When Your New Body Jewelry Is "Stuck" in the Hole

It's not uncommon for a new piercing to be "stuck" in place while healing. This is usually caused by the fluids your body excretes and/or the swelling of the area due to the trauma of the new piercing. As long as you're cleaning the piercing correctly a couple of times per day, don't worry if it doesn't move much at first. It will become easier to move as it heals. Though I usually recommend taking the advice of your piercer, if he or she has recommended rotating the jewelry as part of the after care process USE CAUTION! Rotating your jewelry to prevent your skin from growing into the jewelry is an old practice which science has proven outdated and incorrect. With standard jewelry types used for a new piercing, there's usually no reason to rotate the jewelry because the jewelry being used is made of nonporous metal, meaning there are no holes in the metal for your skin to grow into. In fact, rotating the jewelry is likely to further irritate the piercing site and prolong healing.

The exception to this is if you have a type of jewelry or piercing which is more inclined to a skin overgrowth. While the skin won't grow into the jewelry, certain jewelry/piercing types (ie: l-shaped and u-shaped nose rings) are more inclined to have skin try to grow OVER and enclose a portion of them if not rotated periodically, particularly during healing.

If you absolutely must move or remove the jewelry piece, I'd highly recommend a visit to your piercer who can help you to remove the jewelry without damaging surrounding tissue and can also help you to decide where to go from there, whether you need assistance choosing a retainer for the piercing, advice on re-piercing the site if you choose to let it close, a more manageable jewelry piece to wear, etc. If you have to move or remove the jewelry yourself, the easiest time to do this is after a shower or cleaning as the majority of the dried fluids will have washed away from the area. Be careful! Go slowly to assure there are no scabs or dried fluid still attached (as you don't want that ripping away from and damaging tissue in the area) and consider using a mirror/mirrors if you can't easily see what you're doing without. 

Swimming With Your New Piercing

You want to avoid pools, lakes, hot tubs, and other bodies of water during your piercing's healing process or at least try to keep the piercing out of the water when you go. Keeping excess moisture from your piercing is essential to the healing process. Additionally, chlorinated water has a tendency to dry your skin out and may overly dry your piercing as well and non-chlorinated water is more likely to carry harmful bacteria which can lead to infection. If you must swim, clean well and thoroughly afterward, keep the piercing out of the water and dry as much of the time as possible, and try emu oil if the piercing ends up getting too dry from the chlorine and you're unable to stay away from the pools.

When Your Nose Stud Is Stuck In Your Nose

Unfortunately, nose studs are known for this sort of thing, particularly with newer piercings. Because switching the jewelry piece requires "popping" it in and out of the piercing hole, the delicate skin in and around a newer piercing has a tendency to become irritated or even damaged in the process. The area is also more likely to be tender in the first several months (or longer, depending on your body and how you care for the piercing), making it painful to switch the jewelry.

How to get it out: Take a warm shower, soak the piercing site in the water, and try to pull the stud free then. You may wish to plug the drain to assure you don't lose the jewelry down it and have your new piece clean and ready to put in as soon as you get your current stud out. It will hurt a bit and may make your eyes water but you should be able to get it out. Be sure to clean the entire piercing site after the switch as well.

If the jewelry still will NOT come out, you'll want to visit your piercer to have him/her remove it for you.

One last option is that you can have the jewelry professionally cut from your nose using metal cutters. I do NOT recommend trying this yourself as you don't want to risk cutting or damaging your nose but use it as a last resort if you find a piercer or professional who can help you with it and nothing else will work.