General Care For Body Piercings
- Always wash hands thoroughly before contact with piercing.
- Do not use rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide.
- Do not use bacitracin or other ointments. .
- Use salt soaks for best care/cleaning of ring or stud and loosening dry material on the skin .
- To clean the surrounding skin, use mild antiseptic products such as benzalkonium chloride, . Dilute 50/50 with water, if soap is too harsh.
- Twice a day saturate a cotton swab or Q-Tip with the cleaning solution, apply to the pierced area, let soak for a few minutes.
- Remove any dried matter.
- Rotate the jewelry while the area is wet.
How To Treat A Minor Ear Piercing Infection
You may be able to take care of it at home with minor infections. However, seek medical treatment if youve had a cartilage piercing and it seems infected. Oral antibiotics may be required as these infections can be difficult to treat. In severe infections, hospitalization may be necessary. To treat a minor infection, follow the steps below.1) Before treating your infection, wash your hands well.2) With a saltwater rinse, clean around the piercing 3 times a day. Be sure use a sterile saline or make it by mixing /4 tsp. of salt with 8 oz. of distilled water.3) Avoid using hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, or antibiotic ointments as they can impede the healing process and cause further skin irritation.4) Do not take out the piercing, otherwise, you risk letting the hole close and trap infection.5) On both sides of your earlobe, do not remove the piercing. With paper towels, pat the area dry. Do not use other materials or fibers can remain behind.6) Continue this cleaning regimen twice a day until the piercing is totally healed once the infection appears to have cleared. Routine care is vital during the 6-8 weeks of healing for an initial piercing.
What Is An Infected Ear Piercing
An ear piercing is a hole through your earlobe or the cartilage in your middle or upper ear. An infected ear piercing may be red, swollen, sore, warm, itchy or tender. Sometimes the piercing oozes blood or white, yellow or greenish pus.
A new piercing is an open wound that can take several weeks to fully heal. During that time, any bacteria that enter the wound can lead to infection.
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Faqs: Can I Take My Earrings Out To Clean Them
Ear piercing aftercare is just as important as the ear piercing process itself, and following a piercing aftercare process can help you stay on track. Here are a few frequently asked questions with answers.
Do I Have To Follow Aftercare Instructions?
To help your piercing heal properly, its important that you follow the aftercare you are given at the time of your piercing. The average healing time is 6 weeks for an earlobe piercing and 12 weeks for a cartilage piercing.
We recommend leaving your piercing earrings in and following your aftercare instructions for 6 weeks after an earlobe piercing and 12 weeks after a cartilage piercing. Visit our After Care Tips & Timeline for more details and tips for protecting your new piercing.
How Can I Clean my Earrings?
Newly pierced ears are sensitive and require special care and attention. Its important to keep anything that comes in contact with your piercing clean. We recommend cleaning the front and back of your starter piercing earrings with a cotton swab soaked in ear care antiseptic while you are cleaning your piercing.
Can I Take My Earrings Out To Clean Them?
You should only switch into new earrings AFTER the healing period. If you take your earrings out for any length of time during the healing period, the holes may close or you may find it difficult to re-insert earrings into a piercing hole that has not fully healed.
What Happens After the Healing Period?
First 6 Months AFTER Your Healing Period
What Are The Symptoms Of Infected Ear Piercings
Some pain and redness are part of the normal healing process for pierced ears. It can be easy to confuse those with signs of infection. Symptoms that may indicate an infection include:
- Discharge coming out of the piercing.
- Redness, warmth or swelling around the piercing.
- Tenderness in the pierced earlobe or cartilage.
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How To Maintain A Healthy Ear Piercing
- After your ears have healed completely, remove your earrings every night before bed. It is best to take the posts out before sleeping because they wont fall off while you sleep and get lost. Furthermore, it will allow air to contact the skin and keep your ears healthy.
- When you remove your jewelry, clean them with a cotton swab that you have dipped in sterile water. Rub it over the earring posts at night. If you do this regularly, your ears will remain free of germs.
- After your ear piercing has healed thoroughly, you can remove them and clean them regularly with sterile water of lukewarm water. If you do it regularly, your ear will remain infection-free.
- If your ears begin to feel tender or sensitive, you might have an infection. In that case, remove the post and clean the lobes with some water. Then take a fresh swab and apply some ointment with it. Even if you dont have an infection, doing it once a month can help keep complications at bay.
