This summer at camp, the end of August, I decided that I wanted a new piercing. Even though we did not have a gun or even a needle, a couple of my fellow staff members and myself asked our piercing-savvy friend (she was the camp nurse/lifeguard too) to do it for us. She has done all 15+ of her ear piercings herself. I did not want to do anything THAT extreme, but I wanted to rebel just a little. I happened to have some studs with me, and we had sterilizing equipment. The others wanted their lobes done... but I wanted my cartilage pierced badly.
At A Glance Author courtnee Contact courtnee@bme.anon When It just happened Artist Myself/My friend Studio My bathroom/Camp Location Nova Scotia, Canada It was quite an adventure, to say the least. We were trying to hide from the director, as she had the camp committee in her cabin, so we ended up moving inside. Good thing the campers were not nearby. We sterilized EVERYTHING with Antiseptic and heat. I went last. The others' piercings went well, not too gory... but I was nervous.
Finally, it was my turn. She grabbed the pink stud and asked me if I was ready. I am a wimp, by the way... I clamped onto the table and she told me that since it was cartilage, it would pop more than once... unlike my newly pierced friends who had only a single pop per lobe. She warned me, and I nearly chickened out. But I convinced myself back into it. Some more of the "Are you sure you want to do this?" "Your parents aren't going to get mad at me, are they?" "Do you want to wait?" comments, and I realized that I had to do this NOW. I regained my confidence.
I told her I was ready. She started to push the stud through (worst idea ever... don't pierce with just the stud!) and then she lost her grip... Ow. We had to try again. If I did not go through with this, I never would. Plus, my parents had no idea I was doing this, and there would be nothing they could do after it was over with.
Take two, action. Four pops and approximately twenty seconds later, it was through and it looked wonderful. The piercing site burned a little, for the rest of the day, and my campers liked it. It hurt quite a bit at the time when it was going through (I told you I was a wimp!) but it was pretty and that was all that mattered. I would be starting school in two weeks, with three new piercings. I was in love. I had needed change, I needed to rebel a little, I needed to feel a little pain and I needed to feel pretty. Wow, I am random.
I think one of the best feelings was right after the piercing went through, the final pop felt so good. In addition, knowing that I could not do anything but let it go through, and then it would be done.
Everything went okay for a while, and then it got infected. It got realllllllly bad, so I had to take it out around November. I needed to let it grow over... and it broke my heart. Basically, I just allowed it to heal and forgot about it. That is, until last night.
I was fed up with the scar-tissued cartilage and as much as I did not want to admit it, I missed the piercing there. I found and sterilized a sewing needle and a little gold hoop, held some ice to my ear, lined up the needle and pushed. It popped, but didn't take as long as last time. I removed the needle and pushed the hoop through. It's cute. I really liked it, even though it is still red 24 hours later. Today, it feels inflamed and infected, and the lump on the back has returned, unfortunately.
I am now wondering what to use to clean it; I have Claire's Ear Care Antiseptic, pure saline solution, polysporin and peroxide (which I've heard is BAD). I have a gold sleeper ring in now, but what type of earring should I keep in it? Should I wear a ring? Or should I go with a barbell? Possibly a regular stud would be the way to go? I want to minimize infection, but I want it to be pretty. I want to make sure I'm wearing something that isn't too tight, but won't fall off or get caught on clothing, hair, blankets or pillowcases, etc. I want this to be successful! Does anyone have any advice? I really do not want this to be infected again; it is quite painful and just gross, so I'm doing all I can. If you have any advice, it would be muchly appreciated!
JUST A COUPLE WARNINGS... I do not recommend piercing yourself, or piercing with just a hand and a stud. These were two of my bad ideas, but they WERE an experience. Spend the money and go to a professional. It's worth it, I wish I had.
I think this is all the piercings for me. If this one is successful, I'll have a nice balance of two per lobe and the one cartilage. Yay!