As a self-pierced teen, I consider my modifications as not only a dedication(upkeep) and a right, but I just think they're so darn awesome to look at. I mean, what modified person doesn't love waking up and looking in the mirror to high quality stainless protruding from their body?
At A Glance Author Asteria Contact Asteria@bme.anon When N/A Artist Myself Studio My basement Location Pembroke Ontario This is the story of my favorite piercing, the horizontal transverse lobe. I'll make sure now to warn you: I did this myself, with needles purchased off BMEShop and with a good quality 14 gauge Anatometal straight barbell. That, not for one minute, does not make my decision and my story legit advice to be taken over that of a qualified piercer. Always do the right thing: wait until you're of age, and consult a professional.
With that being said, this mod may have been awhile ago, but I still remember that night quite fondly. It was about November of 2005, a dark night sitting alone in my basement bedroom listening to some heavy music with the lights dimmed. But don't let that defer you from the real point. I had my stash of needles, and a few barbells to spare. I had recently seen the transverse lobe on BMEzine, and whoa... It was awesome. It was so unique, so, unexpected. At first, I remember asking myself, is that even possible? Of course it was.
So, I listened to a few more songs to get myself in the mood, took out the surgical marker and fiddled around with my ear. Trying to decide on the proper positioning for my anatomy was difficult, which is another reason why going to a piercer is just so wonderful. After finding a decent place, I made quite sure that the barbell would not be too long, or too short for the new fistula-to-be. I was extremely excited and really didn't want to lose this piercing.
I prepared the area with some antibacterial soap and water (which includes washing my hands and wearing latex gloves), re-marked my dots and then held up the barbell out of its autoclaved bag to make sure of the angle. I opened the fresh needle and pressed it against the upper dot. Kudos to myself for purchasing Industrial needles, because it slid right through, with no problems whatsoever. I quickly did a follow-through with the barbell, screwed the cap on and tada! A wonderful Transverse Lobe.
Now came the hardest part, which continues to be difficult. I'll admit, I cannot control which side of my head I sleep on although I change my pillowcases often to keep the bacteria away from my new hole. The first week was hell. The piercing was swollen and red, leaked what looked like pus, and the amount of crusties I had to soak off were preposterous. I will state now that I have picked off crusties in the past, and I did as well a few times to this piercing, which may have stunted or disrupted the healing.
The lobe stayed quite swollen for about a month, and the crusties quit at about month 3. I recall at one point my lobe resembled a tire, in which I was frightened, because it reminded me of the disgusting blow-outs I had seen in the stretching section of BMEzine. I did not want to lose my ear, so I went to the piercer in town. Although not very credited, he was knowledgable to my situation. He told me to continue with the salt water soaks and to start some cold compresses. The cold compresses helped with the pain and the salt water, although EXTREMELY hard to manoeuvre (I use a shot glass and dip my ear into it) seemed to be helping.
Another problem associated with my transverse lobe was my plugs. When I first did this piercing, I recall my 1st lobe hole was only 8 gauge. I told myself, "Wait a few months, and then start up again, slowly, with the stretching." And I did, because everytime I stretched up a step, my transverse lobe still remained slightly disturbed, but no more or less than before.
At first I thought maybe there was no room to drain the fluid from the fistula, so I switched one of the ends to a flat disc, which worked a little better. There are still crusties and when I go to clean it, there still are remnants of fluid.
To this day, which has been over a year, I continue to get crusties and fluid coming out of my piercing. I clean it regularly with Bactine, I use salt-water soaks, and I'm going to start with hot compresses and maybe that will work.
Even though the healing is giving me some trouble, It looks fantastic. I love the interesting (sometimes rude) comments I get on it, and I'll never forget the day I pierced my transverse lobe.