| At A Glance | |
| Author | Remedy |
| Contact | IndepndntxXxEcho@aol.com |
| When | A month ago |
| Artist | Bishop |
| Studio | Minds Eye |
| Location | San Antonio, Texas |
One week later I go in to have it done. I'd never seen this particular piercing in person and was only able to find one picture of it on the internet. That made me a little nervous...I didn't understand why I wasn't seeing more of this piercing. Was it because they always rejected? Or is it just a bad location in general? Taking all of this into consideration I still decided to have it done.
I'm pretty sure he used a 14g, all I know is that needle looked freaking huge to me. Originally we were going to use a regular surface bar but later decided a curved bar would put less pressure on the skin and would go better with the natural curve of my hand. He told me we might have to adjust the angle of the curve later depending on how the swelling goes. Then he took a penlight and shown in through my skin to make sure there were no major veins running through. Everything was clear so he marked it and clamped it down. When he pushed the needle though I could hear and feel the flesh tearing. Honestly, it didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would, and the second the needle was in the pain stopped. He ran the bar through, screwed on the ball, and it was over. In all it's about an inch deep...and by depth I mean length. Before I left he gave me explicit instruction on how and when to clean it...soak in hot salt water twice a day and thoroughly clean with antibacterial soap 3 times a day – no more, no less. And don't mess with it!!! The whole process...instructions and all...took about 30 minutes. Right afterwards I walked next door to go to work. It looked like hell for the first day or so from the bruising and purple ink he used to mark it...but there was never any pain or soreness. In fact I hardly even notice its there until I snag it on my hair or whatnot. The edges are still a little discolored but I was told that this is normal with most surface piercings and it may last for a few months. I only need to worry if the middle becomes discolored or the skin around the edges starts receding. So far, so good...and it's been about 3 weeks.
About a week after I had it done, I caught it on my pants pocket and pulled it pretty hard. It bled more that it did what it was pierced. It still didn't hurt, and the bleeding stopped pretty quickly so I wasn't worried. Two says later I was cleaning it and this massive pocket of brown puss came squishing out one side of it. I milked out all the puss and scrubbed it up really well, then went to see Bishop (the piercing artist) the next day. He said it was probably a mix of plasma and blood from when I caught it on my pants and said I shouldn't be worried. He explained that the brown color was most likely blood from when I ripped it, and if it was infected it would have more of a yellow or green tint to it. Makes sense. Regardless of how it looks, he said he wanted to see it again in a week just to check things out and possibly change the curve in the bar.
A few days later I went to a show and got tossed around a little in the pit. I never directly hit my hand on anything but with all the crowd surfing and whatnot it still got hit a little. Two days later I noticed the puss again, only this time it was a light green/yellow color...and sticky. Great...infected. After consulting with Bishop he had me start soaking my hand in the saltwater again, but had me continue cleaning it as usual. Once a day I try to milk out any puss that may be in there. For the past day or so I can get out only a tiny amount. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it under control. It worries me to have the risk of an infection so close to a joint in my hand. I've heard horror stories of joint infections causing the loss the limbs.
As of today everything looks pretty good. I had another check up with Bishop today and he said we didn't need to chance the curve of the bar. Good news because the less damage the flesh the better for healing. I've gotten many different reactions so far. Most being 'did it hurt'. Of course it hurt dumbass. It seems a lot of people aren't too accepting of it. I expected some older people to have a problem with it, but even people my own age have asked me 'why the hell did you do that'. Oh well. I like it and that's all that matters right? My suggestion for anyone considering a surface hand piercing...DO YOUR RESEARCH! Make sure your lifestyle and occupation won't be a hazard to the health of your piercing. Find a studio you trust and make sure the piercing artist is willing to see you for follow up afterwards.
