I had never even considered getting my septum pierced until my friend had gotten hers done. I thought about it for about a week until I finally decided I wanted to get it done. The main problem was that I'm 17 and I'd need my moms approval first. When first presenting the idea to my mom she immediately rejected the very idea of it. After so carefully thought out arguments and negotiation attempts the answer was still "No." That's when I realized my friend does legit piercings for about $20.00. I'd like to make it clear that he doesn't just pierce underage kids without clearing it with their parents first, but since we have been friends for sometime he didn't mind doing it for me. Well after asking him if he'd do it I just needed to come up with the money. One night at work he got a call from another friend of mine who also wanted his septum pierced. So to kill two birds with one stone he told me we should go over there and just do us both.
At A Glance Author Anon Contact Anon@bme.anon When A week ago Location Fredericksburg, Va
There I find myself in my friends basement playing Rock, Paper, Scissors to see who was going to go first. I won luckily, in the back of my mind I knew if it looked to bad I would just call the whole thing off. While doing research online and reading other very helpful BME accounts, I found that it is considered by many the most painful piercing. As I watched my friend getting his nose swabbed out by an alcohol wipe thats all I could think of. Just like that his was done. I don't want to ruin the surprise so I won't tell you his reaction.
Now it was my turn. Sitting in the chair, heart beating a few beats faster than normal, I was questioning myself about this. "Fuck it" I said and let him do it. First he opened up a new needle and stuck it in some lubricant. Then he took the jewelry and put it in some hydrogen peroxide to sterilize it. Next he put on some latex gloves and opened up an alcohol wipe. Telling me to not breathe in through my mouth he started cleaning. I saw how dirty my friends nose was so I prepped it for him with some last minute digging. After cleaning my nose he got a pair of clamps and started aligning where the piercing was going to go through. He didn't mark it like most piercers do which kind of worried me. I didn't want it to be crooked. After about 10 minutes of squeezing the hell out of the inside of my nose the clamps were set. I sparked up a cigarette and told him I was ready. Another friend of mine in the back camera ready. "On the count of three" he said; "1,2...3" and the needle was through. Once I opened my eyes I realized that the pain was extremely minimal. The clamps on my nose hurt more than the piercing itself. So there I was sitting in a chair in my friends basement with a needle stuck through my nose, tears pouring down my cheeks (not from crying, it was triggered by the piercing) and blood dripping out of my nose. At least three pictures were taken and if I had them I would of uploaded them. Next he took a circular barbell and put the tip on the blunt part of the needle and slid it through. That didn't hurt either. As I previously mentioned my mom hated the idea of this and was strongly against it. That's why the first thing I did (after stopping the bleeding) was flip it into my nose. Completely invisible. I told him that it needed to be hidden so he pierced it in a great spot for low visibility. Another reason I was skeptical about this was getting caught with it by my mom. Other accounts I have read said you couldn't see theirs but everyone's nose is different. Well with me you cannot see it at all unless looking up into my nose. Still you need quite fare light to see it seeing how the ring is black. Now the aftercare.
Reading up on the aftercare of septum piercings, all sources pointed towards two big things. First do not use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol to clean it. The two both kill bacteria, but can also kill the cells helping to heal it. Instead they suggested anti-bacterial non-fragrance soap (two types widely recommended were medical grade anti-bacterial soap such as Provon or Satin.) Soap that has a fragrance can possibly irritate the piercing. The other thing that couldn't be over-stressed was cleaning it with sea salt. Sea salt, which lacks the iodine that table salt contains, removes bacteria. For every 8 oz. of water you should use about 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. I clean my piercing with it two or more times a day. The day after the piercing was most definitely the sorest it has been. With most piercings a crusty ring can form on the jewelry around the wound. When I tried taking my septum ring down from my nose some of the crusty stuff went inside of the piercing. That was way more painful than the piercing itself. It's been 6 days as of today Saturday the 8th of December, 2007 and is still a little sore. Touching it doesn't bother or aggravate it but bumping it will. I found a great way of cleaning it is to first get in a nice hot shower. The steam from the water will help loosen any crust around the piercing. Next I take some soap and lather it up on my fingers. Gently I rub around the piercing then the ring to get all the gross stuff off. After rinsing the soap out and getting out of the shower I soak it in the sea salt. The way I've been doing it was mixing it in a glass and sticking my nose in it. Suggested soaking time is around 10 minutes twice a day. I do it around 4 times a day for only a few minutes each time. This seems to be doing great. I can flip it up and down easily as long as I'm cautious and touch it lightly without any pain. I'm extremely happy with this piercing and I recommend it. I hope this helps out at least one person and if it does, spread the advice that works.
"Note: Hydrogen peroxide does not sterilize jewelry."