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What Do You Do For An Infected Ear Piercing

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Causes And Risk Factors

How To:Treat An Infected Ear Piercing

It is important to be extra careful when handling a new piercing. If bacteria get into a newpiercing, it can cause infection. Other causes include:

  • Removing the earrings before the piercing heals
  • Touching the ears with dirty hands
  • Putting your head in a pool, river, lake, or hot tub before the piercing is healed
  • Forgetting to clean the new piercings twice daily as recommended by a professional
  • Getting the ears pierced with equipment that is not sterilized or in a place that is not properly cleaned or set up for ear piercing

Know When Its An Emergency

If there is pus draining from your pierced cartilage or an abscess in the ear, you may need to be admitted to the hospital for intravenous antibiotics and possible surgical drainage of the infection. This is a medical emergency. Do not wait even a few hours. It can result in permanent loss of ear cartilage and a poor cosmetic outcome.

Other medical complications from high ear piercing/ear cartilage piercing include: allergic reactions to earrings, scarring and pull-through tears of the ear, and two medical conditions called pyogenic granuloma and keloid formation.

Treating The Infection At Home

As long as your infection is minor, you may be able to take care of it at home. If youve had a cartilage piercing and it seems infected, seek medical treatment. These types of infections are harder to treat and may require oral antibiotics. Significant infections of the cartilage can require hospitalization.

Follow these steps to take care of a minor piercing infection:

  • Wash your hands before touching or cleaning your piercing.
  • Clean around the piercing with a saltwater rinse three times a day. Use sterile saline or combine 1/4 tsp. of salt with 8 oz. of distilled water.
  • Dont use alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or antibiotic ointments. These can further irritate the skin and slow the healing process.
  • Dont remove the piercing. This can cause the hole to close up and trap the infection.
  • Clean the piercing on both sides of your earlobe. Pat the area dry with paper towels.
  • After the infection appears to have cleared, continue this cleaning regimen twice a day until the piercing is totally healed. Remember, an earlobe piercing can take six to eight weeks to heal. Routine care is important during that time.

    Usually, a minor infection of an ear piercing can be treated successfully at home. But if any of the following symptoms occur, seek medical attention:

    • The earring doesnt move.
    • The earring clasp becomes embedded in your skin.
    • The infection doesnt improve with home treatment within two days.
    • You develop a fever.

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    How To Discover A Piercing Infection

    The signs of an infected piercing are very obvious and can be intense, and you may have more than one of them at the same time. Its essential to notice these signs as soon as they show up so you can avoid any further issues. These symptoms can be the following:

    • Swollen skin around the pierced area along with a red color
    • Severe or manageable pain, according to the level of infection
    • Yellow or green discharge coming out of the piercing
    • Skin can be itchy, burning, or tender

    Symptoms Of Infected Ear Piercing You Should Not Ignore

    How to drain infected ear piercing

    Infection after an ear piercing is manifested if aftercare instructions are not followed properly. Some of the noticeable symptoms include redness, inflammation, itching, pain, and unusual discharge. Read on to know more about signs of infected ear piercing.

    Infection after an ear piercing is manifested if aftercare instructions are not followed properly. Some of the noticeable symptoms include redness, inflammation, itching, pain, and unusual discharge. Read on to know more about signs of infected ear piercing.

    Among the several options for body piercing, ear piercing is the most common type. The approach for ear piercing may be cultural practice or just to flaunt jewelry for style. Since piercings are done in the exposed body parts such as the ear, it requires less time for healing as compared to other types of body piercings, such as the belly button, navel, and tongue. Also, the chances of unusual complications are rare.

    There are very rare chances of getting your ear infected, if the procedure is conducted by a qualified piercer and the aftercare tips are followed correctly. Without infections and other unusual signs, ear piercing heals in about 6-8 weeks. Nevertheless, there are risks associated with any type of piercing. Having a thorough knowledge about the causes of ear piercing infection and its symptoms will help you in getting over the painful complications.

