I've had my nape pierced for nearly 6 months now and it was doing fine. I did the salt water soaks (nearly) daily and I didn't have a problem. Until today...
This morning I noticed a purple-ish line on the bottom side of the piercing, and my mum says the left-side hole looks bigger and "kind of wet". Also, when I rub over the middle it feels kind of like a stretch mark (I can't figure out how else to explain it)
Can I save it? Or should I take it out, and let it heal?
If I have to take it out, could I get it re-pierced in the exact same place? Or will it have to be a little to higher lower?
Can't say its rejecting anymore: no pain, no ooze, nothing, just the purple bruise thing, purple part is kind of indented? like if I rub over it I can feel it...
The "bruise" looks like a shadow, I swear it's not!
Thanks for the picture, it was helpful. Your problem is that you used salt water to clean this. Salt water is harsh and damages the tissues, so please STOP cleaning this piercing completely.
The picture shows us that it is bruised and you are not losing the piercing, it is just irritated.
The tissues around the balls look swollen probably because of all the damage you have caused it. It may have been injured while you were sleeping. You should not be moving or touching it. You should try to get smaller balls or flat disks to reduce any friction that may occur.
Otherwise, the piercing is healthy.
Thanks alot. It feels alot better.
I stopped cleaning it pretty much after I posted this.
Thanks for your help.
Out of interest, what is the proper way to care for a nape piericing? I want to get another one I think.
Basically if you had the staple barbell from the beginning, then we would have told you not to really clean it except what you do in the shower.
The barbell would be so well fitted that any cleaning bruises the tissues and increases swelling. This is not what would have been healthy for that type of piercing.
So just wash yourself as you normally would, letting the soapy water run over the piercing and then rinsing it with clean water. Pat dry and ignore.
How often do you have to clean it if you have a teflon bar in instead of a staple bar? is soaking necessary?
should I even bother with the H2ocean i bought when i got my piercing?
just in case i went and bought some antibacterial softsoap.
Teflon is a coating not a different type of barbell. We at least hope you were pierced with a staple barbell. Do you only see the 2 balls or disks?
We have not heard of this Teflon barbell and could you direct us to a site that we can do a little research.
Do NOT use the H2Ocean product, we do not believe its healthy for any piercing. It is drying to the tissues and this irritates a fresh piercing.
For all surface piercings, we recommend that you just shower as you normally would and let water run over the piercing to remove any dirt bacteria. Then pat dry and ignore.
If you do anymore to these types of piercings, you run the risk of migration.
