Ear Piercing Is Closing Up
If you forget to wear your earrings or have decided to remove them before they fully heal, eventually your piercing hole will close up. This can make it difficult or even impossible to wear earrings.
Do not try to re-pierce the hole on your own. In case it closes slightly, slowly and gently push your earrings through your piercing to see if you can return your them in place. If not, do not try to force your earring in as this can damage the tissue. Instead, make an appointment with a professional piercer or a doctor.
Don’t Remove The Earring For At Least Six Weeks
If you want the piercings to last longer, ensure that you never remove the earrings for at least six weeks, so they never close. Also, as much as possible, twist the earrings a few times a day, so the holes stay open.
However, do make sure that your hands are always clean when touching your ears. Touching them with dirty hands may lead to a bacterial infection.
Do You Need To Clean Healed Piercings
While you may have had your piercings for years and havent had any issues with them, you should know that despite all the time that has passed from the time you got the piercing, you still need to clean the healed piercings.
And though you may have had the same earrings for a while now and may not even think about the need to clean the healed ear piercings, you really should take time to clean them.
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Things To Consider Before Getting Your Ears Pierced
If youre in the category of people who are still considering getting a piercing, you should probably check if you have any allergies first.
About 10 – 20 percent of our population already has a nickel allergy which could result in irritations such as blistering, redness of and or dry skin. Not only that, but it is reported that the more you are exposed to metals, the higher your chances of possibly developing an allergy to it . That means people with more piercings could possibly start experiencing the same symptoms listed above even if they hadnt before.
The best way to avoid allergic reactions is to either purchase earrings made of Surgical-quality stainless steel due to its very low nickel content, platinum, sterling silver 925, titanium, niobium or earrings made with 14-18 karat gold. It is also highly recommended that if you wear earrings made of lower quality materials you only wear them once your piercing has fully healed and for no more than a day or two at a time. This will lower the chances of you experiencing any allergic reactions.
If you are extremely allergic to any type of metal, you could always use plastic, acrylic or silicone substitutes. Though, the silicone material tends to be softer than your typical rigid earring.
Q What Are Reputable Ear Piercing Places
A. Your physician, pediatrician or dermatologist should know what theyre doing if they offer ear piercing services. But some jewelry and department stores, as well as tattoo or piercing shops, pierce ears, too. If you go to an ear piercing place outside of the medical field, make sure its:
- Licensed: The store or studio should have any licenses required by your states health department.
- Clean: The ear piercing place should follow proper sanitary guidelines such as wearing gloves. If you go to a piercing or tattoo specialist, you should be able to see them open the pre-sterilized, new instruments they will use for your piercing.
- Transparent: You should be able to get satisfying answers about licensure and cleanliness. Any place that tries to avoid your questions or answers them inappropriately is a red flag. They get safety questions all the time. They should be able to give you details about their certifications and qualifications.
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New Ear Piercing Care:
This video has some great tips for piercing after care as far as what to avoid and the best after care products.
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Touch The Backs As Little As Possible
Whenever possible, avoid touching the backs of your earrings. This may be difficult, especially if you are not used to the feeling of pierced ears at all. However, touching the backs of earrings with hands that have not been washed immediately before greatly increases the risk of infection. Furthermore, altering the distance between ears and earring backs can alter the amount of oxygen that is able to reach your healing piercing. This area needs oxygen in order to regenerate skin cells and close.
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Caring For Your Piercing
No matter what type of piercing you get, the same best practices apply:
- Wash your hands before touching your piercing for any reason.
- Clean the piercing with either a saline solution, a fragrance-free antimicrobial soap, or both once or twice per day.
- Rinse any soap from the piercing.
- Gently dry the piercing with a clean, disposable paper towel or tissue. Avoid drying with cloth since it may carry germs or catch on the jewelry.
