Aids HIV FAQ

second try, tongue pierce ?s

Question:

greetings r.a.b.bits, sorry about the empty post (grumble grumble… damn tin newsreader) anyway. after months of pondering, i’ve finally made the decision to go get my tongue pierced when i go home next week (i’m going to infinite in philly, both at the recommendation of my friends and what i’ve heard on this newsgroup).  however, even after reading the faq, i still have some questions. 1) how do you know if your frenulum is too long (or big or however you want to phrase it)? i’m fearful of making the trip and getting all excited, only to discover that my tongue is too "attached" to do the pierce. i can stick my tongue a little more than an inch outside of my mouth.  should i be worried? 2) is it necessary to buy new jewelry, or can previously used jewelry be sterilized and used on me?  one of my friends recently went from a 12ga barbell to a 10ga, and would be willing to donate his old barbell to me to save expenses.  it’s the barbell he got when he originally got his tongue pierce, so it should be long enough (i seem to remember him telling me that it was the second longest they had). 3)i’m also worried about choosing SSS as a material for the barbell.  i have a nickel allergy, and experienced a very bad reaction (blisters, itching, horrible infections) when trying to wear earrings labelled as "surgical steel" when i was younger.  my dermatologist, who diagnosed the allergy,  told me that nickel is the metal used in alloys (including steel) as the hardening agent.  i’ve had to be very careful since then in choosing jewelry: for example, i can’t wear gold under 14k, and silver has to be above 95% or so to avoid irritating me (this goes for all jewelry, not just piercing jewelry, btw).   should i be concerned about SSS? does it contain less nickel than mainstream jewelry marked "surgical steel"?   would niobium jewelry irritate me? do they even make long barbells in niobium? or should i go for silver? my main fear in a gold or silver barbell for my tongue would be that it would be too soft and prone to dents, nicks, etc., not to mention that it would probably be more expensive.   (i do realize i’ve now mentioned expense twice… it’s not that i’m not willing to invest in a good piercing experience, it’s just that as a poor  college student paying rent and bills , any savings would help!) 4) tooth brushing.  i brush my teeth more often than is probably normal . is this going to disturb the healing process? i’m especially concerned  because i brush my tongue when i brush my teeth.  will i have to stop doing  this, or is it okay as long as i try to avoid rubbing the healing area too much? 5) healing time and infections.  while i’ve promised myself that i’ll try to be a good girl and refrain from any risky activities during the healing process, i know myself. i’ll probably be able to last at least two or three weeks, but after that i’ll begin to break down. how long can i reasonably expect to wait for full healing? (i realize that my mileage may vary…) other than the obvious (hiv, hepatitis), what could i pick up from contact with others? for example, if i were to kiss someone i know is free of those diseases, would the bacteria in that person’s mouth necessarily be so much worse than mine? as far as other oral excursions , would a latex barrier, like a condom, be effective in preventing an infection? would i have to worry about any rough edges on the jewelry tearing or otherwise compromising the condom? as long as i keep up a good routine of swishing with listerine after i put things in my mouth, and rinsing with the peroxyl (or whatever the oral disinfectant stuff is) 2-3 times a day, should i not stress about it that much? i fully plan to ask my piercer’s advice on most of these matters, but i would really love some feedback before i go.  responses to any or all of these oh, yeah, and i guess this is a delurk… so, umm, hi everyone.:D thanks extra much in advance, jen

Response:

