Saturday, 11 July 2009

  • Ear Piercing: How Do You Prevent Infections?


    Is there anyone out there who's successfully pierced the cartilage of their ear, sans infection and other less-than-welcome repercussions? If so, can you tell me how to best do it? What do you use for aftercare that can be found around the house?

    I'm 15 and live at home with my mom, who's a little less than friendly about 'deviant' ear piercings. Before you submit a friendly what-the-hell, know that while I think that anything short of a penis piercing isn't exactly part of the 'deviant' category and my mom has some pretty weird ideas about normality and how it should be enforced on me.

    I've already pierced my cartilage once, but I did it in an apparently unsafe manner and my mom found out that I had a very bad infection. It's finally healed and I want to sneak the piercing again as I've always felt like a single piercing in my cartilage was just part of my natural "identity". I'm smart to say the least, I take very good care of my body and would have no problem maintaining a healthy piercing if I just knew how.

    Any tips, please?

    Healthkicker.com

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Comments (31)

  • Punky13dq@xanga

    I clean mine with rubbing alcohol, everyday twice, once when I wake up and once before I go to bed. Then aas soon as I can maybe about once a week take them out and soak the earings in alcohol before you put them in, it might burn a little, but it doesn't burn long and it feels really good afterwards feels cleaner.....good luck...
  • theneedtobedelicate@xanga

    Salt water is the best cleaner; boil some water, add salt, mix & clean with cotton wool :]  I've used that on all of my piercings, besides my septum which seemed to heal straight away, & they've all been fine.  Also, put the needle in hot salt water before you use it, so that it's sterilised.  There's less chance of infection if you get it done professionally & you can often get a free cleaning kit with it; so that might be a better option :]
  • whitetrashpoet@xanga

    @Punky13dq@xanga - @theneedtobedelicate@xanga -  Eek, as a professional piercer I have to scold you both - NEVER put rubbing alcohol on a piercing - may have worked for you, but it kills off healing tissue, and cartilage takes anywhere from 6 months to 18 months to heal fully! That's just prolonging the opportunity for infection. Also, you need to use SEA salt, not table salt.


    Get your piercing done professionally - NOT with a gun, either. The gun will shatter your cartilage, as will a safety pin or anything similar, leading to potential collapsing cartilage or serious infection. Use a pinch of sea salt in warm water, dunk a cotton ball in, and hold it on your fresh piercing 2-3 times per day for the next 3 months. Seriously, an infection in your cartilage can permanently disfigure your ear - don't take the risk.
  • whitetrashpoet@xanga

    @theneedtobedelicate@xanga - Oh, and if you meant sea salt, I apologize, but table salt is much too harsh for a fresh wound! (Salt in the wound? NOT a good thing :) )

  • TornadoChaser@momaroo
    "Sneaking a piercing" will most likely end badly when your mom does find out, especially since you have done it before. You are 15 and still under your parents care. Waiting a few years until you are a legal adult and can do whatever you want with your body will not hurt you in any way. 
    I strongly suggest you just talk with your mom about how much it means to you. Then accept her decision if she still says no. Don't sneak around, don't be stupid, it just shows her that you are still immature and don't deserve to be trusted. 

     
  • Whispers_of_Wind@xanga

    @whitetrashpoet@xanga - Great advice. I'm thinking about getting my cartilage pierced soon. 8]
  • niceBrice@xanga

    Lick your ear clean after piercing to prevent infection.  How you'll lick your own ear I don't know.
  • HerSelflessWish@xanga

    My friend tought me how to pierce ears a while back. Her and I do it all the time, and when we're bored well do another one. Ha. I've even pierced friends ears with infection once.

    What we did was clean a safety pin with rubbing alcohol. Not the drinkable kind obviously. Then, burn it with a lighter. wipe it clean after that with a paper towel so the black doesnt get on your ear, and you're good to go.

    But just so you know, piercing your cartilage hurts the most, more than any pain i can think of. It wasn't bad enough that it stoped me from piercing my own cartilage twice, but it's still hurt. And it takes up to 6-8 weeks to heal. It will hurt whenever hit or touched too roughly for all that time, and even after you'll have days where it just doesnt like earrings and hurts when you sleep at times. haha. That's just how cartilages are though, ask anymore.
    The first one hurt more then the second one i did actually so it gets easier.  Just make sure to take asprin before you do it just in case, and put ice on it for a while before you pierce it.Also, put something strong and flast behind your ear like soap or the ice. it makes your ear flop-less and sturdy to get the job done fast. I also think should have a friend push it through for you. They may not know your pain but they wouldnt be afraid to push hard to get it through fast like you would be doing it yourself. And if it gets too hard to get it though your ear, its okay to take a breather and try again.

    Good luck.
  • HerSelflessWish@xanga

    I meant without any infection once in that first paragraph. my bad. ha
  • hishtafel@xanga

    My best advice is wait until you are able to get it done professionally. To do otherwise would be dangerous, both to your health and to your relationship with your mother; you have the potential to do damage to either that might last the rest of your life. (See above comments about "permanently disfigured ear".)

    That said, to anyone who is able to get pierced responsibly, I recommend getting a dermal punch. It actually punches a hole in your ear, rather than cutting a slice through it like a needle does; this supposedly puts less pressure on the tissue and allows it to heal better. I don't know about that, but I do know that my punch healed without any problems, and it's still just fine 5 years later.
  • whitetrashpoet@xanga

    @HerSelflessWish@xanga - Eeeek. I'm cringing reading that. Safety pins = TERRIBLE piercing object. Seriously, you can get a sterile proper piercing needle online for like a dollar. Don't be ridiculous. Ice thickens the tissue and makes it more difficult for a PIERCING needle to go through, and those are razor sharp! Can't believe you did that with a safety pin. The reason your ear still hurts at random times is almost definitely because it wasn't properly pierced and will never properly heal. Yikes. Seriously, it's NOT hard to get the PROPER supplies to do a piercing, nor is it expensive. Respect your body a little, please! Rubbing alcohol and butane aren't appropriate sterilization techniques and safety pins are made of the worst quality metals.

