At A Glance Author sara Contact sara@bme.anon When It just happened Artist R Studio E.C Location Michigan I had recently decided I wanted my tongue web done. And having a friend who works at a high profile shop nearby as a piercer tends to make these decisions move along fairly quickly. I researched the piercing on bmezine, and asked around about problems and healing times on various forums. I manage a grocery store, so a short healing time and no talking problems was important to me. My boss isn't really into piercings, so I needed it to be as unnoticeable as possible. When I originally had decided to get it done, he made sure I was busy at work and I didn't get out till 3 hours too late to make it to the shop.
I went into the shop yesterday, with a friend who also had decided to get it done. After visiting with my piercer friend, I decided to go for it, and my piercer set up his tray. I had read online, and heard, that tongue webs are tricky, as the piercer has to get there fingers and tools in your mouth to get the ball in the captive hoop, So for once I was pretty nervous. Not so much about pain, but saliva, having to keep my tongue still, ect. The thought of getting spit on R, really grossed me out. Even if he did have gloves on. I felt bad for him.
R sat up the piercing equipment, opened each of the packages, (the jewelry, needle, and various other tools) and had me rinse my mouth with Listerine for 30 seconds. Next, he had me open my mouth, put my tongue on the roof of my mouth as close to the front as possible, and slid the needle in. Nearly painless. I was pretty surprised. He followed through with the jewelry, and then came the ball. This is where the problems began. First, we couldn't get that ball in for anything, my tongue wouldn't stay where I put it, and I couldn't stand the saliva in my mouth, so I kept wanting to swallow. If you're thinking of getting this piercing, It's much harder then you'd imagine, holding your tongue up and forward. So when the ball wouldn't go in, we decided to try for a different hoop, something a bit bigger. Out came the jewelry, and in went another needle. New jewelry in, and instead of trying to get the ball in while sitting up, R had me lie down, to try a different angle at getting the ball in. Problem number two arose. I swallowed my spit, and in turn the new ring came out. Needle number three. This time, R shut the hoop completely before having my lie down. I lied down, he separated the hoop and after some moving around he finally got the ball in. I LOVE the piercing, but what a hassle.. Step went next, and was done in minute, needle in, jewelry in, ball in. No problems. Her first piercing other then ears, my 5th piercing other then ears.
We left with our new stickers from the business, (each tattoo artist and piercer has a sticker with a caricature of them on it), and our packet with aftercare instructions. I have my nipples, nose, and a tongue pierced as well. The only problems I've had as far as interference with my tongue ring, is the ball clicking against the jewelry. I can hear a faint tinkling when I talk, especially when I talk on the phone. I haven't had hardly any swelling, and Steph has had no swelling. I've had the piercing for about 24 hours, and am eating and chewing fine. I've noticed an excess amount of saliva in my mouth, especialy last night when I was trying to fall asleep. I hope that ends soon.
I recommend taking a pain reliever before sleep, that reduces swelling, and an hour before meals. While eating, your tongue will think there is food under it, and you'll probably notice a bit more saliva then normal, and your tongue moving to get food out. You have to think 'no, that's not food underneath there', and eventually you'll get used to it. And of course, using the right mouthwash, something that does not have alcohol in it helps hugely on pain and swelling. Rinsing after eating is key to keeping food out of a oral piercing, and staying away from products with yeast in them helps keep away infection. (beer, bread, and other items). That night I got my piercing done, we were throwing a benefit for a friend who had passed away, and I stuck to ice water, and tried to not talk very much to keep from putting too much stress on the piercing. Web piercings have a tendency to migrate, so unnecessary stress is a bad idea.