6 months to heal? damn you should have gotten it checked out for taking that long. my navel healed in about 2 weeks was sleeping on my stomach etc the next night, I never had any ozzing or crusties whatsoever.
my nipples took about the same but couldnt change the jewellery for a month, and again had no ozzing, and this was with tx immune issues.
my slowest to heal was my eyebrow ring, being on the brow its a prime site for infection because of all the dust ect that you collect on you brow with sweat etc.
as for taking them out with surgeries, I ask my doctors if it's ok for them to be left in, and they have no problem with it, all I do is put some tape over them after my sterile shower and I am set, surgies I have had since all my piercings, have been injection of steriods directly into my chest scar because of keloiding, a abcess removed from my chest along with my sternun wire which left me with a open cavity because the abcess was the size of a golf ball, hysterectomy which was only 3 months ago which was fine by my gyno to have them taped.
Number one rule with piercings, is to use surgical steel in fresh piercing, as gold can actually irritate the area causing infection, bath with warm sea salt (NOT TABLE SALT), table salt has iodine in it which will cause the skin to react.
I took my navel ring out for my hysterectomy only because one cut went through my navel, and its been pierced that long it didnt matter.
I did have one nipple pierced before my tx but of course they had to come out for the tx and when I tried to get the nipple ring back in I couldnt because of post operative swelling, but I got it redo 3 months post transplant.
Healing time does vary a lot from person to person, but remember if the piercing is sore or red or oozing go back to your piercer and check with your doctor, you may have a infection.
I did have my hand pierced through the webbing between my thumb and first finger that I did myself as well, but positionally, it was a royal pain in the butt and I was pleased when it eventually migrated, and was helped along by eventually being ripped out, so I never bother to re do it, even though it looked pretty good, it wasnt worth the hassle.
I have more piercings planned just gotta figure out where to put them, LOL
good luck to all the fellow body stabbers!!
Tracy
