Q: I recently got my nose pierced, a little over 3 months ago. I skipped one day of not wearing my jewelry, and a very thin layer on the inside of my nose has already grown shut. I’m able to get a needle through, but for some reason, I cannot get my nose ring in. Any suggestions, or do I just need to re-pierce? - Patty
A: First off, please don’t put a needle in your piercing. That can injure you or introduce bacteria which can cause an infection. The best thing you can do is go see a trusted piercer. They can use something called an insertion taper (it’s like a cross between a stretching taper and a needle but doesn’t have the pointy end) which will widen your piercing fistula enough to allow the jewelry in but without harming the fragile cells inside. Just make sure you go soon so that the fistula doesn’t have time to close any further. Happy piercing!
Q: My nipples have been pierced for over a year and they still get sore and itchy sometimes. When this happens, I just clean them with sea salt water that the piercer recommended, and it seems to get better. I had them pierced with plastic as I was afraid of metal reaction. However, now I am wondering if this is the problem, and I should switch to something like titanium. I have yet to change the jewelry. - Anna
A: First of all, what kind of sea salt water? You should be cleaning your piercings with sterile saline solution and not homemade saltwater. There is no way to properly sterilize saltwater at home and you could potentially be introducing bacteria to your piercings. Secondly, it would be a good idea to have your jewelry switched out for ASTM F-136 titanium, which is the current gold standard for piercing jewelry. If you are prone to metal allergies and are truly concerned, you might try looking for niobium or rhodium jewelry. It’s harder to find and costs more but is even less likely to cause a reaction than titanium jewelry, which is already highly unlikely to cause an allergic reaction. Bioplast is not appropriate for getting pierced with and your piercer should not have used it. Make sure you’re using proper cleaning supplies and see a different piercer to get your jewelry changed out. That should help a lot. Also, bear in mind that nipple piercings can take up to a year to heal entirely. Best of luck!
Disclaimer: Body Candy is only here to give you fun and helpful advice and information when it comes to getting pierced. Always consult a professional piercer to make sure a new piercing is right for you!
