At A Glance
Author	Courtney
Contact	marsdweller@hotmail.com
When	It just happened
Artist	Myself
Studio	My home
Location	Ottawa, Ontario

It was calling my name. I could hear it in my head when I had any chance to sit and think...which was a lot since this is summer vacation. No use going into details about my deep interest in body modifications, me doing this should be indicative enough. A few weeks prior, I had been browsing through the new image updates on BME, as per my usual habit, and I stalled on one of the piercings. It was titled "Prayer Piercing". It was a surface piercing located on the outside edge of the hand, about half an inch below the joint of your pinky.

I right clicked and saved it in my "one day" files, since I like to remember, if not actually do them. Well, everyday after that, I kept tugging on the skin there, near my pinky, pondering the thought of it. It couldn't be that hard, nor could it be too painful. If I could do my nape, I could do anything. I decided that, if it was going to be, it was going to be Do It Yourself. I was not going to pay for a piercing that I was going to remove within a few months anyway.

I had read that the rejection rate for such locations were high, for variable reasons, including the fact that it's in a vulnerable position and on the hand, where germs and bacteria are always around. Also, as a nursing student, I had no intentions of leaving it there once the semester started again, in September.

I asked my favorite piercers about it, and all of them did not recommend it, but said that it was do-able. I also found out that it was practically impossible to injure any nerve or tissue in that area, unless you literally stabbed yourself right through the hand.

I was still rolling the idea around in my head, quietly contemplating. I read the FAQ sheet for DIY piercings and finally got around to gathering equipment.

I am going into my second year of nursing, so cross-contamination and sterilization is no new topic to me. I wasn't going to be stupid. I decided the only thing I couldn't do was autoclave my jewelry, since it wasn't at my disposal. It was brand new, but I still decided to toss it into my pressure cooker, as recommended in the FAQ sheet. Once it was done, I took it out donning sterile gloves and wrapped it up in sterile dressing. It was ready.

My mother works in a medical setting, so we always have needles and sterile trays lying around the house (thus me having access to gloves and dressings); that was no problem. Eventually, as I was getting ready and almost had everything I was going to need, I started to worry that I might not be able to actually inflict that much pain upon my own self. I could take it if others did it, but could I do it to myself?

The night before I was planning on doing it, I thought maybe I should test myself out. I grabbed the needle I had set aside and opened it up. I starred at my hand. On three, I was going to try to push it in as far as I could. I tore out an alcohol swab and rubbed my skin in the area I was going to pierce. I don't think I even got the bevel under the skin before I stopped. I was so disappointed that I knew I wouldn't be able to do it.

No. I would NOT let that stop me. I jumped on the computer and started chatting it up with a long-distance piercer friend of mine, old-time pro. I had searched my cupboards and found 2% Xylocaine jelly. What use could it be to me? I found out that, no, I could not directly inject it into my skin, however, I was advised that it would work if I applied it to the needle before actually piercing. Assured, I grabbed a new needle and the xylocaine and set them both aside with the rest of my kit. The only non-sterile object there was the bottle of xylocaine.

I slept surprisingly well that night. The next morning, I woke at around 10 am with pain on my mind. If I was going to do it, I had to be in the mood. I started psyching myself up right away, knowing that I would have to be in the perfect "zone" to do it.

I got online, did a bit of last minute research and finally headed to my room to do the procedure.

For a table, I used a wooden box with a big round piece of glass over top of it. I used a bleach formula to wipe it down to assure its cleanliness. I then opened a basic wound packing tray and pulled out two sterile fields, laying them on the glass surface. I opened up the dressing that contained my jewelry and placed it on there as well.

For the piercing, I had decided to use a 14 gauge needle. My jewelry (a standard stainless steel CBR) was also a 14g, however I did not have access to a 12 gauge needle, so 14g it would have to be. I had a few unopened needles, so I opened two and drop them on the field, ensuring I did not contaminate them. I did the same with a few 4x4 dressings, in case I bled.

Since I had no actual piercing-related forceps (penningtons or foersters), I decided to use the only thing I had available that was sterile: needle drivers. I plopped them out of their packaging and onto my field. That was the last of my equipment.

