nipple piercing

I received this message from a friend and colleague (one of the few piercers on my referrals page), Courtney from Cheap TRX in St Louis, MO.

Her contact info is below.

So I have a story that I thought you may be interested to hear:

Last year a girl came to me after having 3 different attempts at healing nipple piercings. All were an issue of poor placement/poor jewelry. I did them for her a final time that day.

About 8 months later, she came to me almost in tears, as her gyno had sent her to have them removed. She had visited her doc in regards to suddenly beginning to lactate. I told her that piercings don't make you lactate, hormones do, and that she should return to her gyno and request further examination.

She was relieved, but not for long. Her gyno just said "meh" and that she still needed to take them out. As time goes on, my client developed increasing symptoms of hormonal issues. She then sought the help of her regular physician- and they eventually concluded that she had a tumor on her pituitary gland!!

Here's a message I received recently from a piercer who works in the studio of an old friend:

Hi Elayne!

I have been piercing for four years and came across something today I was wondering if you could help me with. A girl came into the shop today with her medusa pierced (about 2 months old), after having it previously pierced before, complaining that her old piercing site, a little big higher than the current piercing, would swell up with fluid (I assume to be lymph?) and drain a significant amount when she put pressure on it.

She also added her nipples were repierced about 2 years ago, and occasionally her old piercing sites would do the same thing.

I guess I've never really encountered this before. I suggested sea salt soaks and hot compressions to help. Is this sound advice? Do you know why something like that would happen? Could the fluid buildup be independent of the new piercing? Any advice would be awesome :)

Thank you so very much,
B.

My reply:

This is an email exchange I had with a piercer who had some questions about his own nipple piercings:

Hi Elayne,

We spoke recently on facebook, I had just finished my piercing apprenticeship. I have a question regarding nipple piercing and since I'm not terribly experienced I figured I'd consult the greatest expert I know: you.

During my apprenticeship, I had my nipples pierced. I have larger nipples which are not very distinctive, ie my nipple blends into my areola creating the appearance of a very large nipple. Anyway, it's been 5 months and they are not completely healed- they still crust up and are a bit scabby at the fistula exit points. My new boss and I were discussing it and after examining them, he thinks that since the piercing goes slightly into my areola that they will never heal and that I might as well retire them.

I, naturally, having withstood the pain of having them pierced and dealing with healing for the past 5 months am not going to retire them without knowing for certain whether or not they are heal-able. After consulting your book and researching the issue a bit more, I disagree with my boss and I think I can heal the piercings. Perhaps this is just stubbornness/wishful thinking, but I really do not want to lose these piercings. As a trustworthy expert, I am asking for your advice. Thank you for your time.

My reply:

I received this message about nipple piercings:

I was given your book "The Piercing Bible" as a birthday gift this year, I love it! The information is great,and exactly what I have been looking for. I got my nipple spierced about 4.5 years ago after my divorce, a gift to self and I have no regrets, 12 guage rings.

I have 2 questions for you, first i do keep the nipple rings very clean use liquid antibacterial soap in the shower and cleam them well. But they are still constatly looking goopy, meaning there is a lot of really thick white gunk that smells bad. I had heard that perhaps Sterling silver or gold my not cause this effect.

If you have any thoughts that would be great. Also is it cool if a straight guy has a navel ring?

Thanks, Andrew

My reply:

I received this great message from an old client who I'd pierced many years ago. It is so great to hear from people who really enjoy the piercings I've done for them!

I received this email from a woman who obviously found her piercings to have a great impact on her quality of life and self esteem:

I recently contributed an article about nipple piercing to a great website called the-clitoris.com. Previously I'd let them post information I'd written about female genital piercings. You can find the nipple piercing article here, and for convenience it is reprinted below:

Nipple Piercing

The contrast of metal jewelry through the flesh of a nipple is truly exotic and striking. Nipple piercing defines the region, frames the tissue, and makes the nipple stand at attention (though it doesn’t necessarily cause the nipple to remain erect at all times). Prior to the early 1990s, when navel piercings became popular, nipples were the most prevalent location for body piercings. Modern piercing enthusiasts—particularly in the gay and SM subcultures—explored the erotic potential of their bodies and started what has become the current style of nipple piercing. These days, people from all walks of life are experiencing the delights of this piercing. For some, it is simply an aesthetic preference or fashion statement; for others it reigns as a favorite in the realm of sexual and sensual pleasures.

Female Nipple Piercing with Barbell, and Tattooed Areola

Nipple Piercing: Placement and Choice of Jewelry

If you're interested in the subject of nipple piercings, I highly suggest you take a look at this post called "Let's Talk about Nipples" on The Pierced Consumer, and this one called "Nipple Piercings and the Long Haul", which is the second part of the article. The blog is written by Cloud, and she's the woman that The Piercing Bible is dedicated to (and if you open your copy to the dedications page you will learn why). Here I am, posting about these great blog articles, when I noticed that The Piercing Bible was actually mentioned in one of these posts. Cool!