I have been interested in piercing and other body modifications since I was very young, and have so far had my ears done four times at the ages of 11, 13,16 and 17. After my 4th holes and a brief encounter with a young man very much infatuated with piercings, I decided that body modification was definitely something I was very interested in. I started to plan my piercings, to begin with 3.. then it rose to 8.. then 11 and now 18!
At A Glance Author Bunny Contact Bunny@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Brian Studio Abody Location Leicester, UK On to my piercing story... My parents went away on holiday for four days, and I was given a long weekend from school to "revise". I found myself with a bit of spare cash and an empty house for four days... so why not have a bit of fun?! What to get pierced? As it was my first "proper" mod I decided to get something done I knew would heal quickly and something that was easily concealable for school... My tongue.
I called Abody and asked about prices and a bit of information regarding speech and aftercare, and decided that this was it - Time To Get Pierced! Abody had been recommended to me but my ex, and after having had a look around at the other places in Leicester, I decided that this one was the most hygienic and with a very experienced piercer. I got on the bus and was on my way.
I got to Abody and practically ran up the stairs, not wanting to waste a moment - by this time I was really psyched up with adrenaline and nerves! I told the piercer what I wanted, signed some paperwork and was led into the piercing room. Brian was great, he went through everything really carefully (complaining about my tongue's veins as well!). He handed me a cup of mouthwash to kill all the bacteria in my mouth and then got on with numbing my tongue, which is one of the most bizarre experiences I've ever had. Handing me a handful of tissues, I was informed that I was dribbling everywhere.
He dotted my tongue where he was going to pierce and put on the clamps, spending quite a while making sure he was piercing my tongue in a good place. Of course, all good piercers do this, but he was really, really cautious - I was very impressed by the meticulous way he did everything. He merely said "ok" and then put the needle through. It felt odd having something put in my tongue. I wouldn't say it hurt, the worst bit was when he put the barbell through, but even that was more uncomfortable that painful. Brian screwed on the ball and handed me some mouthwash. For those piercees who are squeamish, don't look in the cup when you spit it out - the liquid goes redder than you'd anticipate! I looked in the mirror... wow. My tongue has a bar through it.
Brian went over the aftercare once more and gave me a sheet to refer to should I forget. I was told to come back in two weeks time to get my barbell changed to a smaller one. It was at this point I realised the true importance of using a longer barbell for the first two weeks; my tongue swelled instantly. I paid him £25 for his troubles and after a short conversation I was out the door, planning my next piercing...
As an aside I thought I'd include what happened for the next few days. The first day I was on too much of a high to notice any pain or swelling, but I found it difficult to talk clearly. My speech was slurry (I actually sounded like Sean Connery with a lisp!) but otherwise intelligible. I took Brian's advice and began taking Ibuprofen literally five minutes after I'd had it done. I continued taking these for five days afterwards, one every four hours to begin with and then three times a day later on. I made the mistake of trying to eat vaguely solid food. Whatever you do, don't. Liquidise food or eat soup. Swilling water around your mouth after every few mouthfuls was effective. Drinking plenty of water and rinsing my mouth with salt-water mouthwash definitely aided the healing process (apparently good aftercare can take time off the time needed for the piercing to heal) and took down the swelling. If swelling is particularly bad, I found letting ice melt on the piercing hel ps a great deal. However, it's not fun eating mush, so I've tried to get back on solids as soon as I can and a week later I've succeeded. My doctor also said that eating solids when possible aids healing, but don't over-do it - only eat small pieces at a time.
Enjoy!
Bunny