Septum of Doom
At A Glance Author chloe Contact elyria@tbaytel.net IAM chloe When Six months ago Artist Matt Studio Classic Body Piercing Location Thunder Bay, ON
End of June 2001 found me working a job I hated with a passion. Though the pay was decent, my boss was of a lower life form. It was awful. I needed something to cheer me up. The idea of a new tattoo instantly popped into my head. Being unsure of which design I wanted made that idea fizzle out quickly. A new piercing. Yes, I wanted, needed a new piercing.
Unfortunately, the job forced me to be ultra conservative, so most of the piercings I wanted were out. Aside from getting more piercings in my ears, I was left with one idea. Though a facial piercing, something that could very easily be hidden for work; my septum. I'd wanted my septum done for a while, and now was the time.
Roughly a week later, pay cheque in bank account, I headed over to Classic Body Piercing to speak to Matt, my piercer. After telling him I wanted my septum pierced he took me into the piercing room to get a better look at my nose. We go back and I sit in the chair I've become so used to. I'm feeling better already. With gloves on, he looks at me very seriously and says "Do you mind if I pick your nose?" I couldn't help laughing. Though it was bizarre having his fingers up my nose to check if my septum could accommodate a piercing, I managed to sit still and not laugh too much. He told me I had more than enough room to have it pierced. I explained to him that I needed to hide it for work. "No problem," he said. "I'll just pierce it with a retainer." I made an appointment for 2:00 P.M. the next day and left.
Though I had a restless sleep that night, I woke up on the big day feeling great. Looming in my head was the fact that I had a meeting at the office scheduled for only three hours after my appointment. That didn't matter. This new piercing would be the pick-me-up I was so craving.
1:30 P.M. rolls around and I head to my car. It won't start. No big deal, I'll just leave it for a minute, try again and everything will be fine. No such luck. I repeat the "wait and try" bit until quarter to two. I'm going to be late. I clench the steering wheel and grind my teeth. Deep breath. Try one more time. Nothing. I start yelling at my car, warning it that if it doesn't start I'm going to take it out to a field and shoot it. I try once more and to my surprise it starts.
I'm off and running. By now, it was ten to two. No doubts about it, I was going to be late. As I sped across town, visions of the shop being loaded with customers filled my head. "I'm going to lose my appointment," I thought. "All because of this stupid, stupid car." I finally get there, park, and rush into the shop to find it completely empty. I see Matt standing behind the counter looking very bored. "You made it!" He exclaimed. "I thought you were going to back out." I sheepishly explained the ordeal I'd had with my car and he just laughs.
Having completed the necessary papers and paying, we head for the back room. I sit in that same familiar chair, though sitting in it then, knowing I was going to be pierced, feels so much better than sitting in it yesterday. My rage about my car fades as all the usual smells of the shop fill my nose. He shows me the retainer, a 14ga Stainless Surgical Steel piece, and tells me how this will probably be the most painful piercing I ever get. I kind of shrug and tell him I'm ready for it. He does all the usual cleaning and gets out the clamp. It seemed like an eternity had passed as he checked, checked, and rechecked to make sure everything was straight.
"Are you ready?" He asked me. Having prepared myself by focusing on my nose as he was lining up the clamp I say that I am. "OK, deep breath in." I comply and hold it. "And out." As I exhale I feel the needle go through. It was as I expected it to feel. While every fraction of the needle going through was fully felt, it felt as though it was going through a hole that had always been there. A very peaceful feeling overtook my body. After removing the clamp, leaving the needle through my septum, Matt asks if I'm feeling OK since I'm still sitting there with my eyes closed. Without opening them, I tell him I'm feeling fine.
Placing the jewellery in was not the most comfortable feeling. As he slid the retainer in, I felt the corner push against the cartilage in my nose. While not unbearable, that made me flinch. I finally open my eyes and see Matt grinning ear to ear. "Take a look at it!" He says, seeming almost more elated than I. I stand and take a look at it in the mirror, slowly moving my head side to side so I can get a good look at it. "It looks great" I say, followed by a big smile. That smile was a huge mistake. The movement of my facial muscles forced the retainer to again push against the cartilage in my nose. I comment on this and make a mental note to do as little smiling as possible for the next while. Matt then cut the needle in half in front of me and asked if I'd like him to flip the retainer up, or leave it down for show. Even though I hate the way septum retainers look when flipped down, I opt to leave it down. Not for show, just because it's rather tender and I don't want to i rritate it anymore.
I chat with Matt for a few more minutes then head out. I'm feeling great. This was exactly what I needed. I get home and my mom doesn't say much about it, only that she thinks it will look better with a circular barbell in it. I agree with her, but that will have to wait until it's healed. I go to the bathroom and set about flipping the retainer up. It was a bit difficult and slightly painful to do, but I managed.
Aside from the discomfort of smiling and laughing during the first week and a half, and the indescribable pain of hitting my nose very hard the first night, healing was simple. I used Tersaseptic (antibacterial soap used in hospitals to clean open wounds) on a Q-tip twice a day to keep it clean. A month and a half after having it done I got around to having the jewellery changed to a 14ga SSS circular barbell with balls the same size as the one on my lip ring. The balls were later changed to a size bigger; the tiny bit of extra weight prevented the ring from spinning around, allowing it to sit straight.
All in all, it was well worth it. Minor discomfort and the annoyance of no one believing I had it done since they couldn't see it all paid off in the end. I now have a nice, straight septum piercing that I plan on eventually stretching up a few gauges.