How To Treat An Infected Ear Piercing At Home
If youve caught the infection early, it might be possible to treat it yourself at home. However, you should keep in mind that ear cartilage piercing infections are generally more difficult to self-treat than earlobe piercing infections. Do not remove your jewelry, even if your piercing becomes infected. Doing so could allow the piercing to close, trapping the infection inside your body.;
How Can You Treat An Infected Ear Piercing
Most of the time, you can treat infections at home if you catch them early enough. Dr. Kaplan recommends going back to the place where you got your piercing to have the area evaluated . Places that do piercings see this kind of thing all the time and should be able to recommend next steps based on your situation.
In general, though, these are the recommended steps, per Kim Nichols, MD, board-certified dermatologist, cosmetic surgeon, and founding director of NicholsMD in Greenwich, Connecticut:
Typically, ear lobe piercings heal in about six weeks, with cartilage piercings taking longer. And despite your urge to rotate the piercingdon’t. At least not until after it’s healed. “Twisting and turning a new piercing could damage the delicate skin and hinder the healing process,” says Dr. Nichols. It can also expose your new piercing to germs and other bacteria on your hands, which could lead to another infection and scarring.
How To Know If An Industrial Piercing Is Infected
When we get a piercing, wherever it is on our body, we need to be attentive to the possible symptoms of infection. It is normal to feel a little heat during the first few days after an infection. However, if the industrial piercing isn’t healing properly, this may intensify and other symptoms of infection can arise. They include:
For an infected piercing anywhere on the body, you will see the above symptoms. However, there are some areas more prone to infection than others. These include the tongue, the belly and the nose. The ears are usually less likely to become infected, but not always. With the industrial piercing, there are two holes in the ear and a bar which can worry them. This can increase infection risk, as can getting it caught on clothing.
The location on the ear can also affect the risk of infection, as we can see in our guide to treating an infected helix ear piercing.
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Treating An Infection Without The Piercing Hole Closing
An infected piercing is a pretty broad label. If your piercing is cartilage, oral or on your genitalia, you should immediately begin the home treatment. We then suggest consulting our content related to these specific piercing infections for detailed information.
For minor infections, adopt one or both of these treatments three times daily. Dont remove your piercing and remove any tight clothing or obstructions.
Method 2:
You should notice the symptoms improving within a week but continue the regimen until only the regular healing signs exist. You can then return to your routine twice a day.;
When To See A Doctor About An Earache
Dr. Nguyen-Huynh recommends seeing a doctor if:
- Yoursymptoms remain after twoor three days, even if youve tried over-the-counter or home remedies.
- Yourear is very painful, oryou have other symptoms that bother you.
Other common conditions, such as temporomandibular joint dysfunction , can masquerade as earache infections. TMJ causes ear pain because the ear canal and the jaw joint share a nerve. If you have ear pain along with trouble chewing, talking or yawning, then you should see a dentist or TMJ expert to be sure youre treating the right condition, notes Dr. Nguyen-Huynh.
The good news? Hot and cold compresses and OTC pain relievers can also help relieve TMJ pain until you sort things out.
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How Are Infected Ear Piercings Treated
Your healthcare provider may recommend a variety of treatments to help an infected ear piercing heal. These may include:
- Applying a warm compress to the infected earlobe or cartilage.
- Rinsing the infected earlobe with sterile saline.
- Using antibiotic ointment on the affected area.
- Taking oral antibiotics for more severe infections.
How Can I Prevent An Ear Piercing Infection
A huge factor is choosing a piercing shop thats sanitary. In general, the more experience someone has in doing piercingswith a reputation for good resultsthe better the odds of a favorable outcome, Dr. Kaplan says. Read reviews on the shop and on your piercer beforehand if you can find any. And if you go into a piercing shop and it seems like its not clean or you just dont get a good vibe, go someplace else.
The spot on your ear that you choose to pierce matters, too. No physician will ever recommend piercing the cartilage of the ear, Dr. Kaplan says. Of course, that’s never stopped anyone. That’s why following your after-care instructions if so crucial, even after it seems like your piercing is all healed up. Not strictly adhering to the post-piercing care instructions would increase the odds of infection, Dr. Kaplan says.
