I had gotten my outer labia pierced on Friday night by my regular piercer, whom I love and trust. The piercing was your average happy piercing experience, and the first few days of healing went well.
At A Glance Author Im In Narnia Contact Im In Narnia@bme.anon IAM Im In Narnia When A week ago The fourth day, I woke up and it was a little more swollen than before, but nothing extreme. I walked to school, and by the time I got there things were increasingly more painful. I checked things out in the bathroom to find that my labia was swollen as all hell. That class was a figure drawing class, so I was standing up the entire time...things got worse when I got to my next class, where I realized that I couldn't sit comfortably. I checked myself in the bathroom again on break, and things had managed to get worse. The thing that really freaked me out is that the flesh of my labia was getting hard.
I then had the joyous task of walking home. I tried calling my piercing studio several times, but there was a decent snowfall the night before and they were closed. When I got home, I had just enough time to attempt to ice my labia, freak out, and send my piercer an urgent message on myspace. I then had to rush off to work, where I would spend 8 hours standing/walking.
I got to work and things kept getting worse. I called Infinite, a local reputable piercer (my regular studio is in New Jersey and I live in Philadelphia), explained the situation, and spoke to Jen, one of their piercers. She said that it sounded like my CBR's diameter was too small and wasn't allowing proper drainage, and that I should come in as soon as possible.
Did another bathroom check, and things had managed to get even worse. The area of hard skin was getting larger and deeper. Fortunately, there was another manager scheduled for the night. I called my boss, explained the situation, and arranged to take an extended lunch, hopped in a taxi, and made my way to Infinite. I got there, spoke to Jen, and dropped my pants..she didn't seem prepared for just how bad it was. She called in Jeff, the shop owner, to give a second opinion. They both agreed they have never seen that amount of swelling in such a short period and I should get my arse to a doctor. Jen and Jeff were extremely helpful, especially since I hadn't even gotten the piercing done at their studio. Jen's only request when I left was that I keep her informed and let her know what the doctors say.
I went back to work and tried to keep it together for the last hour. Fortunately, we closed a few hours early because of the snow. I called a friend and headed to the local ER.
The nurse that questioned me and took blood was super-nice, but the nurse that helped out my doctor was a judgmental bitch. She spent a good deal of time staring at me and slowly shaking her head back and forth. The doctor was better, but he seemed pretty confused by the whole situation. I explained that I'd rather keep the CBR in, so incase it was infected I wouldn't get an abscess. They didn't understand this reasoning either, but the hospital didn't have any ring opening plyers and they weren't sure how to get it out, so they let me keep it. As the night went on, judgmental bitch nurse was getting nicer-I think she realized that I wasn't an idiot. They gave me an IV drip of some antibiotic and left me to wait...and wait...and yes, wait some more. It was late at night and they couldn't get ahold of the GYN, so they arranged an appointment the next morning. They decided against puncturing my labia with a scalpel and letting it drain and sent me off with some perks and antibiotics.
The swelling had gone down a little bit the next morning. I went back to the hospital to the GYN, who seemed much more familiar with piercings. She said that it just looked like massive swelling, but to be on the safe side gave me prescriptions for two antibiotics in case there was a non-localized infection or an infection that hadn't started to drain yet. Since the swelling was going down, she said the ring could stay in, but if things didn't get better it would have to come out. I'll admit I was happy about that, though this wasn't about keeping the piercing. If taking it out would have been better for my body, I would have happily done that.
Day two and three I spent as much time as possible lying in bed and resting. The swelling went down drastically within two days,, and I don't know if its from the rest, warm soaks, or the antibiotics. The piercing hasn't leaked any puss whatsoever, though the antibiotics did make me nauseous. Oh, and just for shits and giggles, I got my period on day two. The whole ordeal was just as emotionally draining as it was physically. All I wanted to do all day was cry and get back to NJ to my piercer, and instead had to stay calm through classes and at work.
Its slightly over a week later, and things seem fine. I can even ride my bike, so long as I mount it carefully. The flesh immediately around the piercing is still a little hard, but it feels similar to every other piercing I've had. The piercing has migrated slightly and if I notice it reject further, I'll take it out.
People keep asking if im pissed at my piercer. I tell them hell no. I researched the piercing and made the decision to get it. Everything he used was sterile and new, like always, and he spent quite a lot of time on the placement. I made the choice to modify my body, and I can't expect my body to react in a predictable way. My swelling was abnormal- everybody is different, and bodies react to trauma in different ways. There was no way for me or my piercer to predict this type of reaction, and the way I see it, no one should be held accountable for what happened. I respect my piercer and know he does everything to maintain a safe, comfortable, sterile studio, and I will continue to go to him for further work...after I give my body a hell of a long time to rest from this experience!