: greetings r.a.b.bits, : sorry about the empty post (grumble grumble… damn tin newsreader) : anyway. : after months of pondering, i’ve finally made the decision to go get my : tongue pierced when i go home next week (i’m going to infinite in philly, : both at the recommendation of my friends and what i’ve heard on this : newsgroup).  however, even after reading the faq, i still have some : questions. Good choice, there  :)   : 1) how do you know if your frenulum is too long (or big or however you : want to phrase it)? i’m fearful of making the trip and getting all : excited, only to discover that my tongue is too "attached" to do the : pierce. i can stick my tongue a little more than an inch outside of my : mouth.  should i be worried? If your tongue can come an inch out of your mouth, then I doubt that you will have any problems. : 2) is it necessary to buy new jewelry, or can previously used jewelry be : sterilized and used on me?  one of my friends recently went from a 12ga : barbell to a 10ga, and would be willing to donate his old barbell to me : to save expenses.  it’s the barbell he got when he originally got his : tongue pierce, so it should be long enough (i seem to remember him : telling me that it was the second longest they had). Infinite SHOULD be able to autoclave the jewelry for you.  They might charge you $5-10 for this service.  Call them ahead of time to check. : 3)i’m also worried about choosing SSS as a material for the barbell.  i : have a nickel allergy, and experienced a very bad reaction (blisters, : itching, horrible infections) when trying to wear earrings labelled as : "surgical steel" when i was younger.  my dermatologist, who diagnosed the : allergy,  told me that nickel is the metal used in alloys (including : steel) as the hardening agent.  i’ve had to be very careful since then in : choosing jewelry: for example, i can’t wear gold under 14k, and silver has : to : be above 95% or so to avoid irritating me (this goes for all jewelry, not : just piercing jewelry, btw).   should i be concerned about SSS? does it : contain less nickel than mainstream jewelry marked "surgical steel"?   : would niobium jewelry irritate me? do they even make long barbells in : niobium? or should i go for silver? my main fear in a gold or silver : barbell for my tongue would be that it would be too soft and prone to : dents, nicks, etc., not to mention that it would probably be more expensive. Most Jewelry manufacturers in the business using 316L Surgical Stainless Steel have certification that their jewelry meets FDA standards for Biomechanical devices (implant grade Surgical Steel).  Some people do have problems with Steel, however, and for them, 14k Gold (18k is too soft to thread) barbells, or 18k rings are happier in their bodies.  Niobium, titanium, and platinum also make good choices.  At Perforations, we carry internally threaded niobium barbells in 12Ga and large  Make sure that the niobium is polished to a sheen, as dull polished niobium can contain trace amounts of the polishing compound which is rather toxic, and is where most people’s problems with niobium stems from.  Barry Blanchard of Blanchard MFG tells me that when niobium is well polished (usually by hand) that it is less bioractive than SSS.  You do not want to use silver in any fresh or unhealed piercing, as it is very bioreactive, and your bodily fluids can corrode it, as well as the possibility of it oxidizing (tarnishing) in your body. : 4) tooth brushing.  i brush my teeth more often than is probably normal : . is this going to disturb the healing process? i’m especially concerned :  because i brush my tongue when i brush my teeth.  will i have to stop doing :  this, or is it okay as long as i try to avoid rubbing the healing area too : much? Shouldt cause you nay problems, so long as you use listerine and glyoxide immediately afterwards. : 5) healing time and infections.  while i’ve promised myself that i’ll try to : be a good girl and refrain from any risky activities during the healing : process, i know myself. i’ll probably be able to last at least two or three : weeks, but after that i’ll begin to break down. how long can i reasonably : expect to wait for full healing? (i realize that my mileage may vary…) : other than the obvious (hiv, hepatitis), what could i pick up from contact : with others? for example, if i were to kiss someone i know is free of those : diseases, would the bacteria in that person’s mouth necessarily be so much : worse than mine? as far as other oral excursions , would a latex barrier, : like a condom, be effective in preventing an infection? would i have to : worry about any rough edges on the jewelry tearing or otherwise : compromising the condom? as long as i keep up a good routine of swishing : with : listerine after i put things in my mouth, and rinsing with the peroxyl (or : whatever the oral disinfectant stuff is) 2-3 times a day, should i not : stress about it that much? Tounge piercings heal fast…generally 4-6 weeks for healing.  Avoid deep kissing, and use a latex barrier for any oral activities. : i fully plan to ask my piercer’s advice on most of these matters, but i : would : really love some feedback before i go.  responses to any or all of these : oh, yeah, and i guess this is a delurk… so, umm, hi everyone.:D : thanks extra much in advance, : jen Enjoy your piercing!  Good Luck! — Rev. Drew                                    Perforations Piercing Studio http://www.access.digex.net/~perforat        (202) 289-8863

Response:

|> 4) tooth brushing.  i brush my teeth more often than is probably normal |> . is this going to disturb the healing process? i’m especially concerned |>  because i brush my tongue when i brush my teeth.  will i have to stop doing |>  this, or is it okay as long as i try to avoid rubbing the healing area too |> much? if you have my level of coordination, you’ll probably poke the piercing at least a couple of times when brushing your teeth — ouch, you soon learn not to! as for brushing your tongue…well, I stopped brushing my tongue for four or five days but now I just brush around the ball (and if I get really brave, I give the ball a good scrub too (hey, I’m sure glad I’m not the _only_ person who brushes their tongue!!) —       You must be out of your brilliant mind — Furniture

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Path: magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!news.s printlink.net!dispatch.news.demon.net!demon!user >Newsgroups: rec.arts.bodyart >Organization: OCS >Lines: 24 >Distribution: world >NNTP-Posting-Host: corf.demon.co.uk >X-NNTP-Posting-Host: corf.demon.co.uk >|>  because i brush my tongue when i brush my teeth.  will i have to stop >doing >|>  this, or is it okay as long as i try to avoid rubbing the healing area >too >|> much?

 as for brushing your tongue…well, I stopped brushing my >tongue for four or five days but now I just brush around the ball (and if I >get really brave, I give the ball a good scrub too >(hey, I’m sure glad I’m not the _only_ person who brushes their tongue!!) >– >      You must be out of your brilliant mind — Furniture

Hey-         I went back to brushing my tongue within a week of my pierce. All this time I thought I was the only person who brushed my tongue.                                 MJ (Posting from a friend’s house today)

Response:

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