10A.1 Tongue Pierce
Description
This article is from the Piercing FAQ, by Anne Greenblatt with numerous contributions by others.
10A.1 Tongue Pierce
by Harry Ugol <harryu@warpten.EBay.sun.com> 1993
I got my tongue pierced last June. The piercing itself hurt much less
than my other piercings. The reason the piercing hurt a lot less is
that the tongue is different from most other pierceable body parts;
the tongue itself is muscle instead of skin. For one thing that means
it has no nerves on the inside and few pain receptors on the
surface. The striations in the muscle also make it much easier to
physically pierce; the needle tends to slip between them - unlike a
regular piercing, this one resembles pushing an embroidery needle
through a piece of fabric.
The morning after the piercing my tongue was swollen and *very*
tender, both of which are normal (a longer barbell is initially used
for tongue piercings; the barbell is replaced with a smaller one once
the swelling goes down). "*Very* tender" means it hurt to talk and it
HURT to eat; I was not a happy camper that day.
The pain started to diminish within 24 hours. Within two days I was no
longer in serious discomfort.
The healing regimen for a tongue piercing is slightly different than
for most other piercings; Neosporin and Hibiclens and Ivory soap and
such are not good things to put in your mouth. Instead, you use a
*lot* of [diluted] Listerine - before the piercing itself and after
every meal and toothbrushing. I went through a giant-sized bottle in a
week.
You also use a substance called Gly-Oxide, a hydrogen peroxide
compound dissolved in glycerin, which foams up nicely when you drip it
on your tongue. Putting anything fun in your mouth other than food and
drink is strictly out; aside from the standard still-healing-piercing
infection dangers, cocksucking is no longer a low-HIV-risk activity if
you have an open wound in your mouth. That phase lasted 6 weeks, I
think, although more conservative estimates call for 2-3 months.
Like the septum piercing, a tongue piercing is not really noticeable
if you don't want it to be. It takes a little more self-control - you
have to remember not to throw your head way back when you laugh, and
not to stick your tongue out for emphasis when talking - but I haven't
had any problems with scaring the horses at work. Nor does the
piercing get in my way; since the bar was downsized, it's basically a
pair of metal balls riding just above and just below the surfaces of
my tongue.
Sex with a tongue piercing is a *lot* of fun!
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