How To Take Care Of A Helix Piercing
A helix piercing is super cute and can pass as an important fashion statement. However, they need proper care especially when healing. Proper care of your new helix piercing will enable you enjoy fashion earing for many years to come. The aftercare of helix piercing is very simple, but if it is not properly then it can result to devastating effects on your ears and your overall health. In this article, we are going to give you tips on how to take care of a helix piercing.
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Home Remedies For Infected Cartilage Piercing
Some individuals develop a bump on the infected pierced site. This bump forms on the backside or at the site of the piercing.
There are symptoms associated with this bump, which includes bleeding, fever, foul smell, inflammation, oozing, and pain.
The cause of these bumps is excessive collagen growth. Here are some home remedies for these bumps.
Cost Of A Helix Piercing
The price of a helix piercing greatly varies depending on where the piercing studio is located, how experienced your piercer is, and the jewelry you get. The typical price for it, though, is between $30 and $75. Be sure to find a piercer based on ability and not price dont go for one just because its inexpensive.
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Always Wash Your Hands
Although this is common knowledge when dealing with piercings on the body, many people rarely follow this advice.
When you fiddle with the cartilage piercing without having washed your hands, you increase the chances of transmitting germs that can cause an infection to the piercing.
You, therefore need to ensure that you always wash your hands using a liquid antibacterial soap, accompanied by hot water to ensure that you will not get an infected cartilage piercing.
Outer Conch And Inner Conch
Conch piercings go through the middle of the shell of the ear, which is also the largest and thickest piece of cartilage in the ear. Its called a conch because this part of the ear looks like a conch seashell. The outer conch is in the lower part of the middle of the ear. The inner conch piercing goes through the upper middle shell of the ear, which would be above the outer conch piercing and slightly closer to the ear canal.
Jewelry with a straight post like a barbell, flatback barbell , or threadless or pushpin posts are worn in conch piercings. Circular barbells and captive rings are often uncomfortable to sleep on in conch piercings and arent usually recommended for long-term wear.
A conch piercing will include the price of the jewelry, so the cost can range from $30-$50 for standard jewelry or $80 and up for something more ornate or decorative. The initial piercing can be done from an 18G to a 14G, depending on the look you want.
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How Can I Make My Cartilage Piercing Heal Faster
Cartilage piercings are another common form of ear piercing. Unlike lobe piercings, these piercings go through the tougher part of your ear, around the side.
These piercings take longer to heal, with an average healing time of anywhere between 4 months and a year.
The best step you can take to ensure your cartilage piercing heals quickly is one you can take before the piercing is even done, and thats to make sure your piercing is done with a needle and not a gun. Piercing guns can shatter cartilage, causing prolonged healing times.
Additionally, avoid getting 2 cartilage piercings done at once. The increased trauma at the site can cause both piercings to lag in terms of healing.
Once the piercing is complete, apply the same rules as you would with a lobe piercing. Bathe the area in saline solution at least twice each day and try not to sleep on the pierced ear at night.
With cartilage piercings, its extra important to avoid baths and swimming, especially during the first few months.
How To Spot Infected Cartilage Piercing
How do you know if your cartilage piercing is infected? Identifying the signs of an infected cartilage piercing is easy. Here are some infected cartilage piercing symptoms:
- Redness around the piercing that could last up to several days
- Change in skin color around the pierced area after redness leaves
- Extended bleeding of pierced area
- Itching or burning in the pierced area and surrounding cartilage
- Tenderness and pain in cartilage
- Yellowish or greenish discharge from the pierced area
- Scabbing and formation of crust
- Swelling around the piercing
- In some cases, a person may experience fever
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Requirements For Cleaning Ear Piercings
How Old Do You Have To Be To Get One Or Both Of Them
This depends entirely on the studio. Most places in the UK will pierce a helix from the age of 1214 with parental consent if you are under the age of 16. Consent can be provided with a landline call or by having the person come in with you.
If they suspect you are underage or giving them false information, they will refuse to pierce. It’s a good idea to phone ahead and check with wherever you’re planning on going.
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Type Of Jewelry Used For A Helix Piercing
Stud: A stud is a small piece of jewelry with a thin long backing that is inserted into the hold of a piercing. To seal a stud in place, you attach a small fixture on the other side.