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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
Draining Infected Ear Piercing
Pus-filled pierced areas can be painful and harmful. Before it develops into more severe infection, it is important to treat the wound properly. If the infection is not causing redness and swelling, it is likely that you can treat it properly at home. To drain and heal infected ear piercing, you might want to consider these steps:
- Remove your piercing earring and clean the pierced hole using a cotton swab dipped in the saline solution. Avoid using hydrogen peroxide as it may damage not only the bacteria but also the white blood cells which are responsible for combating infection. The topical ointment is also not recommended, since it may prevent the air from getting into the piercing.
- Apply hot compress consist of hot water and Epsom salt to the piercing. Leave it for several minutes to encourage the infection to drain. Since you need to compress a small area with limited access, make the hot compress out of soaked cotton gauze or cotton ball. You can also move the hot compress around the piercing hole carefully. This will trigger the pus to drain from the infection.
- Clean any drainage coming out of the infection. Use a cotton swab to absorb;drainage which comes into the piercing hole. Dab the cotton swab cautiously to prevent drained pus from coming into the hole.
- Clean the area where pus gets out from, in order to prevent it from spreading the germs and bacteria.
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How To Treat An Infected Industrial Piercing
While it may not be a piercing for everybody, getting an industrial piercing is a growing trend among fans of body modification. Industrial piercing refers to any type of piercing which involves two wholes joined by a straight piece of jewelry. However, it is most commonly referred to this type of piercing when it is done on the top of the ear. How well this piercing will heal depends on many factors. The immunity of the individual is one, but most important is the level of hygiene involved during and after the piercing is performed.
Unfortunately, even when we are careful, it is possible for any piercing to become infected. For this oneHOWTO provides the tips you need to know how to treat and infected industrial piercing.
How To Drain Fluid From The Middle Ear
Fluid in the middle ear is also known as serous otitis media. This condition happens for many reasons but most commonly comes from a middle ear infection. Other reasons could be allergies, sinus infections, viral infections, and even acid reflux.
As the pain and inflammation from the ear infection get better, the fluid doesnt always leave the middle ear. The inflammation from the ear infection often causes the lining of the eustachian tube to swell shut. Sometimes you can treat this condition at home or with a simple prescription. Other times, surgical intervention is needed.;
This article discusses how to drain fluid from the middle ear.
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How Common Are Infected Ear Piercings
Millions of people get their ears pierced, and most of them have no serious complications. Mild irritation and infections are common, however, for new piercings. In most cases, infections arent serious and clear up quickly.
The earlobes are fleshy and fatty, with strong blood flow. They heal quickly, reducing the risk of an earlobe infection. The upper ear is cartilage, a thick, stiff tissue with less blood flow.
Piercings in the upper ear are more likely to become infected, and infections in the upper ear are sometimes serious.
Infected Cartilage Ear Piercing
Ear cartilage piercing is also trending these days. However, I read somewhere that is one of those piercings that are very painful. Some researches done in America have revealed that people can lose their ears cartilages if the ear piercing practice is not done in good condition or by a rightful person. For me, think this should be enough to help you know the need to treat an infected cartilage piercing immediately as well as the need to go to a professional piercer.In short, piercings on the upper part of the ear, the cartilage, are much more dangerous than earlobe piercings and they are prone to infections that are much harder to treat since they hardly respond to antibiotics. Moreover, there is a higher prevalence of infection on cartilage than earlobe as research reveals. It is said that there is a 22 percent infection rate for body piercing overall and a 34 percent infection rate for cartilage piercing, according to ABC News.
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Always Wash Your Hands Before Touching Or Treating Your Piercing
Minor infections can often be treated at home, but it’s important to make sure you are doing so with clean hands. “Make sure you do not have a fever or swollen lymph nodes, which suggests you should seek a doctor for further evaluation,” notes Chang. “Avoid excessively touching or manipulating the infected site as this can worsen the irritation and inflammation. If touching the area, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly beforehand.” Soap and water, please!
If you don’t think the jewelry is the cause, then the source of the infection is probably bacterial. The way to fix that is to kill and/or clear the bacteria. The best way to accomplish this is to start cleaning the area twice a day and doing sea salt soaks twice a day; basically treating it like a brand new piercing. The heat and the salt both help to draw out pus and other fluids that may contain bacteria. Hopefully, following that regimen for a few days will clear up an infection in its early stages. You can do this with a q-tip and sterile saline or saltwater . Remember to clean both the front and back of the earlobe.;
“Avoid alcohol or hydrogen peroxide to the affected area, as these can further irritate the skin and slow down the healing process,” says Chang.
