Pain-Taker

By Ciarra-Michelle, Ansonville, NC.

3 Weeks ago, I got my first nose piercing.

I told the man that was doing it that I was very nervous. He told me to sit down and relax because it would be over with as soon as you know it.

He cleaned the area where I was going to get my nose piercing after I showed him where I wanted it. I was kind of freaked out, so I asked him to steralize the needle in front of me. I sat down in the chair and in 1 2 3, I was done and had my stud in there…Gosh I love it!!!!

Want a piercing but scared of needles?? Read on…

Most people have a fear of needles to some degree. Its not surprising – they are assosiated with pain and sickness.

For most people, this fear will not lead to avoidance behaviour, but for around 10% of the population, the fear can be irrational and excessive.

When this happens, it becomes a phobia. The phobia is called Balonephobia – a specific fear of needles. Some may use the term Trypanophobia but this is incorrect. Trypanophobia is the fear of all types of injections.

Many more people would have their noses pierced were it not for this. So what can be done to get over this fear? The most popular technique used by those who suffer is set out in 3 stages. This article refers to Nose piercing but may be used in other settings.

STEP ONE – PREPERATION

Research. Find out what the piercing entails. Find information on piercing procedure. Read about the type of piercing available and piercing aftercare. The key here is knowledge. Balonephobia is partly fear of the unknown – be in the know – arm youself with knowledge.

STEP TWO – CONTROL

Stay in control. Make all your own decisions. Choose the piercing studio and time you want the piercing done. Choose your ideal nose piercing. Visit a few studios to find one you’re comfortable in. Some advice from friends may be helpful here but be sure to visit before you make an appointment.

STEP THREE – GRADUAL EXPOSURE

Your nose piercing doesn’t have to be today or tomorrow. Let your piercing studio know that you’re anxious and visit a couple of times. See the equipment, see the procedure. Ask questions!! No matter how silly the questions seem, always ask!! If you dont, you relapse back to the unknown so all your prep might be in vain. When you appointment comes round, bring someone with you. Parent, best friend, someone you trust.

Many people with fears believe the best way to conquer their fears is to face the fear. I have a great fear of heights.  I wouldn’t admit this to my better half when we first met. We were at a theme park and she wanted to ride on the highest roller-coaster in there. I still wouldn’t admit I was scared. By the time I got to the top, I thought my chest would burst! I got on anyway. It was the fastest way back down. I have never been afraid of heights since that day. True story. It really worked!! To face a fear and win makes the experience much sweeter. Its something you will never forget.

Read more

The Happy Ending

 By Cheyanne from Vermont, U.S.A.

When I was about 10 I saw someone with a nose piercing and i REALLY liked it! I wanted one really bad, but my mom said I was way too young. I didn’t agree with that. I didn’t care that I was too young, I just wanted one, and I wanted one now. I begged and begged for her to change her mind, and as you know begging doesn’t get you anywhere with stubborn parents. So I gave up asking, and just daydreamed about it. I looked up pictures online, and looked at youtube videos, except some scared me, because the people had tears in their eyes, and made faces like it hurt like nothing else.

I never forgot about that nose piercing, so when i was 14 I asked my mom if i could have my nose pierced for my birthday, and she said she would think about it. I was nervous cause i didn’t know what she would say. After a while thinking, she said i could have it done! I was so excited, it was one of the happiest days of my life haha. But then after she said yes, i started coming back to reality, and i got really scared.

She called the piercing/tatoo place and made an appointment for the next day. I am a worry wart, so i was thinking of all the bad things. I could hardly sleep. The next day came and it felt like i had a knot in my stomach. We went to the place, and i was shaking. I got in the chair, and the man was really nice, and for some reason i felt like i trusted him to do this. He told me what was going to happen, and that i wouldnt regret it. So then i started thinking about all the good things. I took a deep breath and he told me to close my eyes, stuck a cork up my nose and then…”wait arn’t you gonna stick the needle in?” haha i thought he didn’t do it. But then he was like i did, now i have to insert the jewlery. That hurt a little more then the needle did. Then he handed me a little mirror and it was georgous!! haha i was soo happy!

I was so glad i did it, so people out there deciding on getting it done or not, really go for it!! you WILL NOT regret it!!

Nose Piercing – One Of The Most Popular Piercings These Days!

No doubt – the nose piercing is very popular among girls as well as boys. Starting with a tiny little nose studs in nostril piercing and ending with crazy stretched septum piercings – people’s fantasy has no boundaries!

But now let’s look at how people actually came to an idea of piercing their nostrils, nose cartilages and all other areas around nose.

