For the past few months, I had been very interested in getting my tongue pierced. I researched the pros and cons of tongue piercings, and felt confident to present my case to my parents. But after some rather harsh responses from my parents, it was clear I would not get a tongue piercing anytime soon. Saddened, I continued reading BME experiences, knowing I would have to wait 2 years for my desired piercing. Then I began to read tongue web experiences. After looking at the pictures, I fell in love with this discreet piercing. Many of the experiences were DIY, and being the headstrong teenager I am, I decided I would do it myself. I read as many experiences I could, and prepared for my piercing.
At A Glance Author Kayla Contact Kayla@bme.anon When A month ago
I obtained all my materials-a tiny 18g circular barbell (with spikes instead of balls), a random disinfectant I found at CVS, and one of my mom's (unused) sewing needles. I soaked the needle and the barbell in the disinfectant for about a half an hour. This was not only to make sure it was as clean as I could get it, but also so I could work up the balls to stick a needle through my tongue.
A half an hour later I gathered my supplies and brought them to my bathroom. I swished some Listerine around my mouth as I set everything up. I spit it out and climbed up onto my sink, and I was ready to go. I examined my tongue web and attempted to visually mark where I would pierce it. After I decided on what I assume was a good placement, I stuck the needle through. Excuse me, I tried to stick the needle through. All it really did was stretch the skin. So I used my thumb on the opposite side of the skin and pushed against it towards the needle. It worked, and the needle went through. But I twitched, and the needle fell out. Once I finally got it repierced (after about 4-5 attempts), I was faced with another problem. The barbell wouldn't go in. Frustrated, I stuck the only thing I had into the hole-a stud from my ear. It was possibly the dirtiest piece of jewellery I could have put in it. But it was the smallest I had, so I rinsed it off with the disinfectant and hoped it wouldn't be the downfall of my DIY experience.
I went upstairs to try and find a thicker needle, which I successfully did. It seemed already used, but it was the thickest she had. I brought it back to the bathroom with me, hoping that my mother or father wouldn't ask me why I needed a sewing needle. Luckily, neither of them did.
I disinfected the needle and used it as a sort of taper to stretch the hole. I got the barbell in, and was convinced my problems were over. They were not. The spike would not go on to save my life. After ten minutes, I finally screwed the spike on. This includes about three minutes of me angrily lecturing myself in the mirror on why I could not do the simpliest little thing. That seemed to be the boost I needed, though.
I rinsed my new piercing with leftover sea-salt solution from my conch piercing and went to bed. As I drifted to sleep I had a disturbing thought-"What if the spike comes off and I swallow the barbell?" The thought passed, and I went to sleep.
The next day I was excited to show off my newest piercing. I was greeted with statements such as: "That is so cool", "Eew!", and "I hope that gets infected, Kayla." I am fairly sure that last comment was meant as a joke.
For a day or two it was very hard to eat, so I just did not eat. I could feel the tiny barbell clicking against my teeth as I tried to chew. Once I could eat, everyday, after every meal, I rinsed with mouthwash or sea-salt solution. I tried to clean the tiny spikes with a toothbrush every once in a while, but it did not really work. I eventually changed my circular barbell to a short curved barbell. This was mainly to keep my parents from seeing my piercing, but also because I was playing with it too damn much, and that isn't good for a healing piercing. I still can play with the curved barbell, but it is much harder to do and hurts after a while.
I had a few slightly paranoid moments when I thought it was infected and I would end up in the emergency room and i'd lose my tongue. That fortunately never did happen (i'm not even sure it can happen actually), and I have a healthy piercing to show for my efforts.