Does having your ear cartilage (helix I think it's called) pierced hurt a lot?

[Janey50]

I have been thinking of getting mine done for a while now. But I'm a bit nervous about the pain factor. I had my ear lobes pierced many years ago,which I didn't find painful,but I have read that lobe piercing is nowhere near as painful as having your ear cartilage pierced. I see plenty of people around with this type of piercing so reason to myself that it cannot be THAT painful IYSWIM! Also,has anyone experienced any post-piercing problems with this type,such as infection? I would be grateful for any advice that any MN's can give me.

[LadyLayLay]

My best advice is don't bother! The actual getting it done is fine, but all hell breaks loose after that!

The slightest knock is AGONY, throbs for ages after, forget sleeping on the side it's on and don't expect it to ever feel normal. I took mine out after 6 months because it was just pissing me off no end. Everyone I've spoken to has said the same thing.

[GingerAndTheBiscuits]

Had mine done aged 14, before having my lobes done in my early 20s. Didn't particularly hurt and healed up well, can go months without having anything in and can reinsert without issue whereas lobes always feel like they're starting to close up. And I still love it almost 20 years later.

[MissSmiley]

Mine was exactly the same as Lady.

[wonderpants]

Can I ask about daith and tragus piercings?
I've only ever been pierced with a gun (lobes X 3, cartilage, nose), but the idea of a needle really scares me!

[wonderpants]

My cartilage was okay, sore at first, especially to sleep on. Much more comfortable with a hoop in. Sadly mine has long healed up!

[coppergrey]

I have my tragus pierced - didn't hurt at all to have done but took a loooooong time to heal. Probably about a year in total! It looks great now and I have no issues but just something to bear in mind.

My nose was the same - I think cartilage piercings in general are much harder for the body to accept.

[Janey50]

Thanks LadyLayLay for the advice! Another question - is it done with a gun,or a needle? Do they put any anaesthetic spray on it first to numb it?

[60sname]

Some places use a gun - do not go to these; it can shatter the cartilage. Reputable places use a needle for all piercings. It is sharp and therefore goes through quickly!

[TondelayaDellaVentamiglia]

it's not that bad...I had a rook piercing last October. It is sore to sleep on that side mind, but I think that might also have been because I had a hoop, sort of nowhere for it to go so it presses on your ear

I had it changed for a bar after three months and it made so much difference

Plenty of salt water to keep it clean....for the first month I did it every time I went up to the bathroom

and pretty certain all cartilage piercings should be done with a needle.

[Janey50]

60sname and Tondelaya - Thank you. 'It can shatter the cartilage' sounds pretty gruesome! I had no idea. The place I will go to if I DO decide to go for it,is a reputable tattoo and piercing parlour that has been going for over 20 years and has very good reviews.

[OuchLegoHurts]

I had it done last summer. Very sore afterwards for a couple of months. However I found that once I changed my hoop to a thinner one it was perfect. I've had tonnes of piercings and I have to admit that this one took the longest to heal.

[OuchLegoHurts]

And by the way, I had 7 piercings dinner in that cartilage when I was younger, all done by gun! Can't remember if they were sore, think I was braver then...but my cartilage is shattered now. This piercer took ages to find a place to pierce where it was still intact! So no guns ever!!!

[LolaStarr]

Helix isn't too painful but as PP have said it's a pain in the arse when it's healing. I've had mine done twice and taken it out both times after a few months because I kept knocking and catching it. Tragus hurts a bit but not too bad, takes a little while to heal but I had no problems sleeping on it etc. Daith hurts like a bitch but mine healed absolutely no problem afterwards, I love it and would get it done again without a second thought

[TSSDNCOP]

25 years later, I still cannot sleep on it.

[hiccupgirl]

I had my helix done over 20 years ago with a gun (cos I didn't know any better). It wasn't as painful to get done as my standard ear piercings but was more sore when it was healing which did take a long time. I had lots of problems with abscesses until I replaced the stud with a hoop and then it was fine.

I recently had to have it re stretched after leaving the piercing out for a year and it was sore for about a week but has been fine since. I wouldn't be without it tbh.

[MsWorthington]

I've had both my cartilage and tragus needle pierced. The cartilage was a disaster from the start, it never healed properly and I ended up with a small cyst on the piercing, which went about six months after I took the piercing out. The tragus I still have, I didn't even notice it being pierced, I thought the piercer was just lining it up, but then he stepped back and I realised it was done! It healed like a dream and out of all the piercings I've had its my absolute favourite.

[TaurielTest]

Wonderpants I have a rook piercing for many years, it was done with a needle (as all non-lobe piercings should be - and lobe ones too IMO! - because a sharp needle is so much less traumatic to tissue than a blunter piece of jewellery). It wasn't the quickest to do - they have to line it up in a fairly fiddly place - but wasn't unpleasantly painful.
After initial settling (cleaning with saline, not turning it) it's been my least troublesome and most long-lived piercing - I really like it, I usually wear a small ball-closure ring.

[futureolympianinmyhouse]

I had a cartridge piercing done by a gun years ago...I had to take it out after 3 weeks...I couldn't even find the eating it was that swollen!
I tried again 3 years ago, this time with a needle...it took about 7 months until it as fully healed...I could not sleep on that side for 5 months...I changed to a ring at 6 months...that helped so much.
I love the piecing now..I'm really glad I went through all those months of pain

[DameXanaduBramble]

A proper pain for around a year, now I wouldn't know it's there, it only hurts when I'm ill, it's the body trying to heal it. Love mine, was paranoid about it getting infected but luckily it didn't. Didn't actually hurt having it done, just very quick, throbbed afterwards and I couldn't sleep on it for ages.

[BeyondTellsEveryoneRealFacts]

I have an industrial in one ear and tragus in the other. Tragus is fine and healed brilliantly. Industrial did heal, but if it gets knocked even now (2 years later) it bloody hurts

[Chipsahoy]

Had mine done twice. First time I don't remember was so long ago. No issues healing. Just had a second one next to it, two months ago. Sure it hurt a bit and it was sore to lay on but it has healed dine, no infection. I've changed the ring in it recently and it looks ace.

[AgathaF]

Had mine done a few years ago. A bit ouchy getting it pierced. Very painful to sleep on for a few weeks. I think it took about a year to heal properly, and it's no trouble at all now. I'd like a tragus next.

[Indecisivejo]

I had tragus pierced and the piercing itself wasn't too bad but I had a lot of trouble afterwards despite cleaning it religiously and doing everything I was told to do! It just didn't seem to want to heal and was agony so had to remove it in the end :(......my fiancé on the other hand had no issues at all with his and he didn't bother cleaning it or anything!

[OuchLegoHurts]

Sometimes cleaning your piercing can irritate it. Best to leave it completely alone. It will get washed gently in the shower. If it gets very irritated then a gentle cleaning with a very weak sea salt water solution can help, but too often interferes with the natural healing process.

[VeganCow]

Pierced mine myself aged 14, with a needle. Also did a couple of higher up ones on my actual lobes. The cartliage one was often sore to sleep on. Its out now, but still has a little lump at the back where the piercing was.