I’ve heard different horror stories about piercing attempts gone wrong. I’ve heard that if your eyebrow is pierced improperly that you could lose feeling on that side of your face. I’ve also heard that if you if you tongue is pierced wrong that you could lose your sense of taste. Finally, I’ve heard that if your penis is peirced and something goes wrong that you could never get an erection again with out an implant or something. Is this true? Has anyone out there had these problems? or is all of that stuff just fictional?
WAG here: peircing done incorrectly could cause an infection… making all of the examples you give possible! Also, I wonder if you could peirce directly through a nerve, and cause numbness…
Paging peace and Dr.Paprika!! 
I, myself, have never experienced the desire to punture myself in any way…
To answer your question “yes” and “no”.
“Yes”: After all you are putting a new hole in your body. Most piercings are done with a larger gauge than the traditional nose or ear so the hole is bigger (actually to some exten the larger post is better because those little 16 gauge wires will cut through you like a cheese wire) and has more potential for infection. Also most places where you get holse and call them “piercings” are sensitive areas (tongue, face, genitals, nipples) and thus are either more vascular or have more potential for nerve damage.
“No”: Most piercings done by reputable piercers are done with a disposeable needle (make sure he tosses yours into a red bio hazard can after use and that your was taken from a sealed wrapper. Also make sure he has and uses an autoclave or pressure cooker to sterilize any clamps and uses gloves.) and surgical steel retainer bars which are less prone to allergic reaction than silver or even gold(rash can lead to irritation which can lead to infection). Some areas while being scary don’t hurt and are not too difficult to keep clean. For example the average person has no problem keeping their penis or vagina clean after a piercing there but you would be shocked at how many people get infected navel piercings.
Further things to note: Hawaii and Oregon are the only two states that I know of that require liscencing for piercers and Oregon’s method of certification is if you send them a check for 40$ then you pass. There is NO test, just the fee and you get certefied. IMHO if you go to a piercer and they don’t tell you how they are working to make testing mandatory and difficult then they are not competent to put a hole in you. Any pro who believes in piercing should support strict testing and certification process.
If the piercer tells you to use any alchohol based wash on your piercing leave immidiately. Alchohol dries and puckers the skin whcih can cause delayed healing and scar tissue that may never heal properly. Your piercer should recomment something that is anti-bacterial and contains no alchohol or any harsh astringent. For tongue piercings use Biotine (tastes funky but it’s great). If you go to a piercer and this person makes you uneasy go away. A piercer is part shaman or should be. Part of his or her job is to make you feel relaxed and confident in his or her abilities. Any good piercing should make you feel like higging the piercer afterwards, otherwise it was just mechanical. If you are there just for asthetic purposes or because it is trendy then you might want to reconsider. do not get pierced in a mall!
I have several piercings so I’m not just talking out my ass. Also the mistakes I warn about are ones I learned the hard way (specifically the mall thing.). If you are getting a barbell it is also better to have the threading on the ball rather than on the bar because taking it in and out with the threads exposed can irritate the piercing as well as carry infections into the hole. Also 12 guague is better than 14 and 10 is best forn tongue for the "cheese-wire’ reason mentioned previously. It really does not hurt until later when you try to eat or get it stuck past your teeth and panic and jerk it back. ow. Penis does not hurt at all and bleeds very little. nipples and nose are excruciating.
nuff said.
No- TOO much said. TMI!
-
-
- You left out the one about the possibility of appearing really, really desperate for attention. That is, assuming they are visible in public. - MC
-
Well for some it is the mark of the modern primative and thus a password which is visible to other primatives and something you actually want people to see. For me it was something I was curious about and I found I enjoy the sensation of body modification but I haven’t felt any desire to quit my job, grab some bongoes and hang out at a coffee shop wearing a lot of leather. With the exception of my ears you cannot see any of my work (and hell, Morely Schaffer has an earring now). I even take out my steel tongue bar and replace it with an opaque red acrylic one at work.