Forum Discussion: Gun Piercing Results in Infected Ear
Sunday April 2, 2006
seeshu writes: "My ears have been pierced for about three months and...yesterday, my right earlobe swelled up and became really fat and swollen. Today, I decided to take out my right earring after my ear hadn't decreased in swelling. It was really swollen and I almost couldn't see my earring anymore (it's a small round ball, butterfly clasp). The earring wasn't stuck, my ear was just really swollen. So I decided to take it out and let my ear heal. I was wondering, is my piercing a lost cause?...Any tips on what to do would be great."
Comments
ive had 7 ear piercings- most of all had swelled like you said yours did. i didnt take them out, just left them and kept em really clean. i found that they would swell at some point in the healing stage, friends of mine agree. its also a good idea to make sure that you get ur piercings done through a qualified and hygienic piercer, if its all clean to start with your less likely to have complications. get it re-done, keep it clean and wait it out. it eventually comes good!
I got my ear pierced on the boardwalk when I was fourteen, 12 years ago. They didn’t ask how old I was and used a piercing gun. A month later I ended up with an IV and same day surgery on my ear because I ended up getting a staph infection. My ear is slightly deformed from it. I have been pierced since then but now I go to certified professionals who use needles. They never use the same one twice as opposed to the gun which gets used over and over. Plus they autoclave everything which sterilizes the equipment. If you have not gone to the doctor yet and your ear is still swollen, get it checked ASAP.
the hygiene of the gun or needle is essential but also a major factor to why peircings get infected is the metal used. if you are pierced with jewellery made from surgical steel,sterling silver or gold there is a fair chance it will get infected and wont heal for a long time. this happens because of the combination of metals in the jewellery that react badly with skin. titanium doesnt react with flesh so next piercing you get insist on titanium! also dont believe the myth that moving the jewellery after its been pierced stops the jewellery from sticking to your skin, it doesnt stick trust me. the movement only destroys newly forming skin cells and drags bacteria on the outside of your skin into the raw flesh. AND SALT BATH!!if you do all this you wont have any big worries, trust me, ive got 8 facial piercings, ive had experience:D
wow gold
i piereced my ears 5 days ago i woke up this morning and my left ear is so fat its twice the size of my right ear i freaked out! so i came online to see if anybody had info on it and thank god i found this place my boyfriend who has piereced ears already tried to pull the backing off because my ear was so big the earrring looked like it was squeezing it to death but it hurts like hell when he tries to pull on it I got small studs so he says he dosent want to pull it out because the whole stud might get pulled right through the whole so if you think your going to get your ears piereced heres a tip (GET BIG STUDS) dont get the small littele ones just because it looks cute trust me i wish i got bigger ones.. but im going to try what the people on here said to do hope it works
i got my ears pierced agen and afta 3 days they have went really swollen i got my nose dun at the sametym and my nose is fyn its just my ears. i have took them out because it looks like the studs r 2 tight becoz me ears have swollen so much duz any1 knowwot i shud do??
Ive had my ears pierced for 3 years and have only just had them calme down from infection.
Now i dont know how it worked but it was in my combination of antibiotics for my skin and/or the switch from the thicker surgical steel studs to thinner and cheaper earrings.
Now i dont have proof that the antibiotics have worked but my ears did inflam for a day a week or so after i stopped taking it [i dont suggest taking antibiotics just for ears unless you see a doctor and ask about it]
I only changed my earrings because i was fed up with not wearing other types of earrings but i think getting the much smalller shafts has allowed my ear to heal more completly.
Just last week i lost my studs so used some silver sleepers that were too big. i forced them in and my ears got badly infected [swollen and pussy]. i waited a day but it was too pinful so i got some sterling silver, thin shats, and they almost imediatly healed.
So i suggest that you try different metals and go smaller ONLY if you have gone more than two months with bad ears.