  • RaabzBaby89@xanga

    I had to sneak my cartilage piercing too. I never got mine professionally done, I always did it myself.  I've done it probably 10 (or more times) in the past 2 or so years.  But I've only had 2 holes at a time because I just kept taking out the earrings and letting them heal.  They did get a little irritated at times, but as long as you use the SAME earring for a few months and don't try to change it, it should be fine.  The one I have now is fine, and I didn't even use any cleaning solution on it at ALL.  I just kept the earring in  for a few weeks and now it is painless to remove and put back.  The only thing is it can't be left out for too long or it heals.
  • quitstealingmyname@xanga

    @whitetrashpoet@xanga - you took the words right out of my mouth lol. I'm not a professional piercer but I would never get any kind of piercing done by a non-professional, I don't want to end up disfigured.

    When I got my industrial done, it hurt bad enough, especially since it's a larger gauge than a regular earring. I can't imagine getting it done by someone who didn't know what they're doing & if they messed it up or something *shudder*

    Salt water definitely is a huge help!
  • v_kay@xanga

    When I got my industrial, I listened to my piercer and cleaned using sea salt mixed with very warm water. It swelled up a bit a few days after getting it done, but it's never really gotten infected. Avoid getting hair gel or shampoo in the piercing and be sure to wash your pillow case regularly. If you have long hair, you can pin your hair so the oils from your hair don't come into contact with the piercing. 


    Lastly, avoid getting smacked in the ear. It's happened to me quite a lot.
  • SeitekiChibiNeko@xanga

    #1..get it done by a professional piercer who's got a health department certification (this means a needle and not a piercing gun!!) anything else puts you at risk from various microbes
    #2..make sure you put the right kind of jewelery in afterwards! cheap alloys make some people more prone to infection
    #3..you have to clean it every day, carefully, with mild soap and water, w/out removing the earring. if it's being annoying or crusting, you can apply a warm salt water soak/compress
    #4..don't play with it! your hands are usually filthy

    i got my second ear holes done randomly and they've never healed properly even though i had them done 13 years ago. the first ear holes healed perfectly because i had it done by a professional with a needle, and my eyebrow ring healed well too for the same reason.
  • crushediamonds@xanga

    I clean my with the alcohol once in the morning and night. Also, I don't sleep on the side where I had my cartilege pierced. I pierced 4 holes on the same day when I was 18 and that was pretty dumb cause I found it hard to sleep.
    Also, I would always disinfect any earrings before wearing. Try not to touch your earrings so often too.
  • design3rskyline@xanga

    i had my cartilage pierced, and i waited the amount of time they told me to wait and it got infected when i tried to change the piercing :( but i think it was because they used a gun instead of a needle. when i get it done, i'm definietely going somewhere else and getting it pierced with a needle. that would be my #1 suggestion , and saltwater sounds the best
  • lovelesskisses@xanga

    Eeekk.. doing it yourself? =S
    I'm pretty sure that it'll still get infected, no matter what, but you can try to keep the swelling to a minimum and everything.
    I've got 8 piercings so far, and all of them have gotten infected at least once.  It's taken a year for my belly button ring to finally heal.  So it would probably be best just to get it done professionally.  If you don't have the money, then it's probably a sign you should wait.
  • DarcKleer@xanga

    All of my piercings were done professionally and I've never had any problems with them.
    Use rubbing alcohol 2-3 times a day and try not to sleep on it for a while.
  • enterthelabyrinth@xanga

    Jesus, people! Go to a professional piercer if you really want a permanent piece of art on your body....would you give yourself a tattoo? Probably not. Stop trying to pierce yourselves! I work in a hospital's ER and I can't tell you how many times some stupid kid has come in with an infected ear or the like because they tried to pierce themselves. You need sterile tools, professional wisdom and proper jewelry for the initial healing process.....
  • musiciansbox@xanga

    @whitetrashpoet@xanga - could i ask, what's wrong with a gun? i have three piercings on my ears, all by a gun, i cant imagine anything else, the thought of a needle scares me. i like the idea of a gun because it's quick and it's done blitzschnell. needles sound excruciating to me and i have this insane idea that the piercing will go wrong. correct me. another question i have- what exactly is rubbing alcohol? because after my piercings i often get a tiny bottle of alcohol for my ears, could that be it? i love the alcohol, it's cooling and soothing, but if you say sea salt, i'll trust you on that one.

  • bleujinxpwns@xanga

    I used to have seven piercings in each ear.  Two on the bottom and 5 in my cartilage up top.  I just cleaned them regularly with rubbing alchohol or peroxide. You can also use bactin.  Just don't mess with it more than need be, that way you give the skin around the piercing time to adjust and let the swelling go down.  Yes we (my foster sisters and I) went on piercing sprees in the bathroom. =P  I pierced one of the girls' nose and I pierced my own nipple one night on a whim.  lol  Fun times.
  • whitetrashpoet@xanga

    @musiciansbox@xanga - Piercing guns make the hole with blunt force trauma - piercing needles are razor sharp and make a clean cut, allowing for proper healing.
  • musiciansbox@xanga

    @whitetrashpoet@xanga - do needles hurt more than guns, though?

  • theneedtobedelicate@xanga

    @whitetrashpoet@xanga - I did mean sea salt, but probably should have made that a tad clearer!  Oops x]

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