Piercing question

[shaynar]

I want to get my bellybutton pierced. I'm totally psyched about it but I just found out it can take 4-6 months to heal and within that time I'm not allowed to go swimming or submerge under water at all. Now I'm not sure b/c I'm supposed to go away in a few months. Does anyone have any experience with this? Anything would help!

Thanks!

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

I had this done right after I graduated high school and was thin. I was a lifeguard that summer and yes, you can get your piercing wet. It can take 4-6 months to heal. Some people's piercings don't heal though. Mine never really did. Depends on how your body reacts to it.

 

[OceanGirl]

I had mine pierced when I was 16. I was never told I couldn't go swimming or anything like that. I never had a problem with mine and from memory, I don't think it took anywhere near 4 - 6 months to heal.

I took mine out towards the end of my first pregnancy and couldn't get it back in afterwards. I now have an awful looking scar where it used to be and wish I never got it done!

 

[Mr. BAW]

Our middle son had his nipples done; if you need advice on that maybe I can help....

 

[Thora]

I got mine done when I was 18. It took a month or so to heal. I was told not to go swimming or anything, but I did anyways, since I got it done in the spring. I had no problems with infections or anything. I guess it's different for everyone. Good luck!

 

[tiny dancer]

Our middle son had his nipples done; if you need advice on that maybe I can help....

 

[BonosBaby12]

Ouch Mr Baw! As for the belly button piercing I think you will be ok with getting it done. I had a couple of friends who did it and they got it wet with no problem. Maybe it depends on who does the piercing with the instructions they give.

 

[Achtung_Bebe]

I had mine pierced when I was 18. Not only is it ok to get it wet, but you will probably be instructed to soak the piercing in water w/ sea salt a couple of times a day. If you do this as told, then you shouldn't have any problems. Mine healed up completely in like 2 months. My ex sister-in-law had hers pierced but did not soak like she should've and it closed up, she tried repiercing it herself and is now left with an ugly looking purple scar.

 

[Liesje]

I've always wanted to get mine done, but considering the way my first ear piercings are going, I've reconsidered!

 

[Chizip]

i would definitely do the nips too

 

[meegannie]

I've always wanted to get mine done, but considering the way my first ear piercings are going, I've reconsidered!

Were your ears pierced with a gun? My ears were, and I have problems with them all the time (except for the first holes and the one in my cartilige), but I also have my nose and bellybutton pierced, and I haven't had any problems with either of those piercings. Gun piercings aren't the best and can be really bad at healing properly.

 

[shaynar]

AWESOME!!!!! thanks for the info guys, I'm gonna go this weekend to do it!

 

[U2Man]

This reminds me of your good girl gone bad thread

 

[Liesje]

Were your ears pierced with a gun? My ears were, and I have problems with them all the time (except for the first holes and the one in my cartilige), but I also have my nose and bellybutton pierced, and I haven't had any problems with either of those piercings. Gun piercings aren't the best and can be really bad at healing properly.

No, the girl had some little thing, like a stamp for each ear, that she lined the studs up in and then pushed them through. Unless that's what you mean by a gun. I got them pierced 2.5 months ago and they're still red, pussy, and my ear lobes are hard and swollen. I wanted to wear pretty earrings for my wedding, but I'm about ready to throw in the towel.

 

[snowbunny00774]

No, the girl had some little thing, like a stamp for each ear, that she lined the studs up in and then pushed them through. Unless that's what you mean by a gun. I got them pierced 2.5 months ago and they're still red, pussy, and my ear lobes are hard and swollen. I wanted to wear pretty earrings for my wedding, but I'm about ready to throw in the towel.

Try soaking a cotton ball in Epsom Salted water ( you can buy epsom salts in any drug store walmart type place )and clean your ear lobes with that each night. Hold it there for as long as you can.(front and back)...it will draw all the crap out. It might look gross for a few days after you start doing it but then it will get better as there are less nasties left each time. I hope you can have pretty earrings for your wedding - good luck.

