Like any good girl entering college, I decided to get a piercing-- something that my parents have condemned, and ending up with a high fever a few months after the piercing seemed to me as a clear "I told you so" from the folks.
At A Glance Author anonymous Contact anonymous@bme.anon When Six months ago Artist Can't recall her name Studio Buddha Bros Location md Well, the piercing was something to symbolize my new freedom. And yes, I do admit that the nipple piercing came across my mind as a whim [at least to me], since I put no more than two to three weeks of decision-making.
I faithfully researched the almighty nipple piercing on the web-- BME, of course, along with dozens and dozens of submitted stories and various piercing parlors' homepages for their advice on aftercare and what not. I had my pick between two or three piercing parlors in my vicinity and I opted for Buddha Bros because of price. I have walked by there recently, and it doesn't exist anymore! It was a very clean place, well-lit with hardwood floors and white walls with the tattoo flash (mostly new school, japanese elements) framed and hung about. Their selection of jewelry sucked, though, and rather overpriced.
My piercer was a woman with those ubiquitous [and annoying] emobitch baby bangs but at least she had long hair [dyed green-blue]. She didn't seem very nice or chatty or caring, even--something that I would have liked in a piercer about to perform a delicate task! More brisk, business-like...a "let's get it over with, you brat, I want to eat lunch" type of attitude.
We went into the piercing room. No door! Just a stupid curtain. I'm not the type to flash guys (yes, I'm modest) so I asked her nervously, "Uh, will anyone come in or anything?" She reassured me-- or at least tried to. But I didn't care. I wanted my damn right nipple done.
I selected a 14 G SS CBB--nothing fancy for the first jewelry. She swabbed my nipple (after having me stand up and draw the target marks with a marker) with alcohol...ooh, cold! Just like in the other stories that I've read on this website, my nipple seemed to anticipate its approaching torture and shrank back. It didn't help that my nipples were naturally a bit flat so my piercer had a hard time grasping the bud of flesh with the tools.
Finally, she got a good grasp and set the plier-things with a rubberband, and told me that she was going to do it. I craned my neck down, trying to get a good look (I like gore) and watched the beveled needle coated with the ointment slide in like butter...hee...and out the other end of my poor, reddening nipple. Pain doesn't turn me on, I suppose, so I didn't orgasm or anything like some other BME members had.
I paid her 45$ plus a generous ten dollar tip and went along my merry way, after getting the aftercare spiel from her.
Skip to December.
I skimped on my washings for ONE day and noticed during the next wash, that the nipple began to bleed a bit. Perhaps some crusty lymph fluid (yeah, I'd been secreting a bit) scratched the inside of the piercing-flesh when I tried to turn the ring. My nipple felt hot to the touch and bled a little the next day. I tried to alleviate the strange sensation by doing some saline soaks. Didn't help. It only grew worse, and along with blood, more lymph was oozing out. I guess that was my body trying to stave off an infection.
Yeah, you heard me, an infection. I heard that the breast has all sorts of milk ducts and capillaries, perfect for a fast onset of an infection that traveled from the nipple to my lymph nodes under my arm. That was why it hurt so much to let my arm hang normally to my side; the infection had traveled that far.
I developed a high fever and for the first time in my life I learned what chills felt like when one was sick. I took a giant risk by removing the jewelry and letting the hole close up, since it's been recommended that the jewelry be kept in for the wound to drain. But my doctor prescribed to me some super-strong antibiotics that I had to take for a week (luckily I didn't need anything intravenous that would require a hospital stay).
So here I am, alive and well without a masectomy like another woman's BME story [thank goodness]. What I learned: DO NOT FORGET TO CLEAN. I am not condoning nipple piercings-- it's just that after my stupidity and the ensuing horrific experience, I will not get another nipple piercing done. I believe that piercing can be very safe but human error (it's just like having to remember to take the pill on time) is inevitable.