I got my nose pierced Dec. 23, 2006, with a stud and my piercer told me to do the salt soaks. I did them religiously because I thought they were benefitial. After reading all the posts here I now know that is NOT true, and I realize I must have done a lot of damage.
Anyway, I wasn't having any problems with my piercing until my one year old son head-butted me in the nose (about 2 weeks after piercing) and then I got 2 colds, one after the other. Needless to say, I got a bump. I continued to do the salt soaks, thinking that would help. It continued to get worse, that is when I stumbled upon this forum and decided to stop and LEAVE IT ALONE. I had been doing to salt soaks for 6 weeks and it's been about 2 weeks of me leaving it alone. It did improve and start to dry up and I was encouraged. At one point I "relapsed" and my bump swelled up to this GIANT whitehead. I think I know the reason for the relapse, I had dusted the TINIEST bit of powder to make it less noticable, then later that day my face wash may have affected it. It was right after that the bump reacted... It grew big enough to cast a shadow. It popped on it's own and shrinked to half the size. Ever since then, I have been determined to completely leave it alone, I'm not wearing ANY make-up the majority of the time, and when I do, I aviod my nose. It seemed like it was drying up though progress was SLOW...then last night before I went to bed the bump seemed a little bigger...i tryed not to worry, but this morning I was sure it was slightly bigger.
The top was crusty and the whole top layer peeled off. At first I thought, YAY, but underneath there was still a bump as big as the stud and it seems fluid filled and not dried out.
Sorry for the long story, here are my questions:
It is my understanding that the "drying out" is a GOOD thing....will it dry out in layers and contiue to peel off smaller and smaller??? What do you think about the fluid filled bump under the dryed out skin? How do I know the bump is healing ?
Also, I have read in other posts that if you remove the nose ring there is no guarentee that the bump will go away. That freaks me out !! I feel trapped! I just want this thing gone, it's so depressing! I loved my nose ring BEFORE the bump, but I had no idea it would be such an ordeal. I'm frustrated that every piercer I talk to tells me to do something that you guys say is harmful.
Though I don't want to lose the piercing, I'm getting to the point where I regret doing it since the reason why I got it was becuase I thought it was sexy...and this gross bump is anything but!! I'm so embarrassed about it! I've been staying home as much as possible because I'm so self conscieous about it, and that's no way to live!!
I hope you have something encouraging to tell me.
Yes, it is a very good thing that the bump is drying out because that is exactly what we want it to do. The theory is that as it dries out, the bump shrinks until it is completely gone.
Sometimes, injuring it again causes it to flare up again and delays the healing but if the bump is getting smaller, then it will eventually disappear.
We have seen our clients who have removed the jewellery and the bump took over a month to go away. So we believe that its better to keep the jewellery in place and get the same result.
We have seen the results of what different products will do to a bump. Its the body's response to an injury and the fibrous tissue is there to patch up the hole once the irritation is dealt with. Problem is that so many keep irritating the bump, that it takes so long for it to go away.
You are doing the right thing by leaving it alone. You could do a warm water compress in the evening for about 10 minutes to help calm down the tissues.
Keep us posted, we hope that you give our method a little time before you decide to remove the jewellery.
Well, when I got up this morning my nose looked even better and a little less red...but then later in the morning I was crying, (going through a divorce) and I had to blow my nose a few times, but I was trying to be SO careful. Well, nothing terribly bad has happend, but my bump looks SLIGHTLY bigger. I hope I didn't set myself back too much.
I'm determined not to cry anymore, at least for the sake of my nose!!!!
I'm also determined not to take the jewlery out, I don't want to lose this piercing - I think it looks cute minus the bump!
It will be completely impossible for you leave your nose alone and not touch it.
Doing the best you can is all anyone can ask. The stress of the divorce may make healing a problem but it will heal!
Keep in touch
