Reaction from cheap barbell!!!

[killrbat]

I recently got a tongue barbell from Mal-Wart that caused a reaction in my mouth. It caused burning and excessive salivation. *:evil: *I didn't check the package when I bought it but it doesn't say Stainless or Surgical steel anywhere. I had to put the original barbell back in, it's a 7/8", so I guess I'll have to wait until I can get a good quality 3/4" later.

[kaposhia_mod]

First of all, when did you get your piercing? You shouldn't change it within two weeks of having it done. Second, what material was the new barbell? If it was plastic, it was probably acrylic, which is the worst for healing piercings. It's not good in general, unless you find dental acrylic (but that's hard to find). If it was a metal, maybe you're allergic to that type. Try titanium.

[solnyez]

Although what do you really expect from cheap jewelry?

You get what you pay for,

[killrbat]

I've had my tongue pierced for a week on Friday. The swelling is gone and I wanted to go to a shorter barbell. I found the card from inside the package and it says 316L Surgical Steel.

[Illyria Jade_mod]

Cheap jewelry is just that...CHEAP! *Even if it *was* steel, it was poorly made and poorly polished, which is what caused the reaction.

Buy your jewelry from somewhere reputable, like a piercing/tattooing shop, or from an online body jewely manufacturer.

[killrbat]

Thanks Illyria Jade, I'll know better next time. *8)

[solnyez]

1 week is awful soon to be changing jewelry.

[iamblackbird]

Just because it said "stainless steel" doesn't mean that the entire barbell was. It might have been a coated piece of jewelry, which wouldn't surprise me.

[deadmass2001]

I quote a saying most of us has heard many times (All that glitters is not Gold ) :)

[Buzz Kill]

you definately shouldn't be changing your jewelry after one week.

[Illyria Jade_mod]

...especially to jewelry of questionable quality...

[Buzz Kill]

definately, cheap jewelry is called "cheap" for reasons besides price. And make sure you clean all jewelry properly before putting it in if you buy it. I've seen people do gross things, like buy jewelry from a flea market in mexico and put it directly into their tongue on the car ride home. Ick. Jewelry needs to be cleaned no matter where you purchase it from.

[deadmass2001]

omg i could never do that and i would never buy jewlery from a flea market :?

[Illyria Jade_mod]

Jewelry needs to be cleaned no matter where you purchase it from.
And there's just some places that jewelry SHOULDN'T be bought from! (Claires, WalMart, etc etc etc)

[iamblackbird]

Heh.

I tend for this rule of thumb:
If it's not from a company I know and trust for good jewelry, then I'm not getting it. For example...I've got a finger ring from Claire's that turned my finger green (the metal did the funny chemical thing...). Since Claire's jewelry isn't all around perfect, I refuse to buy body jewerly from them.

[Illyria Jade_mod]

I only get body jewelry from a few select top manufacturers. *I get as much as I can from PP, and after that I go directly to the manufacturers.

[killrbat]

I've even got a finger ring from Hot Topic that turned my finger green. I just painted the inside of it with clear finger nail polish and solved the problem. *:wink:

[iamblackbird]

I've done that.

However, if you know that the shop doesn't carry ONLY HIGH QUALITY jewelry, then you should NEVER buy body jewelry from them. Wearing a ring on your finger is FAR different than wearing IN your ear.

[thedrummer]

Done it too. *I made the mistake only once, with the barbells in my ears. *Whenever I buy new bars I always keep a close eye on them, if anything seems wrong in any way----TAKE IT OUT, use your preferred disinfectant, cleanser, ect.. and wear the old ones, until you can come across quality items.