In order to keep piercings clean throughout the day, steer clear of:
- Touching the piercing unless necessary
- Contact with bodily fluid including saliva
- Contact with open water, including lakes, rivers, pools, and hot tubs. Showers are better than baths since bathtubs can hold onto bacteria.
- All makeup or beauty items including lotions, sprays, and powders.
- Antibacterial ointments, as they can prevent the piercing from getting the air it needs to heal.
If you decide you donât want your piercing, you can take out the jewelry. But this can interfere with the healing process. If you do take out your jewelry, be sure to keep cleaning the wound daily until itâs fully healed. â
Tips for sleeping. If you have an ear or facial piercing, put your pillow into a clean t-shirt, changing the side of the shirt from back to front and inside to out daily. This gives you a clean surface for your piercing. For body piercings, go for loose, comfortable clothes at night.
How Long Do You Have To Clean Your Ear Piercing
Beyond the usual cleaning of the ears during showers and baths, youll need to use a special ear piercing cleaning solution. This is different from typical soap, and youll need to keep your earrings on during the healing period and cleanse the pierced area at least thrice a day.
Its crucial to clean your ear piercing properly, especially during the first few weeks of having it. This prevents it from incurring any infection, which will be painful and tougher to treat.
With that in mind, how long should you clean your ear piercing for?
I highly recommend that you clean your ear piercing for at least six weeks for earlobe piercings, and 12 weeks for cartilage piercings. This is how long the healing process is, which is why its crucial to keep them clean and free from infection during these times.
However, more time may be required, depending on your piercing and how your ears react to it. The cartilage location makes a difference in healing and cleaning times.
Even after the healing period, you still need to care for your ears and piercings properly with daily washing. Its also recommended to use your ear care cleaning solution to keep both the earrings and piercings clean at all times. This is especially important if you have just exercised, swum, or have had exposure to any hair products and perfumes.
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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.
Should I Take My Ear Piercing Out If It Is Infected
If handled incorrectly, your ear piercing may be susceptible to bacterial infection. Youll know your piercing is infected if:
- You feel unbearable pain in and around your piercing.
- Your ear is swelling, itching, and has a tender and burning sensation.
- Your ear is turning red and has a yellow or white discharge.
Minor infections can be handled at home. First, wash your hands with water and soap. You will be performing this three times a day, so your hands need to be clean to avoid further contamination. Next, clean your piercing with a saline solution. Avoid using alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or topical antibiotic ointments unless prescribed by a doctor. This can irritate your skin and extend the healing process.
If your ears continue to show symptoms of infection, it may be a much more serious case of piercing infection. You can tell your ear infection is serious when the earring doesnt move and feels embedded onto your skin. You may also experience a fever or inflammation and redness in your ear farther than the piercing site. Your doctor will most likely prescribe an oral antibiotic.
Whether you do in-home cleaning or seek medical treatment, its not recommended you remove your piercing. Not only will the hole close up, but you will also be trapping the infection inside your ear, which will continue to fester and will require medical attention.
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Why Cleaning Is So Important
Cleaning your new ear piercing regularly is absolutely vital. Your piercing must be allowed to heal properly, which can take anywhere from weeks to months depending on the area where you get it done. The only way your piercing will heal properly is if you keep it clean at all times throughout the aftercare phase.
Failing to keep your piercing clean can mean infections, which will ultimately make it take even longer for your piercing to heal. Complications from infected piercings are no fun at all, so trust us when we tell you that you have to make every effort to maintain your cleaning regimen.
Looking After Your Piercing
After having a piercing, it is important to keep the area clean and dry. You may be advised to gently clean the area with a warm saline or salt water solution.
However, the piercing should be cleaned no more than is necessary to keep it clean, as over-cleaning can irritate the skin and delay healing. It’s not normally necessary to rotate or remove a piece of jewellery.
To clean the piercing, submerge the area in a warm saline or salt water solution for 5 to 10 minutes. Alternatively, soak a clean cloth in the solution and apply to the area. Once any discharge has softened, you can clean it with a cotton bud or piece of gauze.