I took a deep breath and got up to wash my hands with iodine-based soap (the stuff you see surgeons wash their hands with). I payed extra attention to the spot I was going to pierce, to ensure I was nice and clean. I dried off my hands using a clean towel, threw it away and walked, hands in air, to my piercing area. Once I squeezed out a drop of xylocaine on my sheet, I opened up my sterile gloves and applied one to my right hand, the one I was going to use to pierce.

I picked up the needle drivers and squeezed them on the outside of my hand. I decided I was going to do it a little bit higher than I had planned, since there was less skin to pierce there. I took the cap off my needle and rolled it around in the topical anesthetic, making sure to soak the bevel. Once that was ready, I set it down and clamped my skin. (I had previously applied an elastic to the clamp, since I could not actually CLAMP it.).

I poked it in a bit, waited a few seconds for the xylocaine to disperse and continued on. I was surprised at the amount of pressure it took for me to get the needle to go in. I was pressing down on it quite a bit. Suddenly, out of nowhere, my baby finger twitched violently, and I retracted the needle, terrified I had hit something. I put the needle down in a cup I had put aside and took a deep breath. I inspected my hand. I moved it around, wiggling my fingers. Everything looked fine and felt fine.

I opened another needle and started all over again, moving the needle more towards the outside of my hand and less into my hand. This time I managed to get it all the way through. I had to practice deep breathing for the last part though, as the outside skin was far from frozen and stung quite a bit as the bevel cut through.

This is when I ran into my first problem: I had never read, or remembered from previous surface piercings, if it was appropriate to remove the clamp before inserting the jewelry. I would have thought no, since it is easier to keep the skin thickness to a minimum. My clamps were slipping off however, so I unclamped them.

I realized as soon as the clamps were off that it was extremely difficult for me to move the needle up or down. I took my jewelry and lined it up with the bevel. This was slightly awkward for me, since I had pierced from top to bottom, and inserting from the bottom was not "natural". I was tugging hard on the needle to get it to retract, and then, suddenly, it pulled out completely. I tried following through with the CBR, but my hand was a little bit swollen so the hole was practically inaccessible, especially 14g to 14g.

I sighed, contemplated quitting, but I figured, "hey, it's numb now!". Once again, I re-opened a new needle, reclamped my skin and pierced right next to my joint. By this time I knew what to expect and got through without too much unexpected pain.

After a few times of trying unsuccessfully to thread the jewelry, I took a short break, leaving the needle in my hand. I raised it above my head to reduce some of the swelling and minor bleeding. It felt like at least a half hour had passed, so I brought it back down, and concentrated on pushing the CBR through. Eventually I just pulled out the needle and stuck the ring in, feeling the way through.

"Pop" and it came through! I could feel my lungs empty as I breathed out, relieved. I had done it! Wow! I sat, contently staring at it for a few minutes. I then removed my gloves and took the clamps, closing the ring. Unfortunately, this caused it to become horribly deformed. I wouldn't even say it became oval. It was worse than an oval. It had a pretty colorful bead though!

Three hours later, after two extra-strength Advil, my hand was throbbing and cold, since I couldn't hide it under my clothes, as I always had done. And then it suddenly hit me. How was I going to hide this from my boss? Not to mention I was planning on getting my tattoo the next day, which mean talking with my piercer and tattoo artist. What would they say? Certainly not approve and most likely advice me to remove it!

I ended up taking it out that evening, around midnight. It was bitter sweet. While it was finally starting to feel better, it was nice to have my hand back.

I took good care of it for the time I did have it. As soon as it was in, I gave it a good ten minutes in a salt bath and ensured it stayed away from anything remotely contaminated.

I will most likely do it again one day, perhaps not in the same spot, but I will do another piercing myself. I thoroughly enjoyed the ability to control the amount of pain and the speed of the piercing. The experience may be better once I receive proper training for that procedure, but that will come with time,

I am confident that this piercing would have had the same lifetime as any other surface hand piercing. I used the very utmost care in ensuring that everything was sterile, so this would not have been a problem.

On a side note: Don't do try at home!