Stupid questions about ear piercings... Help!

[tiredmommy]

Duckie wants her ear pierced in the worst way, but I have questions. LOL!

1. Where's the best & safest place to go?

2. Can she swim while they are healing?

3. What's the best type of earring for an already allergic child (ex: nickel-free or 14 ct gold)?

4. Will the piercing gun make any sort of noise that will startle her?

5. Can she have both ears pierced simultaneously?

 

[witzend]

1. Where's the best & safest place to go?

My sister did my first four with a darning needle, knotted thread, and a thimble after I numbed them with ice cubes. My last two I did at the mall. I liked the mall better. They had a good selection of quality earrings.

2. Can she swim while they are healing?

There should be no reason she can't so long as the water is clean.

3. What's the best type of earring for an already allergic child (ex: nickel-free or 14 ct gold)?

I am allergic to everything but solid gold or silver. Even supposedly "hypoallergenic" metals swell up my piercings. You might buy her a hypoallergenic ring or bracelet and see if she reacts to it before piercing her ears. Infections are awful!

4. Will the piercing gun make any sort of noise that will startle her?

I don't recall it doing that, but you know you can take her in to the mall and let her see how it is done before she decides she's ready.

5. Can she have both ears pierced simultaneously?

Definitely.

I would advise that you get her into a handwashing jag before you let her do this to prove she is ready for it. Pet the dog/cat? Wash your hands. Eat? Wash your hands. Make sure that she is getting her hands good and soapy and under the fingernails, because she will be primarily using her fingernails to clean and twist (yes, twist - ew!) her earrings.

 

[gcvmom]

I'd go to a reputable shop in the mall, too.

I agree with Witz, if the water's clean it should be fine. I also think as long as you clean them off with rubbing alcohol after the swim, they'll be fine.

I recommend gold.

The gun was more like the sound of a stapler.

When you say simultaneously, do you mean both at exactly the same time? I think they have to do one and then move over to the other side to do the other. I don't think they have any way of doing both instantaneously at once.

Ditto on the handwashing. Very important to keep it all clean, esp. while it's healing.

 

[tiredmommy]

Thanks, ladies. I have a nasty nickel allergy myself, so I might try a bracelet first. Also, I am hoping to have both done at the same moment in case my difficult child freaks out.

 

[Star*]

Go to Claires or Icing - they seem to do the best jobs.

Make SURE they mark both ears 1st and then let the girl that pierces them show Duckie the gun - typically it makes a "snap' noise.

If she's unsure they sell "glue dot" earrings so she could see if she will like them OR get her magnetic earrings.

She will be given a bottle of cleaner to use EVERY day 2-4x a day. SHE MUST USE IT. Piercing infections will be bad.

Swimming is okay - there are chemicals in the pool - I would just take alcohol and dab it in the ears as THAT dries up any water in the ears through evaporation and dap a little cleaner they give you after to be sure.

I still never have and never will have my ears pierced.

A lot of times there will be someone there waiting and I highly recommend 14K gold or sterling silver - if you are sure she has no reactions to gold. Turns green if I wear it.

Hugs - what a big moment - need a before and after picture for the scrap book -

 

[donna723]

I finally let my daughter gets hers pierced when she was seven ... she had started begging when she was five. One of the department stores had a sale on it and had an RN doing the piercing in the jewelry department of the store. I don't know how you're supposed to do it, but I kept a little dab of Neosporin on hers while they healed and they did very well.

I'm another one with a raging nickel allergy, but I never had it until I tried do-it-yourself ear piercing. I still hardly ever wore earring because of it. You have to be very careful. I've found that even with some of the ones that say "14 carat gold", it's just the post that goes through the ear lobe that's 14 ct. gold - the decorative part and the backing were not.

