Cheek Piercing Perils (Elayne Angel)
Keith Alexander®
I have been piercing professionally since the 1980’s. In my
experience, this is about the worst thing that has happened to someone
I pierced. For better or worse, that “someone” was me! This is a
complication I had never heard about before. If I had, then this might
not have happened to me. So I will share this story with you even
though it seems a little embarrassing....
On November 13, 1998 I pierced my own cheeks, directly in the fairly
pronounced dimples I already had. I had thought about this piercing
for many years, fantasizing about wearing diamonds in my dimples. I
performed them on myself to mark a very important milestone that took
place in my life on that date.
The placement was obvious; there wasn’t really a lot of judgment call
about where they should go. They belonged just right smack in the
deepest part in the middle of each dimple (even though one is just
slightly higher than the other). On the inside I carefully marked them
to go at a comfortable angle, in a neutral spot where I thought they
wouldn’t interfere with my gums, nor get between my teeth. On
inspection with palpation and using a strong flashlight, I didn’t spot
any vascularity or other anatomical structures of concern.
Being a left-handed piercer, I did the left cheek from the outside in,
and the right one from the inside out. My dimples are pretty far back
on my rather round cheeks and it was a bit of a challenge to do it,
but I was very pleased with how they turned out. Afterwards, for about
a week I had the interesting sensation of having been smiling too
much, and that was about it for “discomfort.”
I followed the standard care and had no bleeding, and normal swelling
followed by entirely uneventful healing with no complications
whatsoever. They took a while (about 6 or 7 months) to fully heal but
didn’t bother me in any way. I loved the way they looked, and I felt
at least 33% cuter with my fancy dimples.
About a year and some months after they were done, they were
thoroughly healed, then something very odd happened. The right side
started to...well...leak. Yes, I had “leaky-cheeky” and I couldn’t
figure out what was going on. Every once in a while there was a drop
of clear, odorless, tasteless liquid coming from the piercing, wetting
my cheek. It was lighter than water and not at all viscous like
saliva. I though I possibly had an allergy and changed my soap and
detergent. Then I thought I might have a jewelry fit problem and tried
larger discs for the inside.
As time wore on, the leaking became worse and worse. It began to leak
whenever I would eat or get excited. My cheek would get chapped from
the liquid, and from wiping it away. This was getting to be more than
annoying, but I was determined to fix the problem and keep the jewelry
in there. No matter what.
I went to my Dentist for help. I saw an Oral/Facial Surgeon. The
parotid glands and ducts were working fine with no obstruction into
the oral cavity. That was the good news. The bad news was that AFTER
healing, some portion of the parotid gland or duct seemed to have
opened into the piercing channel. Their advice: (can you guess?) “Take
those things out.” No way.
Over time, it got worse, and later, worse still. I had taken on a kind
of “tic” of blotting my cheek against my shoulder. It became so bad
that there would be a big wet spot the size of an orange on my
shoulder. This was patently NOT okay! Not at all okay.
By then the left side had started to occasionally get a little damp on
the outside, and I was really getting concerned.
The final straw was when I was about to do a piercing, and the liquid
from my cheek almost dripped right on the client. That was it. That
pushed it over the line to something I couldn’t live with. So, I
extremely reluctantly removed the jewelry to let the holes
shrink/close up.
The leaking stopped in a few days but I was devastated to be without
my fancy dimples. I figured out a little trick with Crazy Glue, some
pointy tweezers, and small crystal rhinestones. I could carefully glue
the little sparkly stones into place in my dimples where the jewelry
used to go. Now when people ask, “Are those pierced?” I can respond,
“Oh, no. Those are just glued in.” And people think I’m joking with
them (because I have plenty of other obvious piercings).
So, it is a small amount of extra time and effort each day to glue the
stones in, but I like the way it looks and saves me from having to
tell this story all the time....
But the tale doesn’t end there. A few weeks after I took the jewelry
out, the right cheek started leaking again for no apparent reason.
(The left one never leaked after I took the jewelry out.) The jewelry
was gone, and I thought that was going to be the end of that
nightmare. So, then I started to use my good friend, Crazy Glue (gel,
for this usage) to glue the hole shut. I would add the stone on after
the hole was sealed up with glue. What a pain!
Over the ensuing months the right cheek leaked off and on. I decided
to try something a little drastic: I had a friend use a cautery
scalpel to burn the hole to generate some scar tissue to seal off the
opening. (Not a service offered at Rings of Desire!) That worked for a
few weeks, then the leaking started again.
As I write this, my cheek is now healing from the third cautery burn,
and I have a pretty good feeling that this time we hit it deep enough
to really seal it off for good. I hope. I hope.
So, when people come into my shop requesting cheek piercing, I share
my story with them. Nobody has ever tried to “talk me into it” after
that, I assure you. If the requested placement would be in the folds
right around the mouth, that would be fine. I wouldn’t consider
piercing in any placement beyond the molars.
Hopefully this will help you make a good decision.
- Elayne
http://www.ringsofdesire.com/
---
posted with permission
---
k e i t h a l e x a n d e r
http://www.nootrope.net
http://www.modernamerican.com
aim: nootrope9 .|..
- - e n d t r a n s m i s s i o n - -
fr0glet
> 2003/09/24 11:42 The Worst Piercing Story
> of "tic" of blotting my cheek against my shoulder.
> nightmare. So, then I started to use my good friend, Crazy Glue (gel,
> for this usage) to glue the hole shut.
> As I write this, my cheek is now healing from the third cautery burn,
> and I have a pretty good feeling that this time we hit it deep enough
> to really seal it off for good. I hope. I hope.
Mind boggling. Awesome of Elayne to give her permission. I am agog.
fr0glet
Keith Alexander®
<fr0...@fr0glet.hates.spambots.org> wrote:
>Mind boggling.
*** I've always refused to do them.
Why? Instinct. Just didn't want to fuck
around in there.
Susan
"Keith Alexander®" <keith@REMOVE!nootrope.net> wrote in message
news:e6nstvs06joqr7f3v...@4ax.com...
> 2003/09/24 11:42 The Worst Piercing Story
>
When we were last in New Orleans (yikes, it's been 3 years!) Elayne spoke
about her right cheek piercing doing that leaking thing. It certainly does
sound as if she tried her best to research why the problem was happening and
correct it.
Too bad - they were really quite fetching, and the super-glue thing sounds
like a bit of a pain.
Susan
i'll teach you to turn away.
f> Keith Alexander® <keith@REMOVE!nootrope.net> blurted:
> 2003/09/24 11:42 The Worst Piercing Story
some piercers are excited about sharing information. & some
copyright their words & never let anyone have use of them. AHEM.
INFORMATION WANTS TO BE FREE! ***
lish "it truly breaks my heart
cr...@got.net to see trust like that go unpunished." -st
39.3% / 30 RANA 125 / 68