    CausesSymptomsRednessInflammationBurning painFeverFluid-filled Blisters

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    A Lump Can Appear Around A New Piercing

    Pyogenic granuloma is a medical complication of piercing causing a red or flesh-colored lump near or around the piercing. This can occur from an overgrowth of tissue during wound healing. Keloids are another medical complication of piercing that also results in a flesh-colored bump, usually at the site of the piercing. Specialized treatment from a plastic surgeon or ENT specialist is usually necessary for both of these conditions.

    As for Kyla, she was able to avoid surgical treatment because she caught it early enough. She came to the Emergency room late that night, giving up her plans with her friends. Although she had to remove her piercing studs for the infection to heal well, I am hopeful she will have minimal scarring and be able to re-pierce her ear after the infection resolves.

    Infected Ear Piercing Its Causes Treatment And Prevention

    In an ideal world, you would get your ears pierced and get rocking wearing adorable earrings every day of your life.

    In truth? Without sugarcoating it, it may be really unpleasant when piercings become infected.

    Fortunately, infected ear piercings are rare. If you get ear piercing at a reputable shop and take good care of them afterward, you should be alright.

    However, people can and do get infected piercings. Definitely something not good to deal with!!!

    In this blog post you will get to know about causes of ear piercing infection, how you can treat, and prevent it. Keep reading!!

  • How Can I Prevent Pierced Ear Infection?
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    S In Treating Minor Ear Piercing Infection

    Step 1: If you touch or clean your piercing, make sure you wash your hands.

    Step 2: Clean your piercing with a saline rinse thrice a day. If you can’t find a good product online, you can create your own by combining ¼ teaspoon of salt and mixing it with 8 ounces of distilled water.

    Step 3: Don’t attempt to use antibiotic ointments, hydrogen peroxide, and even alcohol, as this will only irritate your skin and worsen the infection.

    Step 4: Never attempt to remove your jewelry. The hole could close up and trap the bacteria.

    Step 5: When cleaning your piercing, make sure you clean both sides of your ears and then pat it dry with a clean paper towel.

    When the infection has cleared up, don’t stop cleaning the piercing. Continue to do it but taper it down to twice a day up to 8 weeks. Routine care is also essential to keep infection at bay.

    How Are Cartilage Infections Treated

    How to recognise, manage and treat an infected ear piercing | Doctor O’Donovan explains…

    There are many ways to treat an infected cartilage piercing. Professional piercers and health care providers may recommend the following:

    #1 applying a warm compress over the site

    #2 prescribe oral antibiotics if the infection is severe

    #3 applying topical antibiotic ointments over the piercing

    #4 rinsing the infected site with saline solution

    You should call your doctor if you develop fever or chills, if the earring wont move or is stuck in your ear, if the pain and swelling get worse, or if a greenish or yellowish discharge comes out of your piercing.

    Prevention is always better than cure. You should leave your initial earrings until your piercings have healed completely to avoid infections. Wash your hands before you hand your jewelry clean the piercings two times a day using saline solution.

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    Caring For Pierced Ears

    How to care for pierced ears

    Although ear piercings are more common and can be less risky than other body piercings, they can still cause complications if not handled safely. For anyone thinking about getting their ears pierced, dermatologists urge people to follow these steps to avoid infection.

    Although ear piercings are more common and can be less risky than other body piercings, they can still cause complications if not handled safely. For anyone thinking about getting their ears pierced, dermatologists urge people to follow these steps to avoid infection:

  • Always wash your hands before touching newly pierced ears.

  • Leave the earrings in your ears for six weeks or more, even at night. Removing the starter earrings too early may cause the piercings to close.

  • Regularly wash your ears with soap and water. Carefully do this at least once a day to avoid infection.

  • Twist the earrings a few times daily. This will help keep the pierced holes open.

  • Put rubbing alcohol on your ears. Using a cotton ball or pad dipped in rubbing alcohol, gently clean the skin around the piercings twice a day to keep away germs and prevent scabbing. You may also apply a thin coat of petroleum jelly around the opening.

  • After piercing your ears, keep an eye on them to make sure they dont get sore, red or puffy and that the holes dont ooze yellowish liquid. If any of this occurs and doesnt go away quickly, see a board-certified dermatologist, as you may have an infection.

    Related AAD resources

    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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    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.

