Body piercing

Belly button, tongue or eyebrow would all be good choices depending on how rebelious the MC really is. The piercers I know have a game where they watch the young person come in and bet on which fad piercing the person wants.

A couple of things, it will hurt much worse than the MC expects if this is his first one. It will be instant, sharp and shocking. And guess what? You can't jerk away without fear of tearing what was just pierced, although good piercers will make sure the punch goes all the way through on the first try and they will be prepared for the person to jerk and make sure they don't tear anything. The sharp pain only lasts for a couple moments, then you get the endorfin rush. Later it will hurt in a sharp achy way.

A belly button piercing has to be taken very, very good care of (cleaning with good soap twice a day, twirling and shifting the piercing to make sure it doesn't get icky). It takes a couple of weeks to heal and most people don't realize how nasty their belly button gets. If the piercing gets infected then they have to go back and get it taken care of. Removing a piercing from an infected hole is more painful than getting the piercing in the first place because they have to break the crust loose and then squeeze out the infection. Sorry, so disgusting.

Then there is the fear of getting it caught in your pants band or something. Some people never think about it; some people constantly notice everything that touches the piercing and makes it shift.

Hope this helps.

I used to work for a piercer (not in the piercing room, but in the shop), and to add to WishWords post: most reputable piercers will pierce with a captive bead ring (much to the shagrin of most girls who want a curved barbell) so that it is easy to clean. Also, he would have his clients soak the piercing with salt water twice a day (I think it was a teaspoon of salt in a coffeecup of warm water). Some girls would get snippy about the limited jewelry choice, and would shop around until they found a piercer that just wanted to make a buck. The guy I knew would also use a little bit of lidocaine gel on the end of the needle so that it took a little of the edge off. Also, the more reputable piercers won't pierce underage kids without their parent's permission.

And, with that, I have exhausted my knowledge, I think...

Tell him to NEVER pierce any body part he plans on using in the near or medium future. Ask him this: if you lose the pierced part to infection or trauma, will it hamper your life style, sex life, communication ability, or just leave a nasty scar?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/399218.stm

My SO's daughter has a friend who lost a chunk of her tongue to infection at the insertion point of a stud. She is now getting speech therapy, but it's never going to be normal.

And I don't know how the case ended, but a skiing accident some how ripped out a nipple ring on a young woman. We just stopped the bleeding, which was extremely profuse, and sent her to the closest hospital.

Soccermom -

I uploaded a body piercing pic as my profile pic if you'd like to see an extreme example that could be covered during school hours.

My neice sent me that picture - I don't know where she got it.

It is NOT me.

I'll leave it up for a few days so you can see it. If you miss it and would like to see it let me know, I'll send it to you.

>''<

I'll PM you - don't tell my parents!

A few years back, while on vacation to attend my 10 year reunion, I decided I wanted to get pierced. As I work at a very conservative job in a very conservative area, I choose nipple piercings because they would be easily covered.

I understand that nipple piercings are supposed to be the most painful to get but mine were less so. Normally they 'clamp' the nipple and then pierce between openings in the clamp. In my case, they couldn't get the clamp in place. The piercer (a nice native american lady) put on a bit of disinfectant and it was over before I knew it. I truly thought she was going to just do some markings but she had pierced it all.

She recommended that I soak them twice a day in a solution of sea salt and water (not ordinary table salt because of the added iodine and other stuff) by soaking a cotton ball into the solution and then soaking the piercings. She also recommened making sure to use a good antibacterial soap when cleansing the piercings for some time.

In the beginning, the piercings did get a bit crusty and took about a week longer to really heal than she said they would. For the first few weeks, having them 'shift' was a brief, sharp pain that went away pretty quickly. Also during this time I was involved in a UFC inspired grappling class and would just 'bandaid' over the piercings to keep them in place. Preacher curls at the gym were 'fun' until I subconsciously began adjusting my stance and posture.

I had one piercing for about two and a half years until scar tissue began pushing it upward, so I removed it and allowed it close. The other healed over when I got into an accident earlier this year, about three and and half years after having it done. The hospital removed my jewelry and it was so long that the piercing seemed to have healed.

Rabe...

My eyebrow is pierced, though I don't have a ring in it anymore. It did hurt, but not much more than ear piercing. One little drop of blood, and I never got any sort of infection. Only tricky thing for me was getting haircuts-- for whatever reason, hairdressers were always brushing over the ring... ouch!

I loved the piercing. It made me feel brave. I didn't do belly button because I heard too many stories of infections and lots of pain.

I wore a small Band-Aid over it when I performed in children's theatre, before it was totally healed.

At least a few times a week, someone would ask me, "Did it hurt?" That made me sad. I hated thinking that people looked at my face and saw pain. Many of them claimed to be thinking about getting a piercing of their own. I think most of them just wanted me to know they were "cool with it." (I was on the early wave of body piercing, more than 10 years ago, when it was still something pretty shocking.)

I did forget the part about him being underage. No reputable piercer will touch him without his parent or guardian present. So, if he's doing it on the sly he's going to be going somewhere that probably isn't the cleanest, best trained.

