# Nose rings **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2018, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-rings/821664 "2018-09-21T01:22:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![stosh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@stosh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stosh)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-rings/821664/1 "2018-09-21T01:22:07Z")
Does piercing the nose in one nostril or the other mean anything? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-rings/821664/2 "2018-09-21T01:46:49Z")
Some people think it is significant but s’not. (Okay, so [this](https://thoughtfultattoos.com/nose-piercing-which-side-to-pierce) site says different.) ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-rings/821664/3 "2018-09-21T10:17:10Z")
Depending on many cultural and personal aspects, the choice of side could mean one of many things or nothing at all. ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-rings/821664/4 "2018-09-21T11:08:28Z")
To me, the really odd choice seems to be putting something in either nostril in the first place. Those people never have runny noses? ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-rings/821664/5 "2018-09-21T12:15:42Z")
To me, the only significance is that the nose ring wearer might sneeze and [kill their friend.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5JZcwXpjqM) I’m curious to know what significance the OP sees in the location of the jewelry? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-rings/821664/6 "2018-09-21T13:00:16Z")
I don’t think the location has any meaning, at least not in the U.S. You put it wherever it looks / feels best. I personally did mine myself (NOT recommended. MUCHO painful!) and, being right handed, I naturally put it in the right side. Why anyone would put something in their nose in the first place has too many answers to get into here, but I can say yes, I do get a runny nose sometimes and handle just like anybody else does, and I just do the same thing everyone else does; wipe it on my sleeve 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-rings/821664/7 "2018-09-21T14:00:20Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > (Okay, so [this](https://thoughtfultattoos.com/nose-piercing-which-side-to-pierce) site says different.) I wouldn’t put too much stock into a site which suggests that “Mughal rule” made nostril piercing “part of Hindu culture.” They’re part of _Indian_ culture because of the Mughals, equally common among all faiths except (I think) Jains and Buddhists. The side that’s pierced _can_ vary by religion and region. In Ayurveda, there is a belief that the left nostril is connected to the genitalia, so a left nostril piercing supposedly relieves pain from periods and childbirth. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-rings/821664/8 "2018-09-21T14:09:06Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I wouldn’t put too much stock into a site which suggests that “Mughal rule” made nostril piercing “part of Hindu culture.” They’re part of _Indian_ culture because of the Mughals, equally common among all faiths except (I think) Jains and Buddhists. The side that’s pierced _can_ vary by religion and region. In Ayurveda, there is a belief that the left nostril is connected to the genitalia, so a left nostril piercing supposedly relieves pain from periods and childbirth. Oh, you mean sort of like how that site says > [@](#): > > Often times, the left side of the nose is the most preferred side for piercing. According to Ayurveda, the left side of the women’s nose corresponds with their reproductive organs. When the nose is pierced, it helps in reducing the pain during childbirth and may have some positive effects on conditions like endometriosis. ? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-rings/821664/9 "2018-09-21T14:10:13Z")
Hi I have my right nostril pierced, stud with a flower on it. It has no meaning, I just thought it’d look cute with my face. There are some people who have some weird meanings for certain piercings, either cultural (“oh piercing here means you’re gay”) or spiritual, but for most people we just like piercings or think they’re adorable/hot/attractive/punky/FUCK THE SYSTEM/whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-rings/821664/10 "2018-09-21T14:14:18Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Oh, you mean sort of like how that site says > > ? Yes, sort of like that. I stopped reading after the “Hindu culture” part. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-rings/821664/11 "2018-09-21T15:41:48Z")
OP, there is an easy way out of this Gordian dilemma: [https://pixfeeds.com/images/topic/5971/1200-5971-nose-piercing-photo3.jpg](https://pixfeeds.com/images/topic/5971/1200-5971-nose-piercing-photo3.jpg) . Symmetry restored! ---
**Author:** ![Ignotus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecc23a/32.png) [@Ignotus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignotus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-rings/821664/12 "2018-09-21T16:00:56Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Why anyone would put something in their nose in the first place has too many answers to get into here, but I can say yes, I do get a runny nose sometimes and handle just like anybody else does, and I just do the same thing everyone else does; wipe it on my sleeve 😛 I offer my sincere apologies to you and everyone else if my previous post offended you! It’s just that I, like many of us hyperboreans, spend half the year with a nose more or less constantly skinless from frequent wiping, and I hate to think of what it would look _and feel_ like, were it in addition adorned with jewelry! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nose-rings/821664/13 "2018-09-21T21:44:39Z")
So I assume whichever nostril has a ring allows the wearer to hang a hankie on it?