Infected ear piercings

[Anonymous]

This is why people shouldn't go to Piercing Pagoda. A reputable piercing shop would have given you gold or titanium earrings and saline spray with instructions to never touch the earrings, just spray twice a day for 8 weeks.

It's possible that your child had an allergic reaction to the metal or the chemicals in the solution they gave you or she touched her ears with unclean hands and introduced bacteria to the wound.

[Anonymous]

My ear skin grew over backings. Was size of pencil eraser. My pediatrician thought I'd need a plastic surgeon. But a real good, old school dermatologist cut the off perfectly. Was able to repierce afterwards, and only wore gold earrings since.

I would put peroxide on it if it looks real infected like pus etc. Until you can get prescription antibacterial.

[Anonymous]

I got ears pierced by a dermatologist decades ago. They used a gun that inserted gold starter studs that had a screw on back. Instructions were to drop alcohol on them twice a day after showers and twirl them once a day. Never a problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got ears pierced by a dermatologist decades ago. They used a gun that inserted gold starter studs that had a screw on back. Instructions were to drop alcohol on them twice a day after showers and twirl them once a day. Never a problem.

Good for you but this is as helpful and outdated as when grandparents tell you to feed babies solids at three months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd say you have two options:

(1) Get solid 14K or 18K gold or titanium earrings (preferably small hoops or leverback/Euro back earrings rather than studs). Leave them in the ears while infection heals. Keep the piercings clean and use H2Ocean until everything is healed up.

(2) Remove earrings and allow everything to heal. If the holes close up during this time, you can have them re-pierced. I recommend a professional piercing studio that uses needles rather than those piercing guns they use at the mall.

14k gold contains other metals, possibly nickel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why people shouldn't go to Piercing Pagoda. A reputable piercing shop would have given you gold or titanium earrings and saline spray with instructions to never touch the earrings, just spray twice a day for 8 weeks.

It's possible that your child had an allergic reaction to the metal or the chemicals in the solution they gave you or she touched her ears with unclean hands and introduced bacteria to the wound.

My kid got her ears pierced about a month ago with a reputable piercer, and they got infected over the last couple of days despite titanium flatbacks and gently spraying with saline twice a day. Sometimes it just happens..my kid thinks she bumped them. Was pussy for a couple of days but seems to have cleared up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it an infection or an allergic reaction to the metal? My DD had similar and it was an allergic reaction to nickel.

A few years ago, I found out that my older daughters are allergic to nickel as well after we got their ears pierced at the same place. We removed the piercings and let the holes close up. Last month, I took my younger daughter to Rowan and the experience, and the healing has been night and day. The piercers knew what they were talking about, made good recommendations about post length to accommodate for any swelling and walked us through what to do and what to expect. I took her back last weekend, per their guidance, and the staff confirmed that they are healing perfectly. It was pricey, but well worth it for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got ears pierced by a dermatologist decades ago. They used a gun that inserted gold starter studs that had a screw on back. Instructions were to drop alcohol on them twice a day after showers and twirl them once a day. Never a problem.

Good for you but this is as helpful and outdated as when grandparents tell you to feed babies solids at three months.

And what exactly about going to a doctor that used nonallergenic earrings designed to stay in for months until the piercings were well healed, cleaning them and twirling them is outdated?

[Anonymous]

Gold hoops, a little neosprine with pain relief, and a touch of rubbing alcohol on a q tip. I would avoid hydrogen peroxide.

[Anonymous]

Whether you go to a mall shop or a professional piercer, a high percentage of new piercings get infected. They also take longer to heal—a few months—than the 6-8 weeks we are told.

Don’t let the piercings close. This makes them harder to clean and can seal in infections.

Replace the studs with something hypoallergenic. Often the mall piercing shops have jewelry that has a high nickel content and that can cause allergies.

Povon soap is great and recommended by professional piercers. Do not touch on or near the piercing without washing hands thoroughly first. Do not clean too frequently either—usually once/day to remove any crustiness (normal) is fine.

Do not use Neosporin. As others have mentioned, it often leads to allergies. It’s such a common allergen that many derms have gotten away from using it. Also ointment residue can make it hard to clean around the piercing. Don’t use hydrogen peroxide either. It damages skin and delays wound healing. If it’s in your house, use it for cleaning, not skin:
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-is-hydrogen-peroxide-good-for

Warm salt water soaks are great for healing piercings. Use distilled or boiled and cooled water. Do not over-salt. You can hold the glass under the side of your head and just let the ear soak in it.

Believe it or not, piercing studios have great, well-explained after-care instructions: https://jinxprooftattoos.com/piercing/

See a doctor if the area remains warm to the touch or red streaks develop on the skin. Also consult a doc if you see evidence of keloid scarring.

[Anonymous]

We took my DD to a reputable piercing place, she had titanium studs, we followed all instructions, etc. Still, after a few months, they appeared infected - she developed almost cyst-like formations on the back of her earlobe next to the piercing site. Because they were quite painful, the skin appeared to be overtaking the back of the earring, and it seemed to be more than a regular infection, we took her to urgent care where they drained the cyst. We then followed up with the piercing place to talk about having the earring removed and then re-pierced. I'm so glad we called them! It turned out that her going to bed with wet hair was causing the issue - the moisture was getting into the piercing. Now we make sure that her hair dries before bed, and we had no more issues.

[Anonymous]

I’d see the doctor. I didn’t have reactions as a kid but had horrid infections when getting holes in my 30s. They prescribed me special ointment to use. (NOT neisporin.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why people shouldn't go to Piercing Pagoda. A reputable piercing shop would have given you gold or titanium earrings and saline spray with instructions to never touch the earrings, just spray twice a day for 8 weeks.

It's possible that your child had an allergic reaction to the metal or the chemicals in the solution they gave you or she touched her ears with unclean hands and introduced bacteria to the wound.

My kid got her ears pierced about a month ago with a reputable piercer, and they got infected over the last couple of days despite titanium flatbacks and gently spraying with saline twice a day. Sometimes it just happens..my kid thinks she bumped them. Was pussy for a couple of days but seems to have cleared up.

Yes, that was included in what I said: "it's possible she touched her ears with unclean hands and introduced bacteria to the wound"

[Anonymous]

Check the earring backings - many times even if the posts are gold/titanium, the backings contain nickel. My daughter can't wear any amount of nickel in her ears and we had to switch out the backings of a lot of her "hypoallergenic post" earrings to silicone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I got ears pierced by a dermatologist decades ago. They used a gun that inserted gold starter studs that had a screw on back. Instructions were to drop alcohol on them twice a day after showers and twirl them once a day. Never a problem.

Good for you but this is as helpful and outdated as when grandparents tell you to feed babies solids at three months.

And what exactly about going to a doctor that used nonallergenic earrings designed to stay in for months until the piercings were well healed, cleaning them and twirling them is outdated?

Piecing guns are unhygienic. Having a piercing done with a gun at a doctor's office is no better than having it done at Claire's. And rubbing alcohol on wounds is a no-no, like hydrogen peroxide it damages the tissue and delays healing.