    When To Remove A Piercing

    Piercing Infection: 4 Ways to HEAL FAST Infected EAR, Nose Piercing

    If a new piercing is infected, it is best not to remove the earring. Removing the piercing can allow the wound to close, trapping the infection within the skin. For this reason, it is advisable not to remove an earring from an infected ear unless advised by a doctor or professional piercer.

    Once the wound has healed usually after 2 to 3 months in the case of earlobe piercing or longer in cartilage piercings a person can safely remove an earring.

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    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

    How To Close Ear Piercing Holes Faster

    Closing any piercing is so much easy and simple to perform on your own. You have to, first of all, take your jewelry out and clean the main piercing hole with some soap and water. You have to make sure that you clean it every two weeks. Healing time might differ based on the piercing or the cartilage/lobe sensitivity.

    The cartilage will heal down in just a few weeks as compared to the lobe. Lobe will take a long time. You should not be putting back the earring if the piercing is not healed completely otherwise it can cause some infection or can damage your lobe tissue, Some time also ripped ear from earring.

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    Do Only New Ear Piercings Get Infected

    If youve had pierced ears for eons, youre not totally off the hook, but you are at a lowered risk of just randomly developing an infection. Infections are most likely to occur during the first week following the piercing, but can arise later on, Dr. Kaplan says.

    Infection symptoms won’t pop up the moment your piercing is exposed to bacteria. “Surprisingly, piercing infections do not typically happen until three to seven days after the initial piercing, sometimes more,” says Leila Mankarious, MD, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. “Bacteria need time to proliferate.”

    What Questions Should I Ask My Doctor

    How to Treat an Infected Ear Piercing

    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

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    How Do You Know If Your Cartilage Piercing Is Infected

    If you experience redness and pain during the first few days after getting your ears pierced, you shouldnt worry because these symptoms are all part of the healing process.

    Many people think their piercings are infected, but theyre not. Youll know if youre dealing with an infection if it is accompanied by fever, pus coming out of the piercing, warmth, swelling or redness around the piercing, and pain in the cartilage.

    How To Fix A Ripped Belly Button Piercing

    For fixing the ripped belly button piercing, you can make the best use of warm compress. You just need to place the warm compress over the infected piercing area. This will help you to reduce any sort of redness or swelling which has happened on the belly button. If you are not having a wet compress, you can also use some warm washcloth through some cleaning solution.If will probably take the period of 4 to 6 weeks for healing as it does not get completely healed within 1 year.

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    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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    Even With Meticulous Care Cartilage Piercings Become Infected About 30% Of The Time

    How To Deal With Infected Ear Piercing

    One study followed a more than 450 nurses who pierced their ears. About 30% of high ear piercings, or piercings of the cartilage of the pinna/upper ear, become infected. In comparison only about 20% of ear lobe piercings become infected.

    The good news is that the treatment for infected piercings is simple when caught early. If there is no pus draining and no firm pocket of pus in the ear that needs to be drained , infected ear cartilage can be treated with common oral antibiotics. Most infected ear piercings are caused by a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and so you need an antibiotic that covers this bacteria, such as ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin. Amoxcillin, Augmentin, and Keflex do not cover pseudomonas infections and are not the right drug to treat infected ear piercings.

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    Infections In Old Ear Piercings

    • Written By Dan Hunter on December 21, 2019Last Updated: January 6, 2021

    Its not only about the fun or excitement of getting a new piercing to express yourself, but its also about the responsibility to keep it clean and healthy. To be able to do that, you need to be aware of the causes and treatment of ear piercing infections.

    While uncommon, infections can still occur in old ear piercings. To treat an infection, both sides of the ear should be cleaned 2 to 3 times a day with a saline solution. Jewelry should also be cleaned regularly in the same way. Make sure you have clean hands before touching your ears or jewelry. If the infection doesnt clear up, spreads further or causes a fever, seek prompt medical attention.

    Causes of old ear piercing infections include:

    • Re-piercing the area on your own at home, not by an experienced professional
    • Damaging the area and not cleaning it properly as it heals
    • Build-ups and blockages around the area caused by dirt

    An old ear piercing infection can be treated by:

    • Washing the piercing area with saline solution twice a day
    • Keeping your hands clean before touching the pierced area
    • Using nickel-free jewelry if youre allergic to reactions or have eczema or dermatitis

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