Pierced Through the Nose

Ah the beauty of my new Macbook's built in iSight camera with sepia filter. I mean they almost look professionally done.

Anyway, I don't really know what came over me, when I decided I wanted to punch another whole in my body. I don't really consider myself the piercing kind. In fact, it was such a fad for so long that I resisted getting piercings precisely because I didn't want to do what everyone else was doing. In India of course, and Madurai especially this is a common thing for women, so I did end up doing what everyone else is.

I went to the doctor for the piercing after buying the jewellery, because it was recommended, and I thought it would be the most sanitary. I even told the doctor that I came to him so that it would be cleanly done, and I wouldn't get an infection. I expected him to clean my nose with alcohol, but he didn't. He wanted to give me a local anaesthetic, but I said no. I would rather feel pain than feel numb.

So I sat in a chair and he stood over me with a big hollow needle (on which he had poured some kind of disinfectant). I closed my eyes. He pushed the needle in. I thought,"Well, that didn't hurt so much". Then he tried to pull the needle back out again. It was stuck. That hurt. Then he went in again from the other side. Ouch. Finally his woman assistant pushed the jewellery through the hole. It didn't bleed much, which was good. But it sure was sore. And ironically when I got home I realized part of my nose was numb. They had poured some kind of liquid over it after piercing, which might have been a topical anaesthetic. I was annoyed because the numb part was not the part with the hole. Unfortunately the numbness stayed for about three days. Now that part of my nose is no longer numb, but it feels like someone is tickling me with a feather.

With liberal application of antibiotic ointment, so far there's no infection. Thank goodness.

I almost think I would have been better off with any old lady off the street. I'm sure they know better what they're doing than this guy.

Not to mention he proscribed me three different medications to take for two days afterwards. It was probably totally unnecessary, but because I was forced to buy them from him, and one was an antibiotic I decided to take them. After the not-so-sanitary way in which he pierced it, I thought it couldn't hurt. However, once I looked at the pills I realized I didn't know which one was which so I took all three. I hope if I have kids they aren't born with two heads or something.

Ah, India!