About Body Piercing:

Whats the difference between body piercing and 'normal' ear piercing ? nothing really, by definition, any foreign object pushed through any part of the body must be considered a body pierce. Typically, ear and nose piercings are performed using a piercing gun, but most of the jewellery used in body piercing wouldn't go through the little hole a piercing gun makes, for these piercings, it has to be done by hand. This is how all of my piercings have been performed.

First, the impliment of destruction; a medical 'drain' needle, about 10 cm long, it has a diameter of between 1 and 2 millimeters (depending on the jewellery to be inserted). It is made of tubular surgical stainless steel, and the chamfered end forms a very sharp cutting edge. The needle is surrounded by a thin plastic tube which stops just short of the business end.

So how's it done ?

The area to be pierced is thoroughly cleaned with a surgical wipe, and the intended position of the entry and exit points marked with a skin pen, everything involved with the operation from here should be sterile - even the skin pen comes sterile wrapped.

Forceps are used to clamp the area, the jaws are of a ring design so that the piercing can be made through the forceps, this serves two purposes: Firstly it enables the two pen marks made on the skin to be aligned so that the exit point can be better judged. Secondly, the pressure of the jaws reduces the blood flow, this in turn tends to numb the area somewhat in preparation for the pierce.

The needle is pushed through - it takes perhaps 2 seconds. The sharp tip cuts a round hole through the skin as it goes, and the plastic tube surrounding the needle then stretches the hole slightly. Once through, the needle is withdrawn, leaving the plastic tube through the skin. (The needle of course should be immediately disposed of in a suitable contaminated needles bin). The forceps are removed allowing the blood to flow again. The chosen jewellery is inserted into the end of the plastic tube and pushed through the pierce. The tube ensures that the jewellery finds it's way out through the other hole with a minimum of fuss.

Healing time varies quite considerably from one person to another, and one pierce to another. My shortest heal time was about a month for the tongue, the longest (so far) 18 Months for my second madison. During the healing period, the piercing obviously has to be kept as clean as is possible. Most of mine I have healed up cleaning with a warm saline solution, but again it has depended on the pierce; for my eyebrow I used mainly surgical spirit. My tongue was happiest after gargling with hydrogen peroxide (being careful not to swallow). Of late, I have been using medicated lotion soap, 'Provon' is the brand I have. If you have problems with your computer's mouse, provon is the stuff. Mix up a solution, and clean the mouse ball, rollers, and mouse mat surface (if it is of the shiny variety). Works wonders.