AboutBrian Skellie Expertise I can answer questions in regards to and not limited to: jewelry safety, specifically material, shape, proportion, and related issues; aseptic technique and sterilization as it applies to piercing safety; ethical issues of technique and bedside manner; the aftercare and recovery process for piercings.
Experience
Past/Present clients
Tens of thousands of one on one client experiences. http://www.piercing.org/ Body jewelry design and safety expert: Member ASTM committee F04(www.astm.org)
Member AAMI (www.aami.org)
Research advisor and educator for the APP for over a decade(www.safepiercing.org) teaching advanced studio setup, sterilization and equipment management, freehand piercing, aseptic/sterile technique and much more.
Distributor for SciCan StatIM sterilization and cleaning products. http://www.piercing.org/statim/
Expert: Brian Skellie Date: 6/14/2008 Subject: Lump around monroe hole
Question I've had my monroe for a good 6 months and it was fine, but I recently put an
18g in from a 16g for about a week it looks fine and no problems, but I
noticed a weird bump around it. I thought maybe a pimple? But it didn't seem
like one so I took it out & it looks like a hard kind of lump around the entry. It
doesn't hurt or anything. An the skin is kind of poking out, like a realy thin
layer right where the whole it (like i can move the skin if I wanted to, it's
difficult to explain). My boyfriend is a piercer and he said it might be
migration. But, I wanted to make sure. I put neosporin on it to see if that
would help the raised bump, but I was curious what you thought it was and
how to treat it.
thanks!
Answer The new jewelry may not have been properly cleaned, polished and sterilized. This bump could be both infection and contact dermatitis. Migration is a process of rejection, and unlikely in piercings that pass through a fold of tissue like a lip or earlobe.
Steel can be a problem, as you become more sensitized to it with exposure over time. We use only titanium or platinum for this kind of piercing. In many cases, the thicker scar tissue is discolored and can protrude because of the irritant chemistry and mechanical properties. Neosporin will not likely help, but there are other scar treatment options.
Consider a change of jewelry to an autoclave sterilized titanium disc backed labret barbell that is loose enough to have 1/16 inch [2mm] free space. http://piercing.org/shop has examples of these safe pieces. In many cases the scarring will go away when a valid piece is worn for a few weeks or months.
See a doctor if this continues and the jewelry fits correctly, and is of appropriate quality.
