Mastitis

Whenever Mastitis is linked off the front people, people tent to get kind of freaked out (and for good reason). From the reports that I get, it's disturbingly common, especially among heavier women (I assume both due to bra pressures irritating tissues and inexperienced piercers placing the ring badly due to the nipple being distended). I won't be updating Risks or the Glossary until I've got the new software written, but I wanted to share this email here:

I am a 33 year old female with 7 body piercings. I have tongue, both nipple, both inner labia and a vertical and horizontal hood piercing. I have had no problems with any of my piercings except for my left nipple piercing. I think that the piercing was done too deeply. It went through my areola instead if the nipple. After 14 months of waiting for it to heal I decided to take it out due to continuing discomfort. Three weeks after I removed the barbell a very large abcess formed. I went to the Doctor and they had to perform surgery to remove the abcess.

Exactly one month later I was back in for a second surgery to deal with a staph infection and another abcess. Exactly one month after the second surgery I was back in again to have a third surgery to deal with a staph infection and a infection called actinomyces. I am now one month past the third surgery and will likely require a fourth surgery. There is a small possibility I may actually have to have my breast removed. I love my piercings and take very good care of them. But If I had been aware of this as being a possibility I would never have gotten the nipple piercings. I have been told by my surgeon that I am the fourth person she has done surgery on due to a infection related to a nipple piercing.

I have enclosed a picture taken shortly after my second surgery, it shows the wound and my inverted nipple (the nipple inverted as soon as I took out my barbell) I am fine with this picture being posted as a way to educate about possible side effects.

Now, of course you could say “but it was pierced wrong” or “but she should have known not to take it out like that”, but that's really beside the point, and doesn't make these risks any less real. So please consider that if you're a woman and want to get a nipple piercing that it's essential that you will go to a top-notch piercer that'll place it properly (not intersecting the lactiferous sinuses!).

4 Comments

  1. michelle wrote:

    hi i just wanted to say thank you for shareing your knowledge on your piercings of the nipple as i was really considering gettin it done but thought i should have a read up about it and thanks to you i dont think i want to any more so thank you very much :)

    Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at 11:41 pm | Permalink
  2. Electra wrote:

    I am going through the same thing right now. its beem a week since the infection first started. its so painful and im so lost on what to do.

    Saturday, October 29, 2011 at 8:24 pm | Permalink
  3. DH wrote:

    Yes thank you for posting this i have been reaching this topic and found few other people who say negative things. I found this from a picture link.

    Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 10:54 pm | Permalink
  4. Raine wrote:

    Im considering getting mine done, and so is my partner, and I was wondering how you can be sure that its the piercing and not the fact that you didnt clean it properly. I had major problems with my belly bar when I had it done, it got really badly infected, and that was my own fault for messing with it and not cleaning it. It may be nothing the same, but could that be it?

    Friday, September 28, 2012 at 12:42 pm | Permalink
Wow Shannon, that's really annoying! What is it, 1997 on Geocities? Retroweb is NOT cool!

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