VCH

I got an email today from another unfortunate woman who got a misplaced VCH piercing that was terribly painful to receive:

Hello

I got a vertical clitoral hood piercing in Fargo, ND and it does not even look like its in the right spot. I went back and had the piercer take a look at it and she said the top is in the right spot but the bottom is off a little. I researched and researched before doing this and thought that it is supposed to go up under the clitoral hood. It is off to the side not even by the clitoris itself.

I’ve read and talked to people who have had it done and everything says that the pain when having it done was like a pinch. This pain I had was excruciating…not once or twice but THREE times. My husband was with me and said she stopped in the middle of it and went to get a bigger tube to pierce with. In getting a second opinion from another place…the lady looked at it and says, “that’s not right, I am sorry honey”. When we called back to where I got it done at, she argued and said that it was done right…after she had said that the bottom was not right. We tried to call the manager who also started a piercing school there and they said she is out of town and they didn’t know when she would be back. I was looking so forward to this and it turned into a nightmare. Is there anything that I can do?
Thanks, D.

My response:

I received this message from a Facebook friend:

Well, it was not my photo (this time), but a 3-page spread I wrote about erotic piercing, with photos of some other lovely pierced individuals. You can read a brief write up about it here on the ModBlog website. Run out and get a copy today! It talks about the Prince Albert, Frenum, and Dydoe for men, and explains the erotic possibilites for stimulation from certain iercings. It also goes into a little about VCH piercings as well.

If you want to watch  how I perform piercings, you can see me doing them in graphic detail here: http://clips4sale.com/10557. There's also a great video of me examining different configurations of female anatomy and describing which piercings are possible and where exactly they chould be placed. They aren't meant as "how-to" videos, but they do show a lot about how I do what I do.

Here's an email I received from a woman who was experiencing a problem because the jewelry that was placed in her VCH piercing was too short:

Hi there, I've contacted my piercer too, but I'm looking for some guidance and hoping you can help.  I had my VCH pierced a week ago.  It was initially healing very nicely with no issues.  However, when I had it pierced, I was told that my hood was very long and he probably could have used a longer barbell (I have a straight barbell in now).  This morning when I was cleaning it in the shower, I noticed that it was uncomfortable and found out that the bottom ball on the barbell has retreated into the piercing hole.  I tried to manually push it back through but it is stuck and very uncomfortable. What should I do?  Will my piercer be able to remove the jewelry and hopefully put a longer barbell in? I'm worried that it's healing around the ball and will be very difficult to remove. Thank you for any help you can give, Amanda

Amanda, Go see your piercer immediately! You MUST have a longer bar put in ASAP! If you allow jewelry that is too small to remain in place then it is likely to end up embedded. As the ball sinks in, your tissue grows around it, and soon you'll need the assistance of a doctor to remove the embedded jewelry by making an incision or two near it! Wearing ill-fitting jewelry is dangerous, especially when a piercing is so new. A curved bar gives you the advantage of some extra space without adding extra length--I usually start VCH piercings with them. This excerpt from The Piercing Bible explains proper VCH placement and jewelry:

"Which female genital piercing is less painful, more stimulation, heals easily and faster, and is most popular and fashionable? I'm interested in inner labia piercing, vertical & horizontal clitoral hood piercing. Which is the best..Thank u"

I just wanted to thank you for my beautiful piercing, I'm so happy with it, but I am a bit concerned that it may be getting infected. Perhaps I'm just overreacting, but its really really tender and sore, and its been about three days and I also noticed a small dot of discharge that was a light yellow today for the first time. I've been following all of your directions and keeping everything clean and sanitary, so I'm not really sure what went wrong. I'm really afraid, but if you can tell me what steps I can take steps now to possibly reverse the infection and what else I can do besides the sea salt baths and antibacterial soap, I'd really appreciate it. I read the chapter in your book about Trouble and Trouble shooting but since my symptoms weren't as severe, it didn't seem to really pertain to me. Please help if you can! Sincerely,

B.

I referred her to some relevant pages in my book (182-183 "What to Expect") because this portion explains that some secretion, redness, and tenderness are all perfectly normal in a new piercing! And they can last throughout the healing period...

I also advised her that one of the worst things she can do is over-clean. I told her to try to relax and follow the instructions I'd given her for aftercare and to review them in the book.

She wrote back:

Thanks Elayne, I guess I was just over reacting but I appreciate your help! I read all of the pages and a few other chapters in your book and everything reassured me that what I'm experiencing is normal. I think that the problem was that I was over cleaning my piercing, but now I feel much better and not so much pain and tenderness.

I received this email recently:

I am considering piercing my breasts. I have inverted nipples however and I am wondering if you feel this would prevent a successful piercing for me. Previously, I had a sternum piercing which rejected. I currently have a VCH, which is still healing.  I assume I must be a slow healer since the VCH was done about four months ago, and I still am doing my salt water soaks to keep it from being sore. I would appreciate any advice or thoughts you might have. My piercing was done by a member of the APP. Thank you again for your time, Dawn

Dawn, My goodness! That is slow healing--the VCH usually heals in closer to 4 weeks, not months! Have you tried changing your VCH jewelry or the care product you're using on it? After that long a period of time, I think something should be changed. Have you considered trying emu oil? It can be very effective for healing problem piercings (and those that are doing well, too). Are you wearing a bar or a ring? What material? I wouldn't say a history of a rejected sternum piercing is indicative a tendency toward troubled healing--surface piercings such as these often have problems. The VCH is another matter. If it is determined that your jewelry is of good quality, the piercing properly placed and cared for, then you simply may not be a good candidate for piercings. Here is a brief section from my book about piercing inverted nipples: