So, I got it into my head that I wanted an outer conch piercing. I got together two 14ga needles, a box of latex gloves, a lube sachet, two corks (yeah, yeah, I know), a 16 gauge labret stud and for good measure, a 14ga CBR (not sterilized, not even *HLD'd). I wiped down the counter I was going to be using with bleach and lay a towel down on the floor covered in paper towels in case I dropped anything or dripped any blood onto the floor.
At A Glance Author Megan Contact Habitatual_Neurosis@hotmail.com IAM Habitual_Neurosis When It just happened Artist Myself Location Tauranga, New Zealand.
Now may be good time to state that while I have no problem piercing others, I am terrible at piercing myself. But then... since when have I let that stop me from trying? Also note that I do not generally approve of self piercing, but since when do I take my own advice? Yep, you got it. Almost never.
I lay out everything on the counter, washed my hands, and gloved up. I unpackaged the needle and opened the lube. I realised about then that I had nothing to mark the spot I wished to pierce, but it was too late to do anything about it. I picked up the cork, held it behind by ear and positioned the needle where I wished the entry point to be. I skipped the deep breathing as it never quite works when I am piercing myself and gave the needle a shove. OK, halfway there. I took a big breath in and pushed it again. Or rather, I tapped it, hoping it would have the same effect. Then I realised it wasn't going to work. I abandoned that plan and pulled out the needle. Blood starts gushing, so I apply a bit of pressure to it and as the bleeding slows down another idea starts forming in my head.
What about another lobe piercing? As I long ago removed my lobe piercings other than the two which I'm stretching, this seemed like the logical thing to do.
I unglove, and then glove up again. I take the other needle out of it's packaging and dip it in the lube. I decide that I want the piercing to be close to my anti tragus. I position the second cork behind my lobe and shove the needle through my ear. I reach down to pick up the labret stud to thread through and... I drop it. My first reaction is to bend down and pick it up. I do not do this, although it would not have made any difference. I know I am not in surgery and that I am not in a sterile field at all, so I also know that to bend down into the "unsterile field" would not be the end of the world.
This is when I realise that there is blood dripping out of the top of the needle. I decide to pull this needle out and get some jewellery in there, then work on stopping the bleeding. I remember the CBR sitting there in front of me, and pull the needle through then shove the CBR in. I can not see the entry hole through the blood, but I feel for it with the CBR then push the jewellery through. It would appear that I had not gotten the needle all the way through, so I had to use a bit of force to get the jewellery all the way through. I flip the CBR up so it looks like a lobe to inner conch orbital.
But this stage there is blood flowing freely down my ear, from both the hole in my outer conch and the hole in my lobe. It drips onto my chest and I stop to grin at myself in the mirror, wishing I had a camera. The mild excess of blood was a rather impressive sight to my blood deprived eyes.
I change my gloves again, noting that the ones I just took off were rather bloody. I drop the gloves into the basin in front of me and realise that there's a bit more blood than I thought, and that it has also dripped into the basin.
My ear is throbbing by now and I start on cleaning it up. Unfortunately some of the blood has already dried, and there is still blood dripping from the hole in my outer conch. I start cleaning it anyway, stupidly wetting the paper towels I am using. Even stupider, the water is warm. This of course encourages the bleeding. Not that you would ever hear me complaining about it. I sit on the edge of the bath for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling of the warm blood flowing down my ear and dripping onto my chest.
About five minutes later I resume cleaning the blood off my ear and chest. I also note that there is a stray drop on my foot and clean this off as well. I then pick up all the bloodied pieces of paper towel and put them in a large resealable bag. I then add my gloves to this and put on a new pair. My ear has more or less stopped bleeding by this stage so I start cleaning up. I pick up all the paper towels from the floor and any other items which need to be binned. I use large resealable bags for all of this, so nothing else will become contaminated. Please note that I have corked and put the needles into a small resealable bag and will take these to my GP when I see her in a few days, as I do not have a sharps disposal. I then bleach the bench, sink etc. and throw away the trash, saving the corked and bagged needles to take to my GP.
It probably wasn't the smartest thing for me to do, but I don't regret it. It'll satisfy my piercing cravings for a while, so that's a good thing. I also think it looks good with the CBR flipped up like it is, which I haven't been able to do with any of my previous lobe piercings because of the placement.
*HLD: High level disinfection