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[quote=Anonymous]In reply to PP, who asked if the piercing was healed after a day or two because it stopped bleeding, that makes sense, but it actually does take a few weeks for epithelial cells to grow over the earlobe piercing. It’s like a scrape or a cut - it might not be bleeding anymore, but the epithelial cells haven’t grown in yet and infection can take hold.

To reduce the chance of infection to nearly zero, follow the usual care instructions and avoid swimming for 6 weeks. If you wait 24 h, clean properly, and swim in a properly chlorinated pool as opposed to a hot tub or natural body of water, your risk is very small, but not nonexistent. If you don’t swim at all and don’t even get your ear wet, you still have a non zero chance of infection due to infection by skin flora.

Most of the severe infections related to ear piercings these days are from cartilage piercings, which take a long time to heal because of poor blood flow. The earlobe has great blood flow and is more resistant to infection.

I have two boy swimmers, and if they wanted to pierce their ears, I would make them do it during the break between short and long course season or in August. And I would make sure the piercing occurs under the most stringent sterilization guidelines - it’s been forever since I got my ears pierced by a disinterested teen at a Claire’s, but these days, I would make sure that the earrings were autoclaved, earlobe washed x 3, etc. Also, keep a dollop of petroleum jelly on the piercing - moist wounds heal much faster. [/quote]

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