Bad Or Poor Quality Earrings
Thirdly, new ear piercing may get infected on condition that the first pair of earrings cause irritation that will result to itching. Continued itching perforates the skin for easy microorganisms. Consequently, According to Simple Remedies, microorganisms act as antigens, which triggers the bodys immune system, leading to the formation of pus after inflammation. An example of poor material is Nickel.
Cheap earrings, too tight earrings can as well lead to inflammation. Heavy metal bars from earlobes can leave earring hole stretched.
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How Can I Prevent Malignant Otitis Externa
The best thing you can do to prevent malignant otitis externa is to treat all swimmers ear infections until theyre gone. This means following your doctors advice and finishing the complete dose of your antibiotics.
In addition, if you have a compromised immune system, you should take steps to protect your health. If you have diabetes, this means controlling blood sugar levels. If you have HIV, this means adhering to medications to control the replication of the virus in your body. Protecting your health is important for boosting your immune system and preventing the onset of an infection.
Salt Or Chamomile Soaks
A salt or chamomile soak serves a dual purpose. For one, it relieves the swelling, redness, and pain. Secondly, it helps to clean the infected piercing. A salt soak is generally more effective, but chamomile is better for sensitive skin. You can do as many chamomile soaks per day as desired, but only 2 salt soaks are recommended per day.
How to make a soak:
- Boil 1 cup of water
- Add ¼ teaspoon of sea salt and stir until dissolved OR brew 1 chamomile tea bag
- Perform a salt soak by dipping a cotton pad into the solution and appling to the infection for 2 minutes
- For a chamomile soak, dip a cotton pad into the solution, or use the tea bag, and apply to the infection until it cools.
For both, you want to use hot water, but let it cool down enough that you wont hurt or damage your skin before dipping the cotton pad.
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What Questions Should I Ask My Doctor
You may want to ask your healthcare provider:
- How will I know when the infection has cleared?
- When is it safe to remove my earrings?
- Do I need to clean my earrings?
- Can my ears get infected even after the piercing heals?
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Getting your ears pierced is most often a safe, simple procedure. Be sure to go to an experienced piercer who practices proper hygiene procedures. Keep your new piercings clean, and dont remove the earrings until the piercing has healed completely. Be patient by preventing an infection now, you can enjoy your healthy piercing for years to come.
Reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional.
References
Causes Of Infections In Newly Pierced Ear
- Piercing the ears with tools or earring posts that aren’t clean
- Not cleaning the earlobes daily
- Taking the earring out before the channel is healed
- Touching earrings with dirty hands
- Earring backs that are too tight against the earlobe. Reason: pressure from tight earrings reduces blood flow to the earlobe.
- Posts that have nickel in them can also cause an itchy, allergic reaction
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Ear Piercing Care Cleaning And Other Safety Tips
Learning how to take care of a piercing is important whether it is an infected pierced ear or free of infection signs and symptoms. Practicing proper ear piercing care will not only be prevention against the occurrence of infection but will also promote quicker healing and greatly help an infected pierced ear. You should observe piercing care for good health more so your baby and children.
Fluid Discharge Or Pus
Keep an eye out for pus coming out of your ear piercing. Pus is identifiable by its thick discharge. This discharge is white, yellow, or green in colour.
A foul smell accompanies usually the pus from an infected ear piercing. The smell is a result of the bacteria in the pus.
Is it infected?
Odourless, clear or lightly coloured fluid is simply lymph fluid. Its normal for this fluid to drain from a new piercing. The fluid may crust around the piercing. On its own, this is no cause for alarm.
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When To Call A Doctor
How do you know when to call a doctor? The first thing you should check is the symptoms. If you experience any of the following symptoms, then it signifies you should contact a doctor:
- The clasp becomes implanted into your skin
- The infection worsens even after home treatment
- Redness and inflammation spread beyond the site
Clean Your Ears With Saline Solution
You can purchase this simple antiseptic solution from piercing parlors and online stores. However, if you are not able to buy it, you can easily make it at home. All you need to do is combine ¼ tsp of non-iodized sea salt with 8 oz. of distilled water and stir until all the salt dissolves. To clean your piercing, dip a clean cotton swab in the solution and press it against the infection on your ear.
Repeat this step for 15 to 20 minutes, three times a day.
