At A Glance
Author	Rye
Contact	Rye@bme.anon
When	Two years ago
Studio	Adrenalin Rush
Location	Newark, NJ

Last June I had my left nostril pierced as a birthday present. It wasn't as much as MY idea rather than everyone else's really since many people tend to say I have a "cute" nose and that a piercing would compliment it. So I thought "sure, why not?"

By that time the only other piercings I had were 8 on my ears, so yeah, I thought of how much (or little) getting my nose pierced would hurt. The pain didn't freak me out, but what did get me thinking twice was that I don't heal very well, so I didn't want to end up with something gone horribly wrong right in the middle of my face.

When the day came that I decided to pierce it I went to one of the closest tattoo parlors around, Adrenalin Rush. Not only because it was close, but because the place just has a really awesome atmosphere and I knew people who had worked there or gotten some of they're mods there, so I trusted the place. The people who worked there were really nice, specially the guy who pierced me (and would again a year later), Anthony. It's not everyday you find someone who actually cares about your piercing rather than just the money off it, so he's cool. It was good that everything was in a calm mood, which helped make my mother more at ease since she had to go with me seeing as I'm under 18. Right away I found the ring I wanted, but I couldn't have it yet because it had to be pierced with a stud first, so that bummed me out a bit. I still liked the one I went with, a chrome purple stud. The piercing part didn't hurt at all, despite for a few tears I couldn't control, but it was afterwards that got complicated.

A week after getting my nostril pierced the stud kept almost falling off, as if the hole was to big for it. It fell off a couple of times, which led to it getting infected. I put in a hoop ring so it wouldn't fall, but then a little pus filled bubble started growing over it and it just looked bad since it got bigger and bigger. At first it was really red and sore and just to my luck I would always hit it awfully hard whenever brushing my hair out of my face or whatever, I always seemed to hit it. The weirdest part about it was that whenever I would take a shower a layer of the bubble would peel off, only to reveal another sorely raw oozy layer beneath that would harden and grow. It started to grow over the ring and made it hard to move it when it got scabby. The inside of my nostril also had a bump, but it didn't hurt. It took a couple of months for it to fully go away, and it only did because I stopped poking at it and twisting it around, so I guess you're not supposed to do that *sarcasm*.

Because of those bubbles it is still kind of hard for me to put the rings in myself since it's hard to put it in a straight line, so whenever I go buy a new ring I always play dumb and ask them to put it in for me, hehe. I found that it really helped to clean it and then first put a warm water soaked cloth over it and then clean it out better since it made the skin softer and more open, then to help the swelling and soreness go down it helped to put a cold cloth. Never ice though, because it's just too cold and it hurts more than it helps. Up 'till today though, the skin on my left nostril is pretty dried up compared to the other side because of the saline I use to clean it with... I didn't think it would've done that..

I hate to say that now I don't take as much care of it as I still should but..... the thing is I'm unsatisfied with it to tell the truth. I wouldn't mind taking it out, because the one piercing I had always wanted and still badly do is to get my septum pierced. I was disappointed when I was told I could only get my nostril, but hey, it wasn't my money, so I couldn't complain. I would do it myself anywhere else, but I don't trust myself piercing cartilage and such, and I don't recommend it either, because the only cartilage I've pierced was when the one on my right ear closed up and I didn't have enough money to have someone do it, and even today it still hurts a bit when I change rings. So yeah, don't be cheap and maybe then you'll keep those precious body parts of yours.

It'll be a while until I'll be able to get what I really want, so 'till then I'll have to compensate for it with other piercings.... but I can wait... I think.