Dolphin in New Orleans

At A Glance Author James Contact james70115@juno.com Artist Elayne Angel Studio Rings of Desire Location New Orleans, LA

I wanted a new piercing, and after some investigation, I decided on a "dolphin". I stopped by Rings of Desire on Thursday, and found out Angel would be back on Saturday.

On Saturday, I tried to get there when the shop opened (noon), to beat the weekend tourist rush, and was successful, being the first client of the day. After talking it over with Angel, I decided on 10ga tygon. For the initial healing, the tygon "bar" would come out the top of my urethra, alongside my PA. I agreed with her that the flexible tygon would probably be more comfortable for the healing phase because of the angle of the piercing if metal jewelry would be put in. While metal may have not been uncomfortable, I thought it was a safe bet the flexible tygon would be a wiser choice.

I was given an excellent set of cleaning instructions, which I read over while Angel prepared the room. The room was spotless. The needle receiving tube, jewelry,needle, and the other items were laid out nicely on a sterile tray. Angel called me in,cleaned the area to be pierced, and we then talked about placement. I decided to put it below my frenum, at the natural indentation (hard to describe here). She removed my PA for the piercing. She lubricated the needle receiving tube, slid it down my urethra into place (not a bad sensation, really!), and lined it up. Angel told me to focus on my breathing and take a long outward breath. The piercing was basically over and done with, with a small lovely pinch, before I knew it (sometimes I wish the sensation would last just a little longer!). She put my PA ring back in and wrapped my penis in gauze, and placed a surgical glove around that. There was some bleeding, as there was with my PA.

Angel then specifically gave me aftercare instructions, basically verbatim of the sheet I had received earlier, and how through industry experience and personal experiences, the instructions have evolved to such a great point. I remember diluted Hibiclens and Betadine, which from today's standards seem a little harsh. We chatted about how our paths had crossed over the years in many ways. Angel had also pierced me and a friend at the Gauntlet NYC Grand Opening in 1991. I told her when Jim Ward did my PA so long ago, it was before the needle receiving tube, with the old "Qtip" method! Angel asked me to let her know how the healing went, and if the tygon was the best way to go, etc. Because this was a newer placement, she hadn't got a lot of feedback from other clients. I told her I'd let her know when I came back in for my permanent jewelry, a curved barbell.

Rings of Desire is one of the best shops I have ever been to. The counter staff is friendly and helpful, and will answer any and all questions. Absolutely no attitude! As I sat while Angel prepared the piercing room, I watched the counter staff answer questions I'm sure they get asked a hundred times a day, but they did so in a genuinely honest and sincere way. I work with the public every day, and I know this is not an easy task, but they all handled it with great aplomb. The selection of piercing jewelry is awesome as well. I just got some palmwood plugs in 5/8 inch, and a cool stainless septum spike. Whenever they've been out of stock of something, they offer to special order it, and it's usually in, in less than a week. Everyone takes great effort and pride in making you feel comfortable and right at home. In my opinion, Angel is one of the best piercers in the country, if not the best. Her attitude and professionalism is reflected by her entire staff. It's great that I live so close. If you are in New Orleans, there is no other place to go!

Healing thus far:

When I removed the surgical glove and gauze for the first time about an hour later, there was quite a bit of blood, and still a little bleeding (but I really had to pee!). I kept the fresh piercing wrapped in a new clean surgical glove (Angel had given me a couple of clean ones) until about 1 am. I then soaked it in warm sea salt water for a little,rinsed off, and went to bed.

The next morning, I had some dried blood at the site of the piercing and on my PA ring. I soaked in the shower, and cleaned it with some Provon. I have some discoloration/bruising near the piercing, but nothing out of the ordinary. There was some blood clots which came loose after soaking, but the blood does not seem to stick to the tygon like it does to metal. It still stings a little to urinate, but not as much as I expected or remembered from my PA (but hey, that was 10 years ago).

Tuesday I still had a little blood on my underwear, but just a little. I do have some shifting over the day, the tygon bar shifting towards or away from the piercing, but no discomfort. I've been taking long baths and soaking the piercing. I do put a little sea salt in the water, but very little. I've also been cleaning the piercing with Provon every day as well.

One week later (from the above Tuesday), there was no soreness or discharge. All the discoloration is gone as well. I am soaking the piercing once a day and cleaning it with Provon once a day as well. I have switched from briefs to boxers because there seems to be less shifting of the tygon bar when I wear boxers. The only discomfort I have had is when the tygon bar shifts and pulls inside my urethra, which seems to happen more in briefs. The piercing itself is healing wonderfully, and I look forward to getting the curved barbell to replace the tygon after the piercing is completely healed, hopefully in about 5 weeks.