FAQ about Pain

This is a list of Frequently Asked Questions about the Pain involved with piercings and anesthesia

Pain F.A.Q.

This is a common question and the answer is no. Since, I am not licensed to practice medicine, can not write perceptions and can not apply inject-able, I do not have a working knowledge of anesthesia or the knowledge to safely uses them. So, I don't.

Topical anesthesia are very limited in their ability and there is really nothing that is available for uses that would be effective. In most cases an injection anesthesia would need to be done a number of times and would in fact be more painful then the piercing itself. Think about it, what is the point of feeling the discomfort of the needle and injection just to mask the pain of the piercing. It's like getting pierced to get pierced and is for the most part over medicating.

Anesthesia introduce yet another chance for reactions, risks and cross contamination. The Caine family of medications are prone to reactions and I'm not a expert on anesthesia nor do I have access to my clients' medical history. Since, some of the reaction and side effects include everything from becoming mildly light headed to a fatal reaction, I would not suggest using them at all or having them used on you.

Another group of products on the market are freezing agents or sprays. Think about it people, Freezing Is Not Good. Freezing Bad. It causes tissue damage and may hinder your body's ability to produce skin cells.

Lastly, the point of having a piercing preformed on your body by a professional piercer is that they are skilled enough to make the piercing less painful, making the uses of anesthesia pointless. It is my experience that when they are used it is often to hide the fact that piercer doesn't know what they are doing. In most cases if the piercing is extremely painful either the piercer under skilled or the piercing shouldn't even be preformed in the first place(some experimental piercings come to mind). Understand that pain is your body's warning sign. Listen to your body. If you can't handle the pain or the pain is too much, don't go back to that piercer for future piercings, tell everyone you know not to go to that piercer and/or reconsider getting that piercing in the first place.

Usually not. Since the method of piercing the body is completely different.

Piercing Guns use a spear like or tapered point to drive through the tissue at a high rate of speed. The piercing is caused more by the speed force of the spring action of the device and tend to tear through instead of cut. In some cases the piercing stud doesn't enter the tissue fast enough and the stud's back works like a punch.

A piercing needle is a lance point hypodermic need with the hub removed. The same style used by the medical industry. It is surgical sharp aka very sharp like a razor. It slices through the tissue very quickly with little trauma. I think a good way to compare the two is an ear piercing gun is called a gun and the stud is like a bullet. A piercing needle is like a knife or a razor. Ask anyone which hurts more to be shot or to be cut with a sharp knife. Think about it.

It is kind of like comparing Apples and Oranges. A piercing is a quick one time pain unlike a tattoo where the tattoo needle is puncturing the skin over and over at a high rate of speed. The wound is completely different and so is the sensation. A word of advice would be if you are trying to decide weather to get a piercing or get tattooed and trying to decide based on pain, maybe you should explore your motivation of the piercing or tattoo. Pain is a momentary experiences and piercings and even the scars if the jewelry is removed, last forever and a piercing take a bit of a commitment to heal. Tattoos also are long term and take a great deal of money to remove. Think through your body art and get what you are driven to get.

In most cases the piercing will hurt a great deal less then you think it will. A large part of the piercing experience is over coming your anxiety, nervousness and your fear of the unknown. If the piercer is well experienced the piercing should at worst be slightly painful.

Yes but it depends on the area of the body that is pierced. For example an ear lobe in some cases will throb in pain for about 20 to 30 minutes but a genital piercing will not throb at all. The pain after the piercing is your body informing you that there has been some trauma to that area of the body and you should do something about it or at the least be aware that something happened.

In most cases the throbbing pain will only last for a few minutes after the piercing has been done. If you experience throbbing pain for hours afterwards, you should contact your piercer. It could be a sign that something is wrong with the piercing.

In the weeks after the piercing is done, you will experience tenderness to the touch. If you bump it, sleep on the piercing or cause any trauma to the area, you will know it. What your body is trying to tell you is, "Don't do that." Especially if you are handling the jewelry or the piercing area. In fact this could lead to prolonged healing, prolonged pain and infection. Simply stop doing it.