Also, in some circles the disinfectant soap of choice is Dr. Bonner's castile soap. They make a big deal out of it. And let me tell you, the pepperment variety will remind you twice a day that you were out of your mind to ever get pierced. But, then you look at the pretty jewelry and remember how cool it is.

I took my piercing out about a year ago. I had gotten it a little over a year before so it was completely healed. The hole is still there and if I wanted to I could insert jewelry. Mine had much less skin to go through than a belly button, though, so it could be different.

Soccer Mom said:

yeah, my character is the kind of kid who would do something rash like get a peircing done in a shady place. I'm off to google Dr. Bonner's Castile Soap! Thanks!

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I'm trying to remember where it was at...and I want to say somewhere in Missouri or maybe in a mall in Salt Lake City, but I saw a middle of the lane kiosk set up and they had 'home piercing kits'. It was supposed to contain all the stuff you needed to do your own piercing without going to a shop.

A sterilized needle, alcohol/disinfected swab, jewelry - the whole works for various different piercings. And it was much cheaper and easier to find than going to a shady place and attempting to go through the hassle of getting someone to agree to do it.

Your kid could just pop over to the mall, buy one of these things and either do it themselves or have a friend do it. Imagine the fun of writing the scene where your MC has to face the reality of what they planned and possibly chicken out because it's a whole different world from pushing the needling into yourself then having someone else do it.

I wish I remember which mall it was at, but I do recall being surprised at seeing it - as they're both pretty red states.

Rabe...

I had my belly button pierced twice. The first time I was fifteen and drunk. My friend was also drunk and fifteen. He got a huge needle from his mums sewing kit, sterilised it by heating it red hot and pierced it for me while it was still hot. He heard if the skin melts a little it goes through easier. It hurt like hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Honestly, maybe even worse than child birth! The second time (years after the scar healed) I got it pierced again; in a proper piercing studio this time! The guy showed me his clean needle, he put some antiseptic and anesthetic on my navel and pierced it. It look less than a second and I was so chuffed with it! However, my piercing grew out when I became pregnant!

Soccer Mom said:

Well, I must say that the thing I have learned most in this thread is that I am a big chicken! I avoid sharp objects on general principle. I don't guess piercing is any more barbaric than the stilettos I love to wear. It always seemed so permanent, but evidently not.

Too bad it would look silly on me. Sounds like a cop out? You bet!

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Y'know, you never know if it'll look silly on you are not.

What I don't like about piercings are when people do it to 'show off' or to 'shock' others. Mine were done for myself and any SO that perhaps wanted to play with my little 'doorknockers'. Not to be shown off and paraded around as if to say "look how cool I am!"

I wouldn't let a fear of looking 'silly' deter you. After all, there are *many* piercings that no one but your SO would ever have to even know you have! Nipples...belly buttons...uhm...other ones.

However, if you think that piercings are just not something you want to do, then don't think of it as being 'chicken' or a 'cop-out' but as being part of *your* personal statement!

It seems that sometimes, the pierced - like latter day feminists - forget that NOT having a piercing (or being a stay at home mother) is as much a valid choice as having one. And that choice should be respected.

I'm reminded of some Jim Steinman lyrics (though I'm almost *always* reminded of Jim Steinman lyrics so big surprise there!) that go:

<i> No one said it had to be real
But it's gotta be something you can reach out and feel now
It ain't right, it ain't fair
Castles fall in the sand and we fade in the air</i>

Rabe...

Apparently the latest thing is body scarring. I learnt this on the UK Channel 4 program "Whatever", which is produced and presented by people of around 20 yrs of age.

They showed somebody having it done - but I can't tell you what it was like as I had my hand over my eyes.

WishWords said:

I did forget the part about him being underage. No reputable piercer will touch him without his parent or guardian present. So, if he's doing it on the sly he's going to be going somewhere that probably isn't the cleanest, best trained...

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You would think. But I am really shocked as to the number of kids at schools with pierced belly buttons. My daughters tell me (they don't have them) that some of their friends go with older friends' siblings who say they are the guardian. (not at the mall - but places accostumed to doing them) and they get it done, almost with no questions asked.

And, around here, supposedly, you get "dress code" at school if you aren't dressed appropriately (covering mid section) but you would never know it. When I drop off my daughter, I see more skin at school (on others) than I would ever expect to see.

Just had to toss out that a few months back I went for lunch with a co-worker who has a tongue piercing and he swallowed the "bar-bell" jewelry that went through the piercing!! It's funny now, but at the time, between making sure nothing got stuck in his throat, and wondering what might happen to the sharp part of the jewelry as it moved through his system..... ugh.

And I don't think any of us ate pizza again for a month. ;-)

Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention with the body scarring: it is done in such a way as to create a pattern or design of some sort.

In the program I saw, the woman was having a butterfly done. Except I didn't watch.

I've had two body piercings, but when it came to cleaning them they did mention the twice a day, but they reccomended just plain old Dial anti-bacterial soap. (the liquid kind for my belly ring) I had no trouble with it, though boy did it smart about three hours after I had it done.