 

[SRL]

TM, just one thought for you...even though you didn't ask. Just as important you need to ask is if she's old enough to handle it if things don't heal well or if she gets an infection. My easy child has sensitive skin and got a staph infection 4 months later even though she cleaned them religiously and only wore her good starter earrings. It was so swollen and full of puss. I couldn't grasp the back and the pediatrician had to remove the back and drain it. It took several rounds of antibiotics, was very traumatic for easy child, and I was out $500.

I hope things go well for you if you decide to go for it, but when the problems hit I'd wished I'd waited a few years longer.

 

[flutterbee]

You might want to try 24ct gold, instead. My former mother in law had a nickel-allergy and 24ct gold is the only thing she can wear.

 

[Big Bad Kitty]

Claires definitely will do both ears at the same time.

They mark both ears, and two girls do it. 1, 2, 3 and boom.

 

[KTMom91]

I was an Afterthoughts manager and district manager for about 7 years, so I have a lot of experience with piercings. Since Afterthoughts was sold to Claire's I'd recommend going there. You want Inverness earrings, they come in both surgical steel and 14 karat gold, the post is only a bit larger than a regular earring, so it enters the ear smoothly. That may be the only brand they are using now. Yes, she can swim, and 14 karat is probably the best to start with. The piercing gun makes a pop, but if you explain that it sounds like someone sat on a balloon, it should be fine. Having both ears pierced at the same time is an option, but keep in mind that everyone handles the gun a bit differently, and the potential for crooked earrings increases. I suggest going during the week, weekends are usually quite busy, and that's when the part-timers are working, so they may not have as much experience. Ask whoever's going to pierce how long they've been working there, and make them explain the whole procedure to you. Keep the ears clean, their solution is better than alcohol, alcohol dries from the outside in and the earrings can stick in the ears. It's really gross. Make sure all soap and other hair products are cleaned off the earlobes, that can cause irritation as well. Sorry this is so long, but this is one of my areas of expertise! Any other questions, just ask me!

 

[Hound dog]

KTMom made a great suggestion with the surgical steel. Nichole has metal allergies, and this was recommended for her by several docs. (too bad she never remembers when she gets a new piercing) So far it's been the ONLY metal she hasn't reacted to.

Otherwise I can't think of anything that hasn't been suggested, so I'm going to wish lots of luck with it instead.

Hugs

 

[SRL]

We got the 14K at Claire's and when the problems hit I went to the jeweler who checked the earrings and told me they were surgical stainless steel. In her case I don't think the metal was the problem--I think it was a fluke infection-- but I've left her in 14K bought at reputable places ever since.

 

[SRL]

Also, the Merle Norman's in our mall does piercings as do many of the jewelers. Claire's treated her fine but they do the piercings right up in the front of the store by the window so passersby can see.

 

[Abbey]

I did the 'behind the back piercing' when I was 8 because my mother wouldn't approve (little difficult child in me). We have this gorgeous idea of putting clothes pins on the ears to make them numb, stuck a cut potatoe behind the ear then pushed a needle through. Not the brightest of ideas.

I have huge Nickel allergies (can't keep change in my pockets) but have found lots of kickel free earrings. A friend gave me a cheap pair from Claire's that oddley enough I can wear all the time. Any others has to be a short stint.

Yes, they can do both ears at the same time. Had second holes done and that is what they did.

Abbey

 

[witzend]

Count me in as allergic to surgical steel as well. Can't last 3 hours in them.

 

[donna723]

This was years ago, but I did my own with a darning needle ... I would NOT recommend it! I resorted to the darning needle after I had tried those self-piercer things - that was how I found out that I was allergic to nickel.

At least mine didn't get done like a friend of mine's did! Remember, this was way back when we were all young and silly. She went to a fraternity party, had a few drinks, and fell asleep on a sofa. When she woke up, she found that a guy she knew, a budding zoologist, had pierced her ears with a biology probe ... the ice pick-like things that they use in high school biology class when they're dissecting frogs! I don't recommend that either. But hers healed up just fine - and I was the one who got the raging infection!