 

[meegannie]

No, the girl had some little thing, like a stamp for each ear, that she lined the studs up in and then pushed them through. Unless that's what you mean by a gun. I got them pierced 2.5 months ago and they're still red, pussy, and my ear lobes are hard and swollen. I wanted to wear pretty earrings for my wedding, but I'm about ready to throw in the towel.

Yep, that's a gun. The problem with guns is that they can't be sterilized properly (in an autoclave), and they can cause problems with healing because a blunt stud is being forced through skin, compressing the tissue. Since a needle is sharper and hollow, it kind of punches a hole in the skin for the jewelry. Of course, it's probably a bit too late for you to take out the earrings, let the tissue heal, and then have your ears repierced later by a professional piercer.

Have you ruled out a possibility of an allergy to the metal? Maybe you could go to a professional piercer and see what they would recommend since they often sell solutions to help with healing and will have better quality jewelry than most mall jewelry chain stores. Also try the warm salt water method that snowbunny00774 recommended. That's what I used for the healing of my nose and bellybutton piercings, and they both healed well.

Like I said, my second and third holes in both ears still bleed and get pussy sometimes when I wear earrings in them, but they somehow managed to heal enough that I've had them for seven or eight years and only wear jewelry in them every once in a while and they've never closed up. Hopefully yours will heal fully and you'll have no more problems, but if not, maybe they'll at least heal well enough now that you can get by with only wearing earrings on special occassions.

 

[Thora]

Have you ruled out a possibility of an allergy to the metal? Maybe you could go to a professional piercer and see what they would recommend since they often sell solutions to help with healing and will have better quality jewelry than most mall jewelry chain stores.

Great point! I can only wear stainless steel, so I've made sure that all my piercings have been done with that. I had an allergy test done when I was a little kid, so thankfully I knew about this before I started getting piercings.

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

i would definitely do the nips too

Wait, you're going to pierce your nipples?

 

[She Is Raging]

I had mine pierced when I was 18. Not only is it ok to get it wet, but you will probably be instructed to soak the piercing in water w/ sea salt a couple of times a day.

IF you're going away to the ocean... sounds like things will be easier for you.

 

[Carek1230]

My son had his tongue pierced at age 16. I was so sick of hearing him talk about it I called a bunch of piercing places and just drove him to one after school one day (hoping he would chicken out). Most places won't do a tongue pierce on anyone younger than 18. The guy who did the piercing was very good, very patient, very sterile and thorough. I Was really impressed. He was so good with my cocky son too. They had a conversation about it then he told my son to look thru a book of pics and info and to think about it for 15 mins. After that they talked again, went thru the whole procedure, we filled out paperwork, paid the $40, chose the jewelry and my son sat up in the chair. It was gross to watch and at this point I think the piercing guy and I thought my son would chicken out. We were told once the process got to a certain point there was no turning back....well my son went through with it, like a trooper except for the huge alligator tear that rolled down his face and the fact he nearly passed out when he was done. We left the shop and headed to the drug store for the $20 in special mouthrinse and by the time we got home Nick's tongue had begun to swell. The poor kid couldn't eat for 4 days He enjoyed showign it off when it was done, but the very night he had it done he told me if anyone were to have come to him asking for his advice he would talk them out of it. To this day he tells people NOT to have it done. He doesn't really regret it, he doesn't flaunt it anymore and his dentists complain about the chips in his teeth from the tongue ring jewelry. I am sure he will remove it one day soon.

P.S. I took great pleasure in how much allowing my son to have this done pissed off his father!!

 

[Mr. BAW]

AWESOME!!!!! thanks for the info guys, I'm gonna go this weekend to do it!

Which ones???????????

 

[shaynar]

Which ones???????????

hahaha.... only the bellybutton....

