The jewelry most commonly worn in a nostril piercing is a nostril screw or captive bead ring. Either is appropriate for an initial piercing. Some piercers prefer to use a ring, as a nostril screw can come out during sleep if it gets caught on a blanket, pillowcase or clothing. A nostril screw, on the other hand, sits snugly against the nose, making it less likely to get bumped and irritated when the wearer changes clothes.
Nostril Piercing Procedure
A professional piercer cleans your nostril inside and out with surgical scrub, then marks a dot in the crease of the nostril with a purple antiseptic called Gentian violet or a marker called a skin scribe. She inserts a hollow tube, called a receiving tube, inside the nostril. Using an 18-gauge needle, she pierces straight through toward the septum, catching the needle in the receiving tube. She hooks either a nostril screw or a captive bead ring into the hollow needle and pulls the jewelry in as she pulls the needle out.
Nostril Aftercare and Healing Time
The Association of Professional Piercers recommends soaking new piercings in a saline solution made of 1 cup of warm bottled water mixed with 1/4 tsp. non-iodized sea salt. Soak sterile gauze to make a compress, and clean the inside of the nostril with a cotton swab dipped in the solution. After soaking, wash the piercing with antimicrobial soap such as Provon, Satin or Technicare. If aftercare is followed diligently, a nostril piercing will heal in approximately six months.
Inserting Nostril Jewelry
Nostril screws are long, straight studs with the end bent into a U shape. They go straight through the nostril, with the U on the inside to hold the screw snugly in place. Dipping the bent end in antimicrobial soap or water-based lubricant makes nostril screws easier to insert. Twisting them toward the face counter-clockwise "screws" them into the piercing. Captive bead rings are shaped like a C and hold the bead in place between the two prongs. The bead has indentations on the top and bottom to help it snap into place.
Gun Piercing
According to the Association of Professional Piercers (APP), piercing guns are inappropriate for any part of the body, as they can't be autoclave sterilized. An autoclave is a machine that uses high pressure steam to remove all viable microorganisms from an object's surface. Because piercing guns are plastic, they will melt if exposed to extreme heat. Some mall kiosks and department stores use guns with disposable cartridges, but the position of the APP is that the guns themselves are not sterile. Philadelphia piercing shop Infinite Body states that a piercing stud is too short to be worn through the nostril, and the blunt force used to shoot the stud through tissue is unnecessarily damaging to cartilage.
Possible Complications
A piercing performed by a professional piercer trained in sterile technique and facial anatomy will heal fairly easily with proper aftercare. Some redness and swelling is normal; this is irritation, not infection. If your piercing oozes yellow or green pus or feels hot to the touch, it is probably infected. Always leave jewelry in an infected piercing to act as a drain. Nostril piercings close quickly, which could trap the infection inside and lead to abscess. If you have an infected piercing and experience fever or chills, go to the emergency room immediately.
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