Questions about a retired Septum.

[Aetherna]

I had my nasal septum pierced back in August of 2005. This was done professionally and through the "sweet spot". Come December 2005, I had to retire the piercing because whenever any pressure was put against the tip of my nose (e.g. kissing), the placement area would hurt. The piercing was fully healed and did not give me any other troubles. The piercing closed up within an hour of the septum retainer being removed. It did not appear inflamed or aggravated.

I was unable to go back to the piercer and ask questions or be repierced. Currently, there is a small spot of scar tissue where the fistula once was. I won't be able to visit a piercing parlor soon to get any sort of visual examination and explanation but my curiosity has been building upon reading these forums.

So I ask:

Has anyone run into that same sensitivity after the septum piercing has fully healed?

Generally speaking, how probable is it that a childhood (13+ years ago) accident could have any affect on the nasal septum's structure? I'm pretty sure I have a deviated septum, but the "problem" area seems to be closer to my bridge. Again, something else that I've been unable to have a professional (doctor) examine.

If the "sweet spot" isn't so sweet for my nose, would a piercer generally go ahead with piercing the cartilage? If so, would that placement be a bit less prone to my sensitivity?


Too lengthy a post and too many questions perhaps, but I need to be satiated! xd Aside, I will ask these very questions to a piercer whenever in a position to get my septum redone, but that may be a while.  

[astrosnik]

What gauge was the initial piercing done? What material was the healing jewelry? Also, sometimes even a sweet-spot piercing will be resting against the harder cartilage, and can cause occasional pain for months afterwards. 4 months isn't unreasonable for a septum to not be fully healed, and if it closed that quickly, I doubt it was.

Absolutely any injury at any age could damage the cartilage permanently, and is quite common. The idea behind the "sweet spot" is to find a fleshy area to pierce that would eliminate the need to go through tougher, harder-to-heal cartilage, but many piercers will pierce the cartilage itself if the "sweet spot" isn't where the client wants it pierced, is uneven or otherwise unsuitable. You should be communicating with your piercer and they should let you know. It shouldn't be a problem at all. : )  

[Aetherna]

Thanks for the reply heart

The piercing and jewelry were 14 guage. The retainer was surgical steel, I believe Implant Grade Steel was the material (no sort of allergic reaction occured). The retainer was never removed for more than 5 minutes (to clean it) and I experienced no problems when reinserting it.

I should have told the piercer to slow down - the piercing parlor was busy that day, but it's got a reputation that makes it always full of clients. The piercer felt around and picked the most common placement. Though he explained the entire procedure, he did not ask any questions (no concerns) and I had no problem with the placement. Based on what happened to my nose when I was a kid, I thought that the tip of my nose was unaffected.

As to what happened... I was in perhaps in second grade, waiting first in line at the end of recess, standing in front of the sidewalk curb. A girl ran into me and I fell forward, hitting the spot under my nose's bridge on the curb. Somehow it didn't bleed so the school didn't do much about it to help. The most professional assessment I've gotten is an allergist trying to look up my nose to reply "looks as if you have a deviated septum."

I am nowhere near a piercing parlor, nor do I have the money to have my septum repierced. When I do, I will certainly tell them that I need to have a talk.

The best placement may end up being through the tougher cartilage for support. I think if it were to be repierced in the same spot I'd go through the same troubles whenever the tip of my nose is moved/squished/etc. around in any way. Am I right in thinking that there should be no pain when the healed piercing is subjected to such daily stresses? Oddly enough, it did not hurt when I blew my nose.