This reminds me of your good girl gone bad thread

 

[AvsGirl41]

Like I said, my second and third holes in both ears still bleed and get pussy sometimes when I wear earrings in them, but they somehow managed to heal enough that I've had them for seven or eight years and only wear jewelry in them every once in a while and they've never closed up. Hopefully yours will heal fully and you'll have no more problems, but if not, maybe they'll at least heal well enough now that you can get by with only wearing earrings on special occassions. [/B]

It's so weird, this happened to me, too. I can't keep multiple piercings in my ears--the original two are fine, but anything beyond that immediately gets red, painful and oozy every time. I finally gave up. I never even got as far as the cartilege!!

It's why I've never done body piercings--I wanted my belly button done for a long time, but finally decided against it, largely because of all the problems I had with my ears.

 

[Liesje]

I always wanted a belly piercing when I was younger and did gymnastics becuase I had flat abs. It would've got ripped out on bars or something, so I decided to wait until I was done competing. Now I could get one, but my abs got fat!

 

[starsgoblue]

I've got six piercings, including one in each ear. And all of them have healed differently. I actually had cartilage in the top part of my ear done too but my body totally rejected it. The only one that still acts funny after 3 years of having it is my nose piercing, it can't take having the jewelery taken out too much. It really depends on your own body and where you get it done. I've known alot of people who have had problems with thier belly piercings but I personally think they didn't take good care of them, mine was totally healed in two weeks.

 

[u2granny]

Our middle son had his nipples done; if you need advice on that maybe I can help....

My oldest son did that. As long as I didn't have to see I was okay.

As far as bellybuttons go, my daughter had her's done for her 16th birthday. It was fine for about two years and suddenly began turning red. She had an infection and had to take it out for a while. She never could get it back in. I don't think she regrets it because she is talking of doing it again.

 

[u2granny]

Yep, that's a gun. The problem with guns is that they can't be sterilized properly (in an autoclave), and they can cause problems with healing because a blunt stud is being forced through skin, compressing the tissue. Since a needle is sharper and hollow, it kind of punches a hole in the skin for the jewelry. Of course, it's probably a bit too late for you to take out the earrings, let the tissue heal, and then have your ears repierced later by a professional piercer.

Have you ruled out a possibility of an allergy to the metal? Maybe you could go to a professional piercer and see what they would recommend since they often sell solutions to help with healing and will have better quality jewelry than most mall jewelry chain stores. Also try the warm salt water method that snowbunny00774 recommended. That's what I used for the healing of my nose and bellybutton piercings, and they both healed well.

Like I said, my second and third holes in both ears still bleed and get pussy sometimes when I wear earrings in them, but they somehow managed to heal enough that I've had them for seven or eight years and only wear jewelry in them every once in a while and they've never closed up. Hopefully yours will heal fully and you'll have no more problems, but if not, maybe they'll at least heal well enough now that you can get by with only wearing earrings on special occassions.

I have four piercings in one ear and five in the other. Three of them are in the cartilage. The only ones that have had problems are the ones done with a piercing gun. Needles are definately the best way to go.

 

[BonosBaby12]

I had my ears done with a piercing gun when I first got my ears pierced. Ended up developing a bad infections in both ears later on though. However once they healed and I had them done again than they were fine. Had all of this done at Piercing Pagoda.

 

[Liesje]

Have you ruled out a possibility of an allergy to the metal?

Could be. I use white gold piercing studs and have white gold rings in, but maybe I'm allergic to gold? The infections are only getting worse. My ears were fine for the first few weeks, and by now they're bleeding and pussy and both earlobes are swollen and feel rock hard and are purple in certain spots. I just took them out b/c it hurts to sleep and anytime I touch my ear lobes or earrings, not even hard, it's like they explode. They'll probably close up, but at least I tried.

 

[shaynar]

THANKS EVERYONE!!!

I did it last night!
(Hurt a little bit) but nothing that tequilla can't fix

I love it, here's to hoping it heals in time!