Piercings, you either love them or you hate them. For me, it was always a rollercoaster relationship. I had my ear lobes first pierced when I was 12 and my cartilage when I was 15. I then had a short hiatus from hole heaven. Until, when I was 18, I decided that in order to rebel against my ultra-conservative and small-minded town I needed to opt for a physical manifestation of my liberalism: a nose piercing.

This is of course an incredibly embarrassing confession as, these days, nose piercings are not only insanely commonplace and not at all rebellious, but they’ve also partially become a status symbol for middle-class white girls who overshare on TikTok and are convinced that they’ll find a vintage Gucci clutch in a Kent charity shop.

Nevertheless, I am a part of the nose piercing community and now that I’ve passed my five year anniversary I thought I’d break down some of the most frustrating aspects of having face jewellery.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Having a nose piercing can be inconvenient all year round, however, when you have a cold it’s potentially the most awkward and vexing thing in the world.

This is no understatement: I have stabbed my inner nostril, blown my nose red raw and dealt with major sniffling all due to the fact that having a cold while wearing a nose piercing is about as dangerous as cliff jumping.

Don’t even get me started on how difficult it is to pop your ears.

You know how you always hear horror stories about people with belly button piercings ripping them off while getting undressed? Yep, that happens to nose-pierced individuals also. There’s no such thing as getting ready (or unready) in a rush when you’ve got a tiny little sword smushed into your skin.

Anyone who’s had a piercing knows that there is always the possibility of infection. If problems arise with an ear piercing, you can always hide it behind strands of your hair, or potentially ear muffs if you’re feeling creative.

With a nose piercing, however, things become a lot more obvious. While a small bath of salt water does usually seem to do the trick whenever a nasty red bump begins to appear, it’s normally quite difficult to predict and can leave you feeling incredibly insecure. If this does ever happen to you, I recommend finding a prop from Red Nose Day and acting as if nothing ever happened.

Ok, this one sounds silly—but I swear, it’s a thing. There have been a number of times where my nose piercing has gotten caught on a t-shirt, bed sheet or towel, it’s come loose and there’s been a split second where I’ve had to catch the gem from shooting up my nasal passage. It’s a constant fear.

So, there we have it. Nose piercings can be a cool and fun addition to the most mundane of outfits. Nevertheless, they’re a big commitment and if you own a bundle of shaggy jumpers, I’d seriously recommend you reconsider before taking the plunge. Or feel free to ignore me, it’s your face.