Wash your hands with warm water and antibacterial soap, and dry them with a disposable towel before touching or washing your piercing.
Ensure any clothing and bedding that may come into contact with the area around the piercing is clean.
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How Often Should You Clean Your Ear Piercing
How Long Do Ear Piercings Take To Heal
The original piercing stud should remain in the ear for 6 weeks or more, even at night. Removing the starter earrings too early may cause the earring hole to close. After this time, it is safe to change the earring, but continue to wear lightweight earrings, including to sleep, until the ears have healed completely. We recommend wearing earrings consistently for one year after piercing. If you are physically active or playing sports, it is recommended to wear small studs instead of hoops or dangly earrings which can get caught or tangled.
It is generally a good idea to wait 2-3 weeks after the piercing is done to go swimming, as the bacteria in pool water may cause an infection and the chlorine may cause irritation.Also, make sure to avoid additional trauma to the piercing site. Many irritations occur from snagging an earring on clothing such as a tight-fitting top, sweater, turtleneck, or a fuzzy scarf.
Taking care of your new piercings is simple and will not take up much time once you get into a good routine. It may be tempting to skip one of your cleanings now and then, but remember that proper care will promote healing and reduce your chance of an infection.
Check out all of the hypoallergenic earring options Rowan has to offer. The Rowan earring club provides a new earring every month, celebrating milestones both big and small!
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Additional Tips For Cleaning Crusting Out Of Your Piercing
- It can be tempting to want to turn your jewelry around during the cleaning process. However, it’s imperative that you do not do this. If you turn the jewelry around, you are only irritating the skin and delaying the healing process.
- Never touch your healing piercing. Your hands are chock-full of germs and if you introduce those germs to an open wound like a piercing, you can easily cause an infection. An infection could force you to remove the piercing and, in a worst-case scenario, close the piercing altogether.
- It’s okay to shower with a fresh piercing. Just make sure that you rinse the area with warm water before you get out of the shower. Shampoo and conditioner residue can cause irritation that will delay the healing process.
How To Clean Inside Ear Piercing Hole
You will come across many endless discussions on how to keep your healing clean and to encourage faster and safe healing. Not much is talked about when it comes to cleaning the healed piercings, yet they still need to be cleaned.
To clean it, this section of the article shares some helpful insights that will guide you.
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What Happens If You Forget To Clean Your Piercing
First of all, just breathe. If youve been diligent in your aftercare practices until now, then one missed day wont spell the end of your piercing. All you need to do is keep your piercing clean, understand the signs of healing, and refrain from touching the jewelry, and your piercing will be just fine.
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Caring For Childrens Ear Piercings
Getting your childâs ears pierced is pretty common, even for babies less than a year old. Some doctors suggest waiting until your child is 8 or older to keep the risk of infection down. Younger children are more likely to touch their earrings and less likely to always have clean hands. â
Concerns. Aside from infection, thereâs little risk in piercing your childâs ears. Youâll just need to keep them clean and take good care of them. Common complications you should look for include:
- Allergy to metals or piercing material
- Accidentally swallowing the piercing
- Rejection of the piercingâ
When your child gets their ears pierced, youâll want to choose a gold post if possible. This lessens the chance of an allergic reaction. Other metals can cause irritation and itchiness. This can cause your child to touch their ears more frequently.
Less Is More Products
In terms of the products to use when cleaning, the cliché phrase, less is more wins the same way as it is with the healing piercings.
Dont fall for the craze. Although there are too many crazy products recommended out there for ear piercings care, you really dont need all those balms, ointments, or piercing floss.
Good ol saline or clean water and a cotton swab or cloth will do the trick. Bear in mind that despite all the new products recommended, some of these products are too gimmicky and just off the wall, and they might not work.
Avoid products made with harsh ingredients or chemicals. Instead, use mild products.
Whether you prefer to double cleanse or double wash, ensure that the product is milk and gentle on your skin.
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