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.

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

Most likely you’ll be given aftercare guidelines at the piercing studio. Nevertheless,  I’ll give you a few universal nose piercing aftercare recommendations. If you are unsure about anything in this article, or if our advice contradicts advice given to you by your piercing professional, you can contact me by leaving a message at the end of the post. I’ll do my best to help.

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 normal. A piercing is a wound, and wounds take time to heal. The swelling is going to disappear within the next few days, and the pain will subside as well, if there’s any.

There a several types of nose piercing – 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 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. Just dilute about 4 teaspoons of non iodized sea salt to 1 gallon of boiled water and the cleansing liquid is ready to use.

For 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! But for other types of nose piercing – nostril piercing and bridge piercing – please keep in mind not to apply make-up to 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 it’s better to wait until the piercing is well healed, it’s not tender to touch and not swollen or  red in color.

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