My Industrial Piercing

While I do appreciate gradual change, from my experiences, so many good things have come to me as a result of abrupt decision making.  I can think of quite a few things, but I'll touch on that later.  What is pressing at this moment is my decision to get an industrial piercing.  Wow, me and my rash decisions! 

I remember a few months ago, walking into what must be my favorite tattoo shop (as this is the third service they've provided for me), and speaking with this guy about the piercing that I thought would make me look so much better with my new hair style.  He explained the healing process, how to properly care for the piercing and exactly what I was not to do as a means of properly healing.  With that, he conveniently included an instruction sheet and two small bags of sea salt for cleaning.  I left the tattoo shop feeling like a new person that day, with absolutely no pain at all. 

Days go by and I'm looking good with my new hairstyle, new piercing, new look all together.  Then, I begin to notice a small bump on one of the piercing sites.  No good at all!!!  Along with the bump, I'm also unable to rotate the piercing as freely as I had been.  So  what's the problem?  Because I've got several ear piercings, and a few tattoos, I knew there was absolutely no way I could have a keloid.  Well, with that in mind, I quickly referred to my best friend, Google.  I then found out that the same thing had happened to many people.  FYI: My best friend rarely lets me down.  Well, next I found out how to care for it, and then what may have caused it.  This is where it gets interesting.  I found out that the bump, called a hypertrophic scar, could be caused by not properly cleaning the piercing or trauma.  Well, there was no doubt that I was cleaning the piercing properly, it only required sea salt soaks.  But I could not think of a single time that my ear had received some type of trauma.  Well, after about a week of this new process added to my cleaning routine, that including a lot of burning, it finally hit me:  I sleep on my side, the side that I got the piercing on!  No problem, I'll just sleep on my left side instead...Well, unfortunately that didn't work.  So how about my back?  This worked out so much better.  In fact, with the extra treatment process, the bump went away fairly quickly.  So, with that said, why am I making such a big deal out of this now?  I have discovered that it is absolutely impossible for me to sleep on my back, or any other way without waking up on my comfortable left side.  Unfortunately for me, my discovery came with a price: another hideous bump!!!

My sad ear.