How Do I Treat An Infected Piercing At Home
You can try this procedure thrice a day for three days to reduce minor symptoms, but it’s best to see a doctor right away when you suspect that you have an infection.
Additionally, it’s important that you don’t take your piercing out even when cleaning it. It’s best to leave it in unless a doctor says otherwise because the hole can close up and trap bacteria or pus inside. Don’t try to squeeze the pus out either because you may introduce more bacteria into the piercing site.
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How Can I Prevent An Ear Infection After The Piercing
Preventing an ear infection after youve just gotten your ears pierced is fairly simple. First and foremost, always follow the aftercare instructions that the piercer has given you. Regular hand washing is also one of the best ways to prevent any possible infections down the road.
Additionally, take care not to injure the piercing site because broken skin becomes an easy place for bacteria to sneak in and begin an infection.
And most importantly, always, always, always look for a reputable piercer to do your piercings. Look for someone with experience, who has high standards for cleanliness and hygiene, keeps an immaculate shop, and follows the best safety standards. Dont be afraid to ask to see their instruments. Sterile instruments will be packaged in special sterilization packets and will have been run through a special sterilization machine called an autoclave.
Finally, make sure you use a type of metal that wont cause an allergic reaction. Therefore, its good to know what types of metals you are and are not allergic to.
How Do Ear Piercings Even Get Infected
Anyone can get an infected ear piercing, but it usually happens due to one of two major reasons. Either your piercing site wasnt adequately sterilized before you were pierced, or you kinda-sorta-definitely didnt take great care of it after you were pierced, explains Kenneth A. Kaplan, MD, an otolaryngologist with ENT and Allergy Associates in New Jersey.
Touching your piercing a lot, while it’s still a new, open wound, can also expose it to bacteria that can cause an infection.
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How To Treat An Infected Ear Piercing Without It Closing
While treating your ear piercing or when taking care of it, you may realize that yes it healed but the hoe closed. No one would want to undergo piercing process over and over. Therefore, there are steps you can follow to avoid closing the hole in the name of treatment. You can treat minor infections at home by keeping the infected area clean and using sea salt soaks to draw out irritants. However you can follow the steps below while caring for your infected piercing:Step 1While the first earrings are intact, use antibacterial or antimicrobial soap to wash your hands to avoid introducing new bacteria to the infected area. Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds with the soap.Step 2Make a solution of 1 tbsp. of non-iodized sea salt in 8 ounces of warm distilled waterStep 3Soak the infected ear piercing in the salt solution for three to five minutes. If possible, fill a small cup with the solution and submerge the infected lobe. If this is uncomfortable or you have an attached earlobe that makes this difficult, soak sterile gauze or cotton swabs in the solution and apply generous amounts of the solution to the infected area.Step 4Rinse your ear piercing with clean, warm water and dry with a clean paper towel. Do not use a hand towel or washcloth because they can transfer germs to the wound.Step 5You can repeat this method at least once a day in conjunction with your regular cleaning regimen until the infection clears.More references
What Causes A Pierced Ear Infection
Whether you just got your ears pierced or are a piercing veteran, there are a number of reasons you might end up with an earring hole infection. Fresh piercings, especially, are pretty vulnerable, and can actually take up to six weeks to heal. An earlobe piercing is essentially an open wound until it fully heals, so during this time, like any other wound, it is susceptible to infection, Shah said.
That means simple acts like handling your earrings with dirty hands or forgetting to clean them can accidentally introduce unwanted bacteria into your earring hole. When bacteria gets trapped in the piercing hole, it can have a hard time finding its way out. It can then multiply and create an infection, said dermatologist Marina Peredo.
Once your piercing heals fully, its less likely to get infected, but that doesnt mean youre totally in the clear. You still need to clean your earrings frequently to prevent an infection.
Earrings can accumulate buildup from soap and shampoo, and sometimes hair products. Its a good idea to clean your earrings once a week, Peredo said.
Taking your earrings out every night will give your ears a much-needed break, and you should also sanitize them before sharing them with friends or before trying on a new pair at the mall.
If you take good care of your earrings but still end up with an earring hole infection, the type of earrings youre wearing could be to blame.
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