Home-pierced nipple

At A Glance Author Fourmi Audacieux Contact fourmi_audacieux@hotmail.com Artist Azl Studio Imago Location Montreal

About two years ago I decided to get some piercings done. My girlfriend had experience piercing herself and others and I felt that letting her pierce me would strengthen the trust between us. I decided on a nipple piercing.

After acquiring some medium gauge captive bead rings and consulting an old piercing mag, I put an ice cube on the area to numb it, my girlfriend marked the puncture points, took the needle and wham! in it went and out it came and there it stayed. The pain was so intense I almost fainted. For the next 6 hours or so, I was *gently* pushing the rather (too) long needle through. Every nudge caused oodles of pain which was focussed on my nipple and rippling over my entire body. The wound was initially bleeding, but stopped (save for a few drops during the nudging). At one point the needle was halfway through the nipple and I realized that there was no going back. I have no idea how, but I managed to drag it all the way through and put the ring in right after (a technical no-no; kids, the moral is: don't do this at home unless you _know_ what you're doing).

A short while after I decided to get my other nipple pierced. Professionally, this time. I took an appointment to see Azl at Imago, back when they still pierced (Imago is currently a Tattoo parlour only; Azl is now working at Black Sun). The procedure took 5 painless seconds. The piercings look identical, although according to Azl the one my girlfriend did was marked a tad too deep and hit a nerve knot. The piercings took over a year to fully heal and can still act up during the cold months. My nipple sensitivity went through the roof - definitely my biggest erogenous zone. My thoughts on piercing nipples yourself: make sure you position the entry and exit holes correctly, and don't rely on a magazine photo - our bodies are unique, and I definitely recommend consulting a professional piercer first.

Caution: gross info ahead !

I have considered removing the rings on more than one occasion due to healing problems, but the pain I went through to get my first piercing always held me back. Although I cleaned the jewelry thoroughly, my biggest problem for the first couple of months was a reccuring formation of bubbles around the piercing holes. They looked like pimples, right down to the pus inside, which I had to squeeze out on almost daily basis. Then they'd scar, then they'd reappear in a disgusting vicious circle. I know a few people that had decided to take their nipple piercings out for that reason, but I was too stubborn and now those bubbles are history.

Some advice on nipple piercing aftercare:

# Only use mild anti-bacterial soap or ointment, avoid anything that has alcohol in it as it will dry the nipple and the skin may crack and you'll be asking for trouble (The way you care for your piercing can make a huge difference as to whether your piercing will heal up and stay where positioned or not heal and migrate through the skin).

# At least for the first few months after the piercing, reduce intake of aspirin, alcohol, and caffeine, and try not to do drugs that heavily tax your body's reserves (LSD, cocain, heroin, ecstasy, speed, etc.). If you're a regular user of the aforementionned substances, your piercings may never heal.

# Take greater care of your piercings during Winter; mine get more sensitive and more prone to mild infections.

Final facts:

# Secretion of a pus-looking fluid which contains blood plasma, lymph and dead cells is *perfectly normal*. It is fairly liquid, whitish-yellow in color and forms a crust on the jewelry at the openings of the piercing. This is not pus, but indicates a healing piercing.

# Once healed your piercing may secrete a semi-solid white malodorous substance from the oil glands called sebum. This is not pus, but indicates a healed piercing.

# Piercings may have a tendency to have a series of "ups and downs" during healing by seeming healed and then regressing. Try to be patient, and do keep cleaning during the entire initial healing time, even if the piercing seems healed sooner.

# Tightness is normal. Do not expect jewelry to swing freely in most body piercings, even after they are thoroughly healed.

# Women: breast feeding is not out of the picture when you have your nipples pierced. There are approximately 20-30 milk ducts in the average female nipple, piercing cuts 3-4 at most, so there are plenty left to enable you to breastfeed. You also do not need to take out your piercing to breastfeed, although most times it is recommended. Circular barbells or standard barbells allow the baby to breastfeed without any difficulty and may be left in.

Well, I hope this info has been helpful. Have fun.