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How You Can Get A Piercing Infection
A piercing is essentially an open wound. An earlobe piercing usually takes six to eight weeks to heal. Cartilage piercings, which take place on the harder part of your ear, generally take longer to heal and can be more prone to infection. There are several ways your ear piercing can get infected.
Any bacteria left to fester can quickly turn into an infection. If you touch your piercing with dirty hands or instruments, you can introduce an infection. If the earrings are on too tightly, not allowing room for the wound to breathe and heal, an infection can develop. A piercing can also get infected if theres too much handling of the piercing or the post of the earring is rough.
An infection can also occur if unsterile instruments were used, if the person piercing your ears didnt use gloves, or if the posts themselves werent sterile.
Its fairly easy to identify an infected ear piercing. Symptoms may include:
- yellow, pus-like discharge
Clean Your Jewelry And Ear
Cleaning your earrings regularly is a must, as the posts can accumulate oil, leftover hair products, and overall gunk. A good rule of thumb is to wipe down the jewelry every time you change accessories . As for ear-adjacent items , make sure youre giving them a proper wash, too. They can harbor bacteria otherwise, notes Alvarado. Check out our at-home cleaning guides for headphones, masks, and headbands and hair ties.
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How To Recognize And Treat An Infected Ear Piercing
Lets face it, no matter how careful we are, infections can happen. They even happen in sterile environments such as hospital rooms. Bacteria are everywhere, from the surfaces we touch to floating around on airborne particles.
Theres a risk with almost any type of body modification that involves puncturing or piercing the skin. But these risks are usually small, especially as it relates to ear piercings, and most issues are avoidable with proper preventative care.
That said, understanding how to recognize the signs of infection early, understanding self-treatment, and knowing when to go to a doctor are important things to know.
This guide will help you understand just that. If you have questions dont hesitate to reach out. The team at Pierced is highly experienced in dealing with piercings and identifying infections that can be taken care of with self-care or that need to be looked at by a doctor.
Ear Piercing Infection Signs And Symptoms
Contents
How do you tell if your ears are infected from a piercing? Infection would even occur during the process of piercing. But the signs may not show up immediately. You need to know how old the piercing became compromised. The following are some common signs and symptoms you should be aware of your ear piercings.
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Old Ear Piercing Infection
img source: staticflickr.com
How do old pierced ears become infected? Do not be surprised to get your completely healed or old ear piercing infected months, or years later. Some of the common ways through which they get infected include:
- Touching with dirty hands or allowing your friends touch, hold the earrings or exchange them swapping,
- Removing or occasionally changing the earrings,
- Injury on earring hole causing trauma, surgery, etc.
- Bacterial infections of the ear cartilage e.g. perichondritis,
- Swimming in contaminated water pools, etc.
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Cleanse With A Saline Or Sea Salt Soak
Saline and sea salt soaks work by washing away harmful bacteria that can lead to infection. They also wash away dead cells and other debris that build up around the piercing and form keloids.
If you dont want to buy saline, you can make your own using sea salt and water.
You can make your solution by adding ¼ teaspoon of fine sea salt to 8 ounces of warm water. Avoid using larger crystals as they dont dissolve well in water and can be abrasive on your skin.
To soak your ear:
Chamomile is known for its powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. A warm chamomile compress can help transfer these healing properties while increasing blood flow to the cartilage.
To make a warm chamomile compress:
You can alternate between a sea salt or saline soak and applying a chamomile compress. Just be aware: You shouldnt use chamomile if you have a ragweed allergy.
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Ear Piercing Infection Treatment & Bumps
How do you treat an infected pierced ear? Treatment will rely on information based on ear piercing symptoms. For instance, are the infection symptoms severe or minor? Is treatment targeting an adult or child? We shall focus on treatments provided by health centers and then how to treat pierced ear infections with home remedies.
Infected Tragus Septum And Helix
In the case of more delicate piercings, such as the helix, tragus, rook or daith, it is necessary to have the piercer explain the specific treatment for that type of piercing. In fact, the disinfection procedures healing times will vary. In the case of particular piercings such as the helix, trago, tower or daith, it is necessary to have the piercer explain the specific treatment for that type of piercin as the frequency of aftercare and healing times may vary.
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Deterrence And Patient Education
Patients need to be counseled on the risks of associated infection when undergoing body piercings. Importance should be placed on infection prevention and the need for utilization of a trusted and certified piercing parlor as these locations have requirements for proper hygiene and sterilization techniques.
