Let me preface this story by first of all stating that I, Marc, have a thick nose. More specifically I have a think area of skin above the philtrum (which come to find out is really that middle line groove in the upper lip that runs from the top of the lip to the nose) anyway, until I decided to get my septum pierced I would have never known was a problem.
At A Glance Author marcp Contact marcp@bme.anon IAM marcp When Three months ago Artist Martin McPherson Studio Piercing Emporium Location Worcester, MA Now that you are intimately aware of physical aspects of my nose, lets proceed.
I have wanted my septum pierced for a while. I think I really fell in love with it after my girlfriend (now fiancée) Liz, got it done. It was so small and cute and it fit so nicely, that I wanted to know how it would look on me. After a few trials of sticking jewelry up my nose to simulate it and then staring at myself in the mirror every so often, I decided I wanted to get it.
My first attempt at getting my septum pierced was inadvertently postponed. It was a good thing too, because I was super nervous about it and ultimately wanted more time to think about it. That time turned into a few months, which passed and were well spent thinking and burning brain cells about this matter. Whether I was at home, or on the job, I was worried about my work, and my fellow co-workers, seeing it and what the outside world would think about me and my new look. Of course naturally, I was also worried it would hurt like hell and I'd be mad at myself in the long run. I had spoken with a number of different people, of whom some had said it was nothing and I'd be fine, or for others' it was the worst pain ever. I had also read a variety of experiences detailing the process and how it was completed and of course everyone's reaction to the pain/ no pain of it all.
Then one day it finally happened. I was sitting around my apartment on a dull Thursday night flipping through IAM pages when I noticed my friend Marty (who's a piercer) was having a slow day at the piercing shop. After some gentle prodding (more like my fiancée dragging me down to the car, since she knows if I think too long I won't do it) I mustered up my courage and we decided I would pay my friend the piercer a little visit. The place of choice was the Piercing Emporium (which is scarily close to my apartment in fact, you can see it from my apartment) to complete my undertaking. After talking with Marty and Marc (the owner of the Emporium), we decided to get it pierced at 10g using a black niobium retainer that looks like the letter U upside down.
Marty took me back to the piercing room and invited Liz and Tanja (his girlfriend our good friend) to come back with me and join in the festivities. Who doesn't love a good piercing party? Marty started prepping all of the equipment he would use. I am fortunate that not only is Marty my piercer of choice, but a good friend as well, hence I feel very comfortable with him and confident in his skills. I don't remember exactly the prepping process, but I am later told he changed gloves a number of times, and explained what he was going to do in detail step by step. I of course was only thinking of the giant needle that was lying on the table next to my head, piercing my 'oh' so fragile and misshapen nose. Marty cleaned my nose with a pungent disinfectant and thus started the meticulous task of marking the "sweet" spot. Now is the point where I might add, not only do I have a thick nose, I also have a massively deviated septum which unfortunately required a little more attention to the markings and usage of clamps.
After it was finally marked correctly, I lay down on the table with my head slightly off the end of it, and my knees bent upward at the other end. It was then that while looking up, I focused on the poster of Salvador Dali's Clocks, Simpsons' style, which helped to take my mind off everything that was going on around me. In the background I could hear the girls chatting about clothes and ignoring the pale pasty man lying on the table, and Marty ripping open sterile packages and getting everything ready. Now, I closed my eyes and relaxed. (Or so I thought I was relaxed...)
Marty placed the clamp on my septum and told me to take a deep breath in, he was to push the needle through on the exhale out. It then happened, I exhaled out, and he pushed the needle through simultaneously. A quick flash of pain and the needle was poking out the other side of my nose. It then started to tingle a little and my eyes began to water profusely. Marty said something about the clamp and then there another quick push. Another breath in, and I blew it out, and finally it was done. It was at this point I started to taste blood in the back of my throat, nothing major, but enough to cause concern. Marty checked me out, cleaned the little blood that was there and assured me it would be fine and stop momentarily (which it did).
He put in the retainer and took a picture of it, then he flipped it up into my nose. The black niobium retainer was surprisingly well hidden in my nose, virtually invisible to the casual passerby. I was very pleased with this discovery as I went out to pay. There was then some friendly chit chat and a generous tip for a job well done. Then Liz and I were headed home from my day at the Emporium.
A few hours later into the evening, I wanted to see what it looked like flipped down since Liz said she flipped hers down the first day. So after a little tugging and nudging I managed to flip it down quite painlessly. I went out and showed Liz with a big goofy grin on my face, and went back to the bathroom to flip it up. That's when things got a little bit scary, and I got a little nervous (ok a lot nervous). No matter how hard I tried I could not flip the retainer back up into my nasal cavity. I figured my nose was a little swollen and thicker than normal but I still started to panic a little. I had just started a new job a week before and I knew there was no way I could go in with my retainer flipped down and not have any consequences. My first reaction was to leave it alone for a while to see if the swelling would go down. After about an hour, that didn't work and I tried soaking it in hot water for thirty minutes, still nothing. I then proceeded to ice it, but to my dismay and my now ever growing nervousness and anxiety, no such luck! The damn thing would not go back in my nose, and now I was beginning to wonder if I was going to regret the whole thing before I even had it for a day.
Eventually I calmed down, and at the advice of Liz, I hopped in the shower and grabbed some Sateen soap and gently massaged my swollen nose and retainer. I was hoping the steam from the shower, and the lube from the soap would help to ease the retainer back into my nose without so much pain and aggravation. After a little struggle I was finally able to slide it back up as I jumped for joy and almost broke my neck in the shower.
I eventually told Marty that it was too skinny for my fat nose, and he suggested leaving it in, flipped up, for a while and he would widen the retainer later, when the swelling wasn't so bad.
Aftercare wasn't too excruciating. (it was really nothing) I tried sea-salt soaks in a big mug, but I kept spilling it all over me. I found the best way to soak it was to take small gauze pads, wrap them up tightly, soak them in hot salt water and jam them up my nose. I know it looks a little weird but it does the trick. In fact, the best method I find, is to make oneself look like a walrus, and then dip the ends of the gauze pads into a steaming hot mug of sea-salt soak, that way no nose hairs get singed.
A few weeks passed and I went to Marty and had him open up the retainer a little bit
(ha, a lot fatty!) so now I can flip it down with the greatest of ease.Overall I have had a great experience with my septum piercing. I've learned that everyone reacts differently to it and I knew I wouldn't know what side I would be on until after I finally went through with it. The quick flash of pain was well worth it in my mind, (even though I thought I saw the face of God) and maybe it wasn't the face of God, but anyway, I'm happy with it, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's thinking about getting it done. Be forewarned though, as I have noticed now having it pierced for a few months, it will be very difficult for one to keep their fingers out of their nose for more than minutes at a time due to the sheer fact that you now have something other than snot shoved up there.
The End.