Historically nose piercing has been first mentioned even in the Bible and it supposedly dates back to around 4000 years ago. There’s a hint pointing to a nose piercing in an old Hebrew word “Shanf” which can be also interpreted as a “nose ring”.

But we don’t have to assume that this is the earliest occurrence of nose piercing, at least I don’t think so. As we all know the tribes all across the world starting from Indians in America and ending with Papuans had countless traditions involving body piercing and tattooing.

Therefore it shouldn’t be a surprise to find out that septum piercing, for instance, was very popular among Native Americans like Shawnees and in New Guinea and Australia as well.

Those guys from the warrior tribes usually would have huge stretched septum piercings carrying a wooden or bone-made nose shaft and therefore they’d look even fiercer in a battle. And when every day poses a possible threat to your life, you’d do everything that gives you an advantage, wouldn’t you? J

The Bedouin tribes of Middle East and Berber and Beja tribes in Africa also used to adorn women’s nostrils with jewelry and noticeably, the bigger the nose piercing was, the wealthier the respective family was.

However, if you were asked where the nose piercing most likely originates from, I bet you’d say it’s India. Well, it’s not far from truth! Nose piercing is indeed very popular in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and I’d say that is exactly where the hippies back in the 60ies got the idea of their nose piercings!

But if you would like to find out about more sophisticated and weird nose piercing types – check out these kinds of nose piercing – bridge piercing, rhino (or nasal tip) piercing, Austin bar, nasallang and septril nose piercing.

Nose Piercing Aftercare Tips & Tricks

Well, you just got your new nose piercing. Congratulations!

However, before you can carelessly enjoy your fresh nose piercing, you have to follow some simple nose piercing aftercare tips to avoid anything unpleasant to happen.

Most likely you’ll be given aftercare guidelines at the piercing studio. Anyway, here I’ll give you a few universal nose piercing aftercare recommendations and you can be sure they’re not going to be in contradiction with any of the piercing studio rules.

So, what’s going to happen right after the nose piercing is done? The fresh nose piercing will swell up a little bit. But don’t worry, it’s natural. You can’t expect a wound to pass unnoticed for the body, can you? The swelling is going to disappear within the next few days, and the pain will subside as well, if there’s any.

As there are a few of the general nose piercing types – like nostril piercing, septum piercing, bridge piercing etc., pain during the piercing and the healing periods will differ. However, the piercing cleaning guidelines are more or less the same.

So the first nose piercing aftercare recommendation – never touch your fresh nose piercing with dirty hands. Use the common sense and wash your hands before touching, cleaning or moving your fresh nose ring, stud or barbell.

Secondly – cleaning, this is pretty simple as well. You just have to get a saline solution and clean the nose piercing 2 – 3 times daily. If you can’t get one in a drugstore, you can make the saline solution yourself as well. Just dilute about 4 teaspoons of non iodized sea salt to 1 gallon of boiled water and the cleansing liquid is ready for you.

For the fresh nose piercing cleaning you can use simple cotton buds. Just don’t forget to change them when cleaning the inside and the outside of the piercing to avoid cross-contamination. At the end, when you’ve cleaned the fresh nose piercing, just wipe the excess moisture off using a new dry cotton wool bud and that’s it!

Another nose piercing aftercare tip – when applying make-up, avoid covering your fresh nose piercing with it. This one is obviously more relevant to girls. And if you’ve just got a septum piercing, you can’t really get your make-up inside of the nose, can you? But for other types of nose piercing – nostril piercing and bridge piercing – please keep in mind not to apply make-up on the area.

The last nose piercing aftercare tip – don’t try to insert a new nose ring before the piercing has healed well. The new skin that forms inside the fresh nose piercing is very tender, and you can damage it very easily. So better please wait until the piercing is well healed, it’s not tender to touch and not swollen or in red color.

The approximate healing times for the nose piercings are following – nostril piercing 4 – 6 weeks. Septum piercing – 1 – 3 months. And bridge piercing – up to a year. So as you can see, the easiest to heal is the simple nostril piercing, but the most difficult – the bridge piercing which is essentially a surface piercing.

Well, that’s it about nose piercing aftercare – everything is simple and you just have to use common sense. Wash hands before touching the nose ring, clean it a few times a day with saline solution, and keep the nose ring, stud or barbell in until the piercing is well healed.

And, of course, if you notice any discharge from the fresh nose piercing, go back to the piercing studio or visit your doctor. Especially – if the piercing is swollen and it’s oozing yellow or green stuff.