most 6-year-old kids are plenty capable of understanding what’s going to happen, able to sit still and to look after the piercing themselves, with a little help from their parents. If you reply with a comment as to your geographical location, maybe someone can helpfully recommend someone close to you? You might call around and ask the better shops in your area, though, it’s more commonly done than a lot of people think!
+21 / 23 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 17 Comments
Friday February 27th, 2009 @ 3:52 AM
Hi BME!
I’ve been looking into getting a ring in my tragus changed out to a barbell. No shops in my town even carry barbells of the correct type/length, but one did suggest a size for me to order (18g 1/4″) and they offered to change it out for me.
It got me thinking that maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to just replace the thing myself. So, how hard is it to change jewelry in a location like a tragus by oneself, and do you have any advice in the matter? (ie: from which side of the piercing should I insert the jewelry etc. etc. etc.)
Thanks a bunch!
Sarah
I read the title of this and was all like, “what, like in the back seat of a Volkswagen?” ha ha!
Honestly, I don’t even change my own tragus jewellery, I get someone else to do it for me, it’s that fiddly and I am absolutely rotten at doing things backwards in a mirror. Yes, it can be done, though! Personally, I prefer labret studs over barbells in tragus piercings, and I’d say to insert it inside-out, obviously. You might want a pair of small haemostats (or mosquito forceps) to help hold it on the inside while you tighten the ball. Really, though, I’d go get it from the shop - it’s always good to support local piercing studios, even if they have to order your jewellery in, and they’ll put it in for you!
+9 / 11 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 1 Comment
