Since I'm only seventeen, I don't have a lot of body mod experience (yet). The first "real" piercing I ever got was on my birthday in the fall of 2004.
At A Glance Author Narcissus Contact Narcissus@bme.anon When Six months ago Studio Altered Egos Location Champaign, IL My sister got her navel pierced when she was seventeen, so since I was ten, my mom's said that's when I could get it done. So this wasn't a spur of the moment, "Oh, I keep seeing these around -- I want one!" decision. This was something that had been planted in my mind seven years earlier and continued to develop from there. I admit, in the beginning I just thought it was cool. As I got older, though, I developed a genuine interest in body modification extending beyond fads and such. A navel piercing became more and more appealing, along with a number of others I am currently planning.
I asked around about the best local studio to go to, and most people recommended Altered Egos in Champaign, Illinois.
So, in the weeks leading up to my seventeenth birthday, I got more and more excited. On the Saturday it was to be done, I had to go work on crew for what is now one of my least-favorite plays. I couldn't stand being there any longer, so I called my mom and she took me to Altered Egos. After standing around waiting for a bit, it was my turn to be pierced. I was really nervous, but not because I was being pierced. I was nervous because I was around a bunch of cool people I didn't know. When he took me back to get pierced, I was still a little nervous, mostly about showing my paunchy little gut, but something about his manner just put me at ease. I've liked needles for almost as long as I can remember, so that wasn't a big deal. Everything was sterile and new; there was no problem there. He was really friendly and talked to me throughout the whole thing (the whole few seconds of it). I felt fine afterwards, aside from a little lingering tenderness.
I went back to crew and everyone wanted to see my new piercing. I was really happy about my new metal, and totally fine with lifting up my shirt to show it off. It did get a little tiring, though.
For the first few days, everything was pretty awesome. I think I took pretty good care of it. The problem was mainly dog-based. I have two dogs and I used to volunteer at the Humane Society. The larger of my dogs, Zander, started it all. He's very excitable, and when I get home from school and sit down on the couch, he jumps up on it and proceeds to climb all over me. Maybe if I had remembered that I had the piercing before he stepped on it, I would have been okay. Now I cover it with my hand before he has a chance to jump onto my stomach. I swear to god I thought he'd tear it out -- it hurt so badly!
But Zander wasn't the only one to almost tear out my poor navel piercing. The dogs at the Humane Society hardly ever get to go out; some didn't even get walked once a day. These dogs get really excited when someone comes in to give them some attention, and understandably so. As I was trying to get a leash on a rather adorable pit bull, he jumped up and got my piercing. I squeaked and fell against the wall in the tiny kennel.
After the abuse my navel piercing was taking, it wasn't really a surprise that it swelled up and oozed pus; it was just really disappointing. I tried Hibiclens on it, which didn't seem to help. I looked up care on BME, and decided to try tea tree oil instead of just the gentle soap I started out with. The redness and nasty swollen bumps went down, but didn't go away completely.
My mother was freaking out and took me to the doctor, even though I was pretty calm about the whole thing. I found it more annoying than anything else. My doctor wasn't too concerned, as it wasn't really infected. She gave me some Bactroban cream and sent me on my way.
The cream worked. I stopped using it after a while, because all the swelling and redness had pretty much disappeared. It eventually came back, however, and now I've been using it again. I think the reason it came back is that I took the jewelry out and cleaned it, and the piercing got really irritated when I tried to put the curved barbell back in.
Due to my experiences, I strongly emphasize the warnings and advice of many other people: be careful with your new piercings. This one is often a problem, so treat it even more gingerly. If you have pets, remember not to let them walk all over your belly or paw at it. BME is a great resource, so don't just assume that everything will be fine if you just go about your everyday activities. Try to think of anything you normally do that could irritate your new piercing.
I currently prefer a very simple 14g stainless steel CBB. The piercer put in a CBR initially. My only other mods are two lobe piercings in each ear, and one cartilage piercing on the right. As they were done with guns, I hope to stretch the lobes and get my cartilage done with a dermal punch. I plan nipple piercings, a VCH, and/or a triangle piercing for my eighteenth birthday, depending on where I am and my anatomical suitability.