Before I begin I just want to say that, unless you are a certified piercer, self-piercing is a very bad idea. What I did was stupid, and should never be attempted by anyone. Okay! that said, on with the story of my tongue webbing. It all started one morning, when I woke up with the piercing "itch." I thought "okay then, I'll just take out some money and head down to Tattoo Zoo" (where I'd had my lip pierced a year earlier). After going to the bank and discovering that I only had enough money to buy a muffin, I trudged home with a heavy heart. The idiotic idea to pierce my own labret entered my mind shortly thereafter.
At A Glance Author maiko Contact maiko@bme.anon When A month ago Artist Myself I found a gigantic sewing needle, and boiled it in salty water for 15 minutes. I carefully covered the bathroom counter with paper towels, and dug up a "suitable" piece of jewelry. (a clunky tongue barbell from Claire's. I know....shoot me now.) I wiped the needle, the jewelry, and my lip with a cotton ball soaked with rubbing alcohol. Oooh, sterile! I then realized that I needed something to support the needle when it popped through, and grabbed a miniature "bird book" from my room. I positioned the needle, took a deep breath aaaaaannnnd.......chickened out. Second try; deep breath, STAB!!! the needle was so thick and dull that it refused to go through even halfway. I pushed until my arm went numb, and gave up. My lip was a mess, and I still had that annoying "itch". That's when I decided that I simply had to pierce something, anything whatsoever. I decided on my tongue webbing because it was discreet, and probably not as tough as my lip. I found a new sewing needle, boiled it, changed the paper towels and started all over again.
Slipping the needle through my web was so easy I laughed...and dropped the needle on the floor. Panicking, I picked up the needle, splashed it with more rubbing alcohol, and stuck it through again. Then remembered that I hadn't found any jewelry to use, and spent the next few minutes drooling all over myself as I rummaged around my bedroom. I found a tragus ring that looked to be the right size, and soaked it in the alcohol (which was everywhere at this point). The ring popped through without any trouble, and all I had to do was get that tiny bead back in. I tried over and over and over again, without success. My sister heard my garbled yelling, and asked what I was up to. I pointed at my swollen, bleeding web, and turned slightly green. "You're crazy!!" I agree. After about 2 hours of fiddling with the tragus ring, I gave up and took it out. The hole I had made in my web was quite big at that point, from all the violence I had inflicted upon it. I thought, "this can't have been all for nothing! I WILL have a piercing!" determined once again, I hurriedly "sterilized' the tongue barbell I had planned to use for my labret, and slid it through my tongue webbing. The bead screwed on without incident, and I was triumphant!!
I hopped downstairs to show my family the new addition, not expecting to have a speech impediment. "Wook at meh ton!" my mom looked confused, my sister still looked green, and my dad frowned. "Wook..." I lifted up my tongue to reveal my masterpiece. It was a sort of masterpiece at that point, considering how long it took to get it. My mom said the old "well, think of all the money you saved", my dad had no comment, and my sister had already disappeared. All in all, not very bad reactions. I, on the other hand, was beginning to have quite a big reaction to the barbell. It could've been made out of tin for all I knew, but I didn't care. Eating dinner wasn't too difficult, but I kept on dropping food on myself. I went to bed feeling successful and happy.
Pain. I woke up and instantly panicked - my tongue had swollen to abut twice its normal size, and I couldn't lift it up to see how my web was doing. I didn't eat all day, and was feeling sick and dizzy by that afternoon. My sister had a play rehearsal that night, and I had volunteered to help out with the catering. I was getting feverish, and worried that I'd pass out in the vat of chicken soup I was preparing. Finally, I took the barbell out. I sucked a lot of ice, and eventually got swelling to go down. The ordeal was over.
In retrospect, I can see all of the mistakes I made, and realize how lucky I was not to get a serious infection. Oral piercings are not to be taken lightly, and should NOT be attempted by anyone but a professional piercer. Happy piercing everyone!