For some reason I spent years under the impression that nipple piercings were only for men, then one day I saw a nude picture of a women with pierced nipples. It was beautiful. I was newly 18 and had just moved out on my own to go to college. While my ears and navel were pierced these had been done with parental permission and accompaniment and I felt that it was time for me to take advantage of my new adult status.
At A Glance Author Uberkitty Contact Uberkitty@bme.anon IAM Uberkitty When Two years ago Location North Carolina I had been wondering around town when I happened to find a piercing parlor. I gave it a couple of days thought before I decided the next opportunity I got I would stop by. As luck would have it that day one of my classes randomly ended up being canceled. I called my mom on the way to the parlor and told her I was getting one of my nipples pierced. I had decided to only get my left nipple pierced. Partially because I enjoy the look of asymmetry and partially because I have beauty mark above the right side of my lip and I thought it would help add balance to my body.
When I got to the parlor I announced what I wanted pierced. I was IDed and given the standard forums to fill out. I was then taken into the back room were sat in the infamous dentist chair and took off my top and bra. I asked if it was even possible for my small, flat nipple to be pierced and was told that it certainly could be. The piercer opened up the autoclave, put on the first set of gloves (not sure how many times they were changed but I remember they were), set up a tray with the needle, CBR, clamps, etc. then finally cleaned my nipple with an antiseptic. I was marked with a surgical marker and okayed the placement. The clamps went on and, unlike my navel, they didn't hurt at all. The needle was lubed up and placed at the edge of the first mark. I was told to inhale and exhale deeply. Pierced. It was bizarre but soothing watching the needle go in. Blood began to run down my breast and the piercer cleaned it up before handing me a paper towel to catch the blood as he p ut in the CBR and popped the bead in. I put my bra back on (with a paper towel lining it), and as I got dressed the aftercare was described to me. I was given a bag of sea salt before I paid and headed home.
In the few minutes it took to get home I had stopped bleeding. I did my first sea salt soak to remove the caked blood which ended up taking nearly 20 minutes. I never bled a single time after the initial piercing. I did however have a problem, though I didn't know it at the time. I had been pierced with a 16 gauge 1/2 inch CBR, which is both too thin and too small in diameter for any nipple. The CBR had such a small diameter that it refused to lye flat and because of this bumping it was extra painful.
In addition to the inappropriate jewelry I often slept on it and was told to rotate the jewelry as part of the aftercare. Sometimes it would be very difficult to rotate. I had no idea this was normal. I thought it was problematic so I would force it to rotate. By doing this I tore out the growing fistula time after time.
While the healing was taking an unusually long time it somehow did not migrate or encounter even more sever problems. I did my sea salt soaks twice a day and kept my hands off it. But it was still painful for quite a long time and lymped up very badly. After many months I did research and found in the BME Risks Encyclopedia the risk of small nipple rings and learned of the problems that can arise when you turn the jewelry through healing piercings. I knew that I needed to stretch my nipple. I went back had it stretched up to a 14 gauge CBR with a larger diameter. During the process of stretching the piercing the fistula was pushed out. Luckily it was not torn and managed to recede back in.
The improvement was noticeable but I still was not comfortable with it. I waited a few more months and had it stretched once again to a 12 gauge 1 inch CBR which is were it is today. At the moment I'm waiting to stretch it up to a 10 gauge titanium CBR. I will never again wear any jewelry with less than a 1 inch diameter in my nipple. At the time I had it pierced I had done some search yes, but I had not done nearly enough. I turned out just fine in the end and love my piercing but others may not be so lucky and it's really not worth the risk to be pierced improperly. I hope others can learn from my mistake.