Ok, I admit I have a bit of an obsession for body piercing. After looking on BME I'd decided to add venoms to my collection, making that 11 piercings now. I wasn't happy with a centre tongue piercing, I had the urge for something different so my story begins...
At A Glance Author Meagan Contact Meagan@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Sue Studio Little Raven Location Liverpool, NSW
I decided to get my tongue pierced as soon as my holidays from work began. I'm a chef therefore I rely on my tongue, hence the need to be pierced at such a time. I convinced my mum to let me have my tongue pierced twice although she couldn't see the need for two, let alone one. I needed her permission as I was turning 18 in a week and I was still under age.
I'd done my research as to how to care for oral piercings and was feeling confident so I headed down to my local piercing studio. My friend and i were excited about having a new piercing, part of the excitement from the pain i guess. Having seen my face so many times in their store the piercer was eager to know what I'd be getting done, so when I told her she was rather happy to do it. Most piercers are happy to do piercings that are fairly uncommon these days, it makes their day more interesting.
I was only to have the left side pierced that day, Sue explained it was a lot safer and to get the right side pierced when the other side had healed. I was dissappointed yet still eager to be pierced. After the paperwork was sorted out I was led to the back room which was very familiar now. I rinsed with Listerine, Sue dried my tongue, marked it and after checking the positioning, I gave her the nod.
Clamp goes on, needle went through, all over before I knew it. My tongue bled a little and I rinsed with Listerine again. Sue and I went through aftercare, I payed 90 dollars for my piercing (Sue would not accept a tip) and sat and waited for my mate to get his nipple pierced. I'd had my nipple pierced around two months earlier. As I waited I was half expecting a scream but a short time later he came bouncing out of the back room, feeling very proud. That was it, all over and done with so we gave them a big thanks, ( mine sounded more like a "thankth") and we left.
My tongue immediately swelled up and I was having difficulty controlling the build up of saliva in my mouth, yet somehow I was still impatient on getting my right side pierced... Why do people suddenly manage to build up an appetite in the few days after a tongue piercing? It was rather annoying so I tried to fill up the best I could with soup for a couple of days. My tongue developed a bruise on the tip and was very swollen, especially on my birthday which was three days after my piercing. Yep, I chose a great time for a tongue piercing, I couldn't even drink alcohol!
It hurt too much to suck on ice those first couple of days, so I had as much as I could tolerate. I'd wake up in the morning and the entrances on my tongue were sore from the pressure on them so I guess that it is why my tongue bled five times. Three times on my birthday and two the next which ended up with me going to hospital. I'd taste salt on my tongue and check my tongue in a mirror and there would be a pool of blood in my mouth. It scared me a little at times, especially the people that I showed it to.
This went on for two days, then I took the ring out and allowed the hole to close up. I was immediately relieved to have my old tongue back and vowed to not get another tongue piercing. Perhaps the piercer had struck a tiny vein as my piercing was on a rather large angle with the bottom ball close to the tip of my tongue. Maybe I wasn't meant to have venoms. I had my tongue pierced again two weeks later, only once in the centre. It hasn't given me any trouble and the swelling has gone down. I haven't shown my dad yet, after all, he was the one who took me to hospital at four in the morning.
Perhaps my experience was one in a minority but if you are considering having venoms, be aware that it is a long healing process as the piercing is directly through the muscle. Even if you are like me and like to be different, I recommend going for a standard centre piercing, sure they're very common, but they are the most practical.