While the outside of a new nostril piercing may stay open for several days without jewelry, the inside can close within hours, particularly if the nostril is swollen or inflamed. Nostril piercings go through mucus membranes, which close fast even in healed piercings. If you remove a nose ring you've had for less than six months, it will often heal without a scar.
Nostril-Piercing Procedure
Before piercing your nostril, a professional piercer will talk to you about placement. She will clean the inside and outside of your nose with a cotton swab dipped in surgical scrub or iodine, then make a mark where the needle will enter. The most common placement for a nose ring is in the crease between the nostril and the tip of the nose. Your piercer will insert a small metal tube called a receiving tube into your nostril to keep the needle from nicking the septum. After piercing straight through the nostril, she will leave the hollow needle in place for a moment while she hooks the jewelry into the open end. As she pulls the needle out, the jewelry will go into the piercing.
Aftercare and Healing Time
According to the Association of Professional Piercers, the best way to clean a nostril piercing is by soaking a sterile gauze compress in warm saline solution and holding it against the outside of your nose, then dipping a cotton swab into the solution to clean the inside. You can purchase pre-made saline solution or make your own using 1 cup of warm bottled water and 1/4 tsp. of sea salt. After soaking for 10 minutes, wash the piercing with antimicrobial soap.
Common Nostril Jewelry
The most common jewelry for a nose piercing is a nostril screw or captive bead ring. Nostril screws look like long straight pins with a blunt end. Your piercer will bend the screw into the shape necessary to fit snugly inside your nostril. A captive bead ring is shaped like a C and holds an indented bead in place between the two ends.
Reopening a Closed Piercing
If your piercing closes and you want to reopen it, go to a professional piercer as soon as possible. Do not try to reopen a cartilage piercing by yourself, as cartilage is particularly vulnerable to infection. Your piercer has tools called tapers, which look like blunt-ended needles. By lubricating the taper and gently pushing it through the existing hole, he may be able to salvage the piercing. Once your piercing is open again, you will need to return to diligent aftercare, as if you had just been pierced.
Potential for Infection
A piercing performed by a trained piercer with proper education in sterile procedure and anatomy should heal fairly easily with good aftercare. However, a piercing is a puncture wound, so there is always a risk of infection. Touching your jewelry with dirty hands is the most common cause of infection. Leave your jewelry alone when you're not cleaning it, and always wash your hands with antibacterial soap first. If your piercing oozes yellow or green pus or if you experience chills and fever, contact your physician immediately.
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