Right now I am typing very slowly, and very carefully. Every movement my left hand makes causes more pain and soreness. I had my thumb web pierced just a few hours ago, and have to admit that I'm feeling the discomfort more than I expected to.
At A Glance Author DirtyPrettyThings Contact DirtyPrettyThings@bme.anon IAM DirtyPrettyThings When It just happened Artist Jose, IAM: orkozero Studio Legacy Imports Location Stockton, CA It all started when my boyfriend John and I stopped at Exotic Java for a coffee. One of the full-time staff members, Eva, was working tonight. She's a cool girl, cool piercings & tattoos, she's totally pretty, and always friendly to us. I see her a lot because the piercing shop, Legacy Imports, is adjoining the coffee shop, and I'm at one or the other at least three times a week.
While Eva was mixing together my order for a small blended toffee coffee, I noticed she had gotten her thumb web pierced. Right after I noticed it she asked me "Did you see my new piercing?"
I have been seeing a lot of hand piercings lately. I've never even considered it. But Eva said that I should get mine pierced, and when someone suggests a piercing, I generally go for it.
Eva's hand was pierced maybe a day or two ago. She said it didn't hurt, but her hand was sore. "If you get yours pierced we can be web buddies!" Eva declared when she saw my hesitation at her suggestion.
I laughed at her comment, but Eva insisted it was a cool piercing. She even said the guys next door would do it for free. A free piercing? Why not?
We sauntered into the piercing shop and told the piercer on duty, Jose, that I wanted my thumb web pierced just like Eva's. I guess he didn't take me seriously because he didn't say anything. Eva was really excited that I was going to go through with it, but Jose wasn't even responding to us.
I knew Jose was probably messing with me, so I told Eva, "Well, I guess Jose doesn't think it's a good idea, so I'm just gonna leave now". Eva looked at Jose like she was going to cry. We're all pretty dramatic when we're just playing around. Jose had already taken the barbell out for the piercing and didn't show it to me until I pretended to head to the exit door.
Eva had to go back to work, and I leaped into the piercing room and relaxed in the reclining chair while Jose got his supplies together. This would be my first piercing done by Jose. The other piercer in the shop, Russell, has done everything else on my body.
On the prep tray, Jose had lain out a short 14g barbell, some lube, a packaged needle, and took out what he said was his favorite tool-a small size Pennington clamp. This would be another "spontaneous" piercing, so I tried to ask all my questions while Jose looked at my hand and marked the spots for the needle entry.
I asked Jose if there were any veins in that part of my hand that might be damaged. He said that it wasn't the veins that I had to worry about, but the area is full of nerves, and this piercing would hurt.
My left hand would be the one getting pierced since I'm right-handed. That way I wouldn't cause more trauma the piercing by the extra pen holding and whatnot. Jose also said that basically a thumb web piercing is a surface piercing, and would most likely reject, because of the piercing site and the level of activity used in that part of my body.
Jose held my hand at his waist level and brought the needle to the marked spot. He did that typical "take a deep breath in/let it out slowly" routine. It was fun to watch the needle go through, and it really did hurt, but it was definitely bearable. The jewelry fit snugly into my hand web but the soreness had already begun and I didn't want to open my hand all the way to inspect the piercing.
There was absolutely no bleeding. Jose wanted to take pictures so I "posed" my hand into three different positions so he could get a good view at different angles. He didn't charge me for the piercing, but I gave him a tip.
Jose and John went to the computer to look up funny websites and I sat down near them. My hand started to hurt a little more but Eva declared that we were now "web sisters" and the laughing we did made a little bit of the pain go away.
When I got home I washed my hand thoroughly with anti-bacterial soap and cold water. The cold water soothed my hand a lot.
I don't know what condition my hand will be in tomorrow, how swollen it will be. Maybe it won't be swollen at all, but right now I'm definitely sore enough to take a few Tylenol.
All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with my perfectly placed thumb web piercing. And I'm glad to be Eva's Web Sister.