Gun piercings are a terrible idea
I recently found this blog and think its a wonderful idea as everyone these days does turn to the internet when looking this kind of thing up. I wanted to share my story of gun piercings. I'll admit that not everyone's gun piercing goes wrong but there are enough horror stories floating around that should deter people. I'm from England and when I was a kid everyone I knew went to Claire's to get their ears pierced between reception and year 6. The fact that not a week went by without some girl in our school having red and weepy ears and the gossip flying around that ,for example, Sian has got her ears pierced recently and they are now infected. The experience of getting your ears pierced at the beginning of a school holiday or having to stick plasters over them in PE; and then subsequently getting an infection and leaking gunk everywhere was some sort of weird pre-teen right of passage. But I still really wanted them. When I was 8 in the summer holiday between year 4 and 5 I finally wore down my Dad and with the help of an excellent school report was off one Sunday into town, while my Dad was playing cricket, to Claire's, and finally awesome earrings. Mum said it would hurt and she was right. I clutched the offered Claire's bear as I sat in the chair at the front of the shop shaking with nerves and various people I knew watching me; two teenage girls who were probably younger than I am now, held the guns up to my ears. As they fired I flinched; the holes are definitely not even in placement and they pierced through at a weird angle. However lots of tears and a glass of water later, off I bounced away with new holes in my ears.Â
A few months later, while brushing my hair getting ready for school I noticed I had a lump behind my ear. It was about as big as my earlobe, maybe a tiny bit bigger, and when I looked in the mirror it was plum purple. I yelled down to my Mum who took one look at the lump, rung my school and marched me off to the Doctors. I had a form of blood poisoning from the ear piercing due to the trauma of the gun and possibly bacteria transfer and was on antibiotics for 6 weeks because of it. Luckily my doctor knew not to take out the earrings and leave the infection trapped in my body. I'm pretty sure she had said she had seen this kind of thing before as the Claire's in the local town had a wealth of horror stories associated with it. I had 3 more Doctors appointments and it took a year and half for the lump to disappear but I still have a faint raised bump where it was and it's been 12 years.Â
You'd think after that incident I would have learnt my lesson, but no. When I was 17 I decided that I wanted a second set of holes and since my first set had healed so brilliantly (ha ha ha) I would check out the local piercing shop. My Mum didn't like it because it was cramped (as its a converted old building probably a house) and we hadn't yet made the connection between the gun piercing trauma and the blood poisoning thing even though the doctor had said it. My Dad claimed it was because I didn't clean them properly even though I did what they told me to and I know that solution stuff they sell is completely useless. Â The lady at Claire's did the first hole ok but as she did the second the noise of the gun made me flinch and the stud ripped more than usual on the way through. And afterwards it really ached and burned and my ears felt crushed for the rest of the day and this nasty feeling carried on for a week. The right ear was ok and the holes are decently spaced whereas the left ear, the studs are a bit too close together and it took about double the time to heal properly. My body heals really quickly and my right ear took about 6 weeks to heal but my left ear took 12 weeks.Â
When I was 19 and I knew better I got a helix piercing on my left ear at a piercing studio with a needle. Although it ached for a while it healed beautifully, no scarring, no bumps, no problems and it's fully healed now and perfect. I also got my left nostril pierced a few months later with a needle and the same thing happened, pain and swelling but ultimately healed without a hitch. Now 21, recently got my tragus and my daith pierced on my right ear and a second helix piercing on my left. They are sore and my daith piercing is irritated (guess its a lot of cartilage to go through) Â but overall considering I have three healing at the same time it's all going great.Â
Guns may seem cheaper and quicker and easier. But if you go to a professional piercer they know where nerves and blood vessels are, they have had a lot of training and finally guns, even the disposal ones they use at Claire's, are not sterilised even if they come pre-packaged. Instruments can't be properly sterilised unless they are put through an autoclave and the piercing guns have plastic on them which would melt so cannot be put through the autoclave as that heats up the instrument to kill the bacteria. Needles at a piercing studio either come pre packaged and sterile or they are autoclaved on site (or both). The jewellery is also autoclaved which kills all the bacteria present. The piercer wears gloves at all times and the whole area of the shop is completely sterile and cleaned after use. If people are worried about piercing with a needle not being as quick, professional body piercing take 1 second to pierce and they are far more accurate than a gun.Â
If I knew what I do now when I was 8 or even 17 I wouldn't have crooked piercings that hurt a lot more overall due to all the problems I had, than all my cartilage piercings put together.
I am going to see my piercer tomorrow because of my irritated daith. I am a little bit worried about it as I forgot I had it and kept wearing earbuds so if it is infected its my own fault. You can't go back to places like Claire's and get good advice and after care from professionals who know what they are doing, if you are worried about a piercing being infected or irritated. I messaged them on Facebook and within an hour and half they had replied with their advice and suggested I pop in and see them, and don't touch it unnecessarily, take ibuprofen and do sea salt soaks. This is a good piercing experience I feel. I have taken their advice and even now the ibuprofen has worn of its less painful and red.Â
The morale of my story and many others like me? Don't risk it, piercing with guns because of a needle phobia or because its cheaper whatever the reason is not worth it. Not worth the consequences if it goes wrong. Thank you for reading.Â
