I have an addiction to piercings, and as soon as had I first one, my bellybutton, I always had to have more. Now, I haven't been very successful on getting all that I want, the fact that I'm poor and have strict parents being some of the reason behind this, but I have managed to get a few in my time.
At A Glance Author Sarah Contact Sarah@bme.anon When A week ago Artist Chris Studio Need A New Hole Location Windsor, Ont, Canada So with that in mind I went to Chris at Need a New Hole to get my nose pierced for the second time on the same side, but due to a mess up by my previous piercer it was impossible to do it and have it look proper. So I had money burning in my pocket and decided to just get something else. But what? I decided on a piercing that I had seen and read a bit about online that was kind of unique, my lip web (also known as smiley). I talked to Chris about it and he told me that he had done it a few times and that it's pretty easy to take care of.
In went the needle, ring and ball. Relatively painless, more like just a quick pinch. I was told the rules, no drinking beer, and wash with mouthwash provided after every meal and cigarette for 2 weeks. Easy enough. Going to meet up with friends I found it wasn't that painful and really the only time it hurt was after a night of drinking, my mouth would get dry and my lip would swell up from it.
I stuck to the mouthwash for about a week, and really not as many times as I should have a day, but I have a nasty habit of not taking care of piercings. It stopped hurting at all after about 3 weeks and I figured that it was healed. I never really played it with except to show it off to people, and for the most part forgot about it.
I noticed after awhile that I couldn't really move it at all. It seemed to have healed into one position, and when I tried to move it around, it really hurt or started to bleed. I shrugged it off and just left it be. A lot of friends where warning me to look for signs of rejection, because that was a usual course of this piercing. But to me, it didn't seem to be getting looser, in fact, it was getting tighter.
It came to the point, about 4 months after getting it, where my lip was always swollen, and my teeth were starting to hurt constantly. I couldn't figure out what caused it because I had thought it was healed. I dealt with the pain for about 3 weeks when I happened to be downtown and stopped in to see another piercer at a different Need a New Hole location. He told me that my piercing was actually doing the opposite of what I thought it would do. It was sinking into my gums. He made me sit down and tried to take it out right away. It hut a lot though and I flinched.
Now what I really don't like what he did then. He yelled at me that if I moved he wasn't going to do it and that I was on the verge of loosing my front teeth. He said even if he removed it the damage to my gums was so extensive that I might still loose my teeth. I started crying and left the store, my mouth hurting even more than usual because he had tugged on my piercing.
I freaked out and tried to work up my courage for about a month while in pain before I went to see a dentist. He assured me that I wasn't going to lose my teeth and told me that it was horribly infected and he couldn't do anything till I got on some antibiotics. The next week after taking my medicine and using a special mouthwash I went back. He froze my gums and took it out. I had a deep indent and could see where my piercing had been sitting for the last 6 months. He then scraped the inside of the hole so that it would reopen and heal closed. It didn't hurt at all and I felt so much better. Relieved mentally as well as physically.
The moral of my story is, if a piercing is unusual their is probably a reason why. Also, always follow a piercers cleaning instructions and remember that a piercing doesn't complete healing for at least 6 months. This experience didn't turn my off piercings but instead taught me that I need to look into things more before I get them, and instead of just getting things and leaving them to take care of them. I loved to show off that piercing because of my own carelessness lost it.