Nostril bump and jewelery

[amberc727]

I have my left nostril pierced (done 2 months ago, with a needle) and all was fine until my 2 year old son head butted me accidentally in the face. My nose took most of the hit, and I got a bump immediately. I went to my piercer the next day, and he had to take my nose screw out (20g stainless steel) and rebend it to account for the swelling. He told me to do sea salt soaks 3x/day and come back in a week so he could bend it back so it wouldn't move around as much.

I did the soaks, the bump went down and almost disappeared. I went back in after about 9 days or so for him to rebend it, but he said that the bump wasn't completely gone yet, so he didn't touch it. He told me to come back in 3 more days.

I haven't gone back yet, and it's been nearly a week because my bump isn't getting better. I'm not sure if its a hypertrophic scar, or an abscess. I had stopped doing the soaks so often because the bump was pretty much gone, I soaked it 1x/day instead. It seems like the bump is getting worse again, so I've gone back up to 3x/day, and I feel like the fact that my nose screw is moving all around is causing much of this!

So my questions are:

1. Is there anything else I can/should do other than the sea salt soaks?

2. Should I consider switching my jewelery for a different material since it is stainless steel?

3. Would a labret be a better choice and help it not move so much?

4. If so, I currently have a 20g in there, and I'm afraid of switching to an 18g since it doesn't seem like a 20g neometal threadless labret exists. Would it hurt my piercing even worse to change it to an 18g? And should I do it myself, or take it to my piercer?

[Sela]

Originally Posted by amberc727

1. Is there anything else I can/should do other than the sea salt soaks?

2. Should I consider switching my jewelery for a different material since it is stainless steel?

3. Would a labret be a better choice and help it not move so much?

4. If so, I currently have a 20g in there, and I'm afraid of switching to an 18g since it doesn't seem like a 20g neometal threadless labret exists. Would it hurt my piercing even worse to change it to an 18g? And should I do it myself, or take it to my piercer?

Well first of all welcome to the forums!

To answer your questions:

1. No. Too much or too aggressive aftercare will actually make things worse, not better.

2. Might I suggest switching to Titanium? I have no trouble with Steel in healed piercings, but for unhealed cartilage piercings, I've usually gone with Titanium until it heals up (the one exception was my conch piercing). I healed my nostril up with a Neometal Titanium piece.

3. I strongly and highly recommend a Neometal snap-together labret piece. It's got an itty-bitty labret back on the end inside your nostril, and the end that shows is up to you (but whatever you choose, make sure it's something you can live with for the next 8-12 weeks, because that's how long it's going to be in there, while you heal up)

4. I'd probably risk going to an 18g. When I was having awful trouble with my daith, I went from an 18g and had it stretched to a 16g (and had it switched out to a Neometal curved BB instead of the 18g CBR that WAS in there) and it healed up REALLY fast after that. HOWEVER ... don't change it yourself. Have your piercer do it. And make sure that the piece is as short as possible without being TOO short - you basically want something that's going to move around as little as possible. A ¼" length is a suggestion on my part. That's what I've got in.

And while you didn't ask it, I'm going to tell you anyways. Once you DO get it attended to and the Neometal jewelry in there ... leave it alone! Don't touch it regardless. You'll soon get a sixth sense for being able to move out of the way just in time in the future

[amberc727]

Thank you for your response. I ordered an 18g 1/4" NeoMetal threadless labret and end piece from this site. Hopefully I'll have it by next weekend and my bump will be down enough that my piercer won't have a problem putting it in.

[Sela]

You're welcome. That's what I have in mine. Good luck this weekend.

[Merica]

I have something to add!

I would highly suggest the neometal taper to help you get that bad boy in, first of all because even though 20g to 18g is a tiny stretch, it's still stretching. Second of all because they can be tricky to get in from the inside of your nostril, and you'll want to minimize trauma to the piercing. Blindly putting in a neometal piece in your nostril the first time is usually pretty tricky.

OH WAIT A MINUTE, you're having your piercer do it, that's very smart of you! Sorry! Hopefully your piercer doesn't have a problem, they should already have a taper they can use too! Perfect!

That said, I wanted to second Sela's first answer, that you might be cleaning it too much. Hopefully the neometal Ti piece will help things out a lot (you'll probably find it even more comfortable too!), but if the bump persists, I'd try cleaning just twice or even just once a day. Also consider what kind of soap you wash your face with and if that might be too harsh for your piercings. Keep in mind that some people struggle with the nostril bump for months, it took my very highest nostril piercing a year before the bump stopped coming and going. I feel like most people find that a jewelry change can help a ton, so hopefully that's all you'll need! Good luck!

[amberc727]

Thanks for that info! It does make me feel better to know that these things take a little while to resolve, so I know that it's not just me.

I've asked this same question (as in my original post) on two different forums I'm a member of, and I'm getting conflicting answers regarding switching to a slightly large gauge since my piercing already appears to be pissed off.

I guess I can give my piercer final say in the matter but I REALLY do not want another nose screw in there, no matter what material it's made out of, because it's getting on my nerves! And, I can't find a titanium threadless labret in a 20g anywhere, I don't believe they're made!

[atalanta]

According to the neometal webside, they only go down to 18g in the threadless. The only things I've seen besides nose screws are nose bones in 20g.

[Merica]

I think that stretching to 18g really might be good for the piercing. Or, not like at the moment of stretching, but in the healing part afterwards things seem pretty often be better off bigger sometimes. I also think that if it's the only way to avoid nose bone and avoid nose screw, it's worth it. Good luck!

Also, you might find that you it's not all nose screws you hate, just the one you have now! They're all bent a little differently, react to being re-bent differently, that sort of thing. good luck!

[Sela]

Do not get the nose bone. You have to basically stretch your piercing every single time you take it in and out. If you NEVER plan on changing it ever again, fine. But otherwise, I still say go ahead and have it stretched to 18g and get the threadless Neometal in there.

Like I said before, I did that with my daith (except I went 18g -> 16g) and it healed up right quick!

And I've always had Neometal threadless in my nostril since Day 1 and it's been one of my easiest piercings to heal, believe it or not (and I have sinus problems!!!).

[amberc727]

Well, I went to see my piercer a week ago, and at the time the bump was big enough that even if he would have ok'd it to switch to the neometal labret, it wouldn't have fit. I ordered the 1/4", and the size the bump was a week ago, there was no way. I'm being a little more aggressive with the bump, including using cortisone cream, and it's getting better every day. He said when the bump went all the way down, he would measure my nose and if it fits, he'd put it in.