When To See An Ent Specialist For An Ear Infection
Make an appointment with an ENT specialist. As mentioned, a minor infection of an ear piercing can be treated at home successfully. However, if the following symptoms below develop, be sure to get medical assistance. A fever develops. Beyond the piercing site, the infection, or redness and inflammation, spreads. If within 2 days the infection doesnt improve with home treatment. The earring is immovable. The earring clasp is embedded in your skin.Remember, with proper care and cleaning, you can reduce the risk of ear piercing infections. In the event you experience an extreme case of infection, for assistance.
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The Causes Of An Infected Ear Piercing
Infections can be caused by a variety of external factors, including but not limited to: the piercer during the piercing procedure, who may have failed to comply with proper sanitary conditions the healing period, due to improper or lack of post-piercing care or bacteria, which we came into contact with or was present on our hands.
Are Headaches A Common Side Effect Of Piercings
Theres very little medical research that says new ear piercings commonly cause headaches. Headaches arent among the most common side effects of piercings. However, anecdotal evidence suggests its not an unusual side effect.
Piercings arent the most comfortable procedures to begin with. Certainly, any well-trained technician will take measures to make the piercing more comfortable, but some initial reactions may include:
- pain at the piercing site
- skin irritation
If you develop a headache, its likely a result of some mild pain and discomfort caused by the piercing.
This may be especially true for piercings in areas of cartilage, like the inner ear. Softer tissues, like the earlobe, may be less likely to result in additional issues.
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How To Get Headache Relief After A Piercing
If you develop a headache after a new piercing, there are ways you can find relief. But before you begin taking any medication, you should keep a few things in mind.
First, if youre experiencing any bleeding, dont take aspirin or any medications containing aspirin, ibuprofen , or naproxen . Aspirin acts as a blood thinner and may increase bleeding from the piercing site.
Second, you dont want to remove the piercing. Freshly pierced skin or tissue can close up very quickly, and youll have to repeat the piercing if you still want it.
Finally, if the headache persists, speak with your healthcare provider. A mild, temporary headache may occur with a new piercing, but anything severe or that lasts more than 48 hours should be seen by a healthcare provider.
The best treatments for a headache that occurs after a new piercing include:
Keep Your Piercing Clean
Cleaning is one of the most important aspects of taking care of your piercings. Ear lobe piercings can take 6-8 weeks to fully heal, and ear cartilage piercing 4 months to a year. Follow proper aftercare throughout this period.
Follow these steps to clean a mild ear piercing infection:
- Wash your hands
- Clean both sides of the piercing with a saline solution
- Do not remove the piercing jewellery
- Repeat twice daily until the piercing heals
You can also benefit from a gentle, unscented glycerine soap in the shower. Use after washing your hair and body, this will allow it to wash away any soap or shampoo residue.
If infection is suspected, never remove the jewellery until after the infection and piercing fully heal. removing the jewellery traps the infection inside. The skin can heal over the infection, preventing fluid from draining. This can lead to an abscess and a more severe infection.
For a severe infection, its best to consult a healthcare professional. If needed, they can prescribe antibacterial medication.
About the author
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Baby Ear Piercing Infection And Risks
Does your babyâs ear-piercing appear to be infected? The once admirable pierced earlobes of baby daughter with cute looks may end up regret if you do not consider the factors before getting childrenâs ear pierced. This implies that if you rush into making quick decisions to pierce your child is very risky.
Basing on the fact that infants still have developing immune systems, Wendy Sue Swanson, M.D., strongly encourages parents to be patient until their babies have reached 6 months or older prior to piercing plans.
In addition, young children have juvenile and poor judgments which may make them begin to pull the piercing jewelry â earrings or bars. Doing so repeatedly and âtraumatizing the area greatly increases the chances that a person will develop keloids,â Dr. Murase warns.
How To Tell If Your Ear Piercing Is Infected + 5 Tips To Treat It
Sure, ear piercings come with a certain level of discomfort , but as a professional piercer once told me: The puncture step is only the first part of the battle the aftercare is where the real work begins. Case in point? Infected ear piercings.
Theyre totally commonan ear piercing is an open wound, after all, and the site can be pretty temperamental as it healsbut you can treat a mild case at home. If you wake up to a throbbing, itchy, or, uh, crusty ear, check out these expert dos and donts to heal the area safely. Youll be showing off your ear candy in no time.
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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.