Tattoo Piercings cover up help?

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I start clinicals in about two weeks. I have to "long" tattoos on both of my forearms on the inside parts and I have a nose ring.

So, my question is, how do I cover up my tattoos and what can I do for my nose ring? I got my nose pierced on May 7th and I don't know if it'll grow back up or be hard to put back in if I don't put something in it. And I can't wear a long sleeve shirt under my uniform (I think that's stupid, but that's just my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions...). We are allowed to wear a lab coat, but won't that be HOT? Espeically when giving a patient a bath??

Any suggestions would be helpful! (FYI: I won't remove my tattoos or get rid of my piercing all together so please save everyone's time and don't suggest those things lol)

I'm so excited about clinicals btw!

THANKS Y'ALL!!! :redpinkhe:redbeathe:redpinkhe

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Try Dermablend body cover. If you're near a mall with Dillard's they usually sell it there so you can get a skin match done. The body cover is supposed to be water proof (i find it stays alright, better if you let it sit in overnight)

I got nothin on the piercing though. (The dermablend is about $20-40 depending)

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Specializes in ED.

One of my classmates has a nose ring and she did the clear stud gizmo for our first semester. She eventually let it close up because she figured she wouldn't ever be able to wear it in the clinical setting anyway.

A lot of the girls in my program wear large bandages to cover their tattoos. One girl has one on the inside of her wrist and she wraps her wrist with coban and that works great for her.

I wonder why the school won't let you wear long sleeves under your top. ?? That is just odd. I guess you could wear your lab coat until you figure it all out but I hate wearing my lab coat so I don't really know what I'd do.

good luck!

meredith

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I was at a doctor's office recently and I noticed the front desk lady had a skin colored "sleeve" covering her arm. I didn't notice it right away, as it matched her skin color very well. I assume this is the Dermablend body cover the previous poster mentioned.

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Specializes in MICU - CCRN, IR, Vascular Surgery.

With a cartilage piercing that recent, it's probably going to end up closing up :( I have to take out my daith, industrial, and tongue piercings every day for clinical and my hospital internship this summer but they're doing fine since I've had them all for over 10 years.

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Well with the tattoos, the only thing that I can think of is wearing something underneath that covers the arms. The nose ring, you could get one thats small enough that it isn't noticable for everyone, but you should check the school policies on this one.

Some of them will say absolutely not. I have seven piercings and I have taken them all out because I wanted nursing school that badly. The good thing is, mine haven't closed up and I can still put them back in during breaks if I choose. I like them a lot too, but I understand why they are generally not accepted.

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Dermablend makeup is supposed to be good. Kat Von D makes tattoo cover up makeup. It sells at Sephora. Here's the link: http://sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P231113&categoryId=C18697

I actually bought it because it is a concealer. It had great coverage, but I don't have tattoos so I can't really tell you how good.

The piercing is another issue. You will need to talk to the school. Someone there will be able to tell you what you can and cannot do.

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the piercing I would just take out during the clinical day. I remove my tongue ring for clinical and put it in as soon as they let us go. As far as the tattoos bandaids are good or wear your lab coat at my school we can not wear shirts under our scrugs either (long sleeve) all of us us bandaids. Good luck

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Specializes in NeuroICU/SICU/MICU.

Do you have a septum piercing or a nostril piercing? If it's a septum, you could just get a clear retainer and flip it up into your nose. If it's a nostril, you could try a clear retainer, but you might still get caught with it.

As for the tattoos, I've heard that even with Dermablend, you'd need several coats to actually cover a tattoo, and I would be worried about it rubbing off onto my clothes. You could look into getting a lightweight scrub coat that matches your uniform rather than a lab coat.

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Specializes in PICU/Pedi.

Get a clear plastic retainer for your nose. I've had mine for so long that I don't have to do this, but if you haven't had it for YEARS, then it will try to close up on you. As for the tats, I have a half sleeve on one arm and a smaller tat on the other bicep so I have to wear a long-sleeve shirt to clinicals and to my job as an extern. It doesn't bother me as I tend to be cold in those places anyway, and the lab jacket in school isn't too bad. But you should be able to use a large bandage to cover your forearms, too, or maybe wear those athletic sleeve things I keep hearing about that keep you warm or cool, depending on the weather.

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I have noticed that the large bandages can make patients a little antsy. They assume you have an infected ulcer or flesh eating bacteria under there or something. Weird.

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I have a nose ring, and for my CNA clinicals, no piercings or tattoos were allowed. I cut a small square of the adhesive part of a bandage and stuck it on my nose so it covered my stud. It was probably the best idea I have ever cooked up in my head. For my clinical rotations for nursing, we don't have to cover up nose piercings(only if it's a small stud or clear), only lip, tongue, and eye brow.

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