Hoop/Ring: A hoop, also called a ring, is a popular choice for a helix piercing. Its a piece of metal in a ring shape, but its flexible enough to easily bend. Remove a hoop by simply pulling apart the two ends.
What Should A Good Ear Piercing Studio Look Like
‘First off, the studio should be visibly clean. If you walk in and the floor is dirty, assume everything probably is!
‘Next, look at their portfolio or ask for their Instagram. Check their stuff out and see if you like it. If they don’t have pictures of their work, they’re probably not showing it for a reason.
‘And do your research. People spend more time searching for the best place to get a taco than they do finding a decent studio to get a piercing. You’re spending money on this, so make it good. Chances are, if it’s really cheap, the place is no good and you’ll just have to spend money on getting it done again.’
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What To Expect From A Cartilage Piercing
When you choose to get a cartilage piercing, make sure you get one from a trained professional piercer. Professionals know how to sanitize their equipment and give you a piercing that will heal more neatly.
Look for a state license or certification when you go to a piercing parlor. This ensures that your piercer knows what theyâre doing.
Hygiene. Your piercer should provide a clean environment and use sterile tools to do your piercing. They should wear a pair of new disposable gloves during your piercing. They should also use each tool only once before sterilizing it.
Itâs better to go to a different piercer than risk an infection if youâre not sure whether your piercer is using safe methods.
Itâs fast. The piercing itself will only take a few minutes. Your piercer will swab your skin with alcohol and confirm where you want the piercing. Then they will use a sterile needle or piercing gun to make the hole and place your new jewelry. They may have you remain sitting for several minutes to make sure you donât get dizzy from the piercing.â
Once your piercer is confident youâre feeling okay, theyâll give you information on caring for your piercing. Follow their instructions to make sure your new body modification heals correctly. This will also help you avoid infection.
Can I Take My Newly Pierced Earrings Out For An Hour
If you want to keep your ears pierced, do not take out the jewelry. Even after a few weeks they can close up in as little as minutes, hours would be sure tomake reinserting them difficult and possibly painful. After thepiercing, I removed one earring within a day and it immediately closed up.
How to treat an infected daith piercing
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Using Inappropriate Or Cheap Jewelry
When you get your cartilage pierced, you will need to make sure that you make use of the right jewelry.
Using cheap studs, or studs made from nickel enhances your chances of getting infected through contact allergy.
When you have an allergic reaction, it means that bumps will begin to form due to this reaction. The presence of the bumps on your skin surface will mean that you are likely to get an infection because of constant touching, or because of irritation.
Apply A Topical Antibiotic Ointment
Applying a topical antibiotic ointment recommended by a dermatologist can be a great way to help heal the infected area . After cleaning, gently pat the area dry and pat a small amount of the ointment over the infected area.
If the piercing is hot to the touch and painful, you can cleanse by applying a warm-water compress. You can do this right at home by taking a washcloth, running it under warm water, and then applying directly to the infected site. Just make sure that the cloth is not burning hot. Keep the compress on for 20-30 minutes and repeat as necessary. Its healed when the skin returns to normal color and is no longer painful or swollen and there is no longer any yellow discharge, says Zalka.
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What Metal Should Cartilage Be Pierced With
‘I only carry gold in different colours, platinum and titanium. Titanium and gold are hypoallergenic so perfect for piercing with. Gold’s actually so antibacterial that if you put it in a petri dish with bacteria, the bacteria migrates away from it. So if you’ve got sensitive skin, gold is ideal.
‘I never pierce with steel because it contains nickel which a lot of people are allergic to.
‘Most of the time if an ear piercing is flaring up, 9 out of 10 times it’s not an infection it’s an allergic reaction to the nickel in the jewellery.’
How Can I Make My Piercing Heal Faster
Many of us can relate to the exhilaration of getting a new piercing. Theres actually scientific research to show that the sensation that accompanies body piercings releases endorphins in the brain.
However, while the initial sting of getting pierced can deliver an adrenaline rush, most pierced people can agree that the soreness that comes with the healing process is much less fun.
Whats more, waiting for a piercing to heal can be frustrating because there are limitations on what you can and cant do during the healing process. For example, activities like swimming and jewelry changes are not recommended while a piercing is still healing.
Luckily, depending on the location of the piercing, there are steps you can take to make your new body modification heal faster.
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