What to do infected ears (pierced)

[iwantavuvezela]

I have been to the local pharmacy and tried to read up but seem to be getting conflicted advice.

My DD's ears, which have now been Pierced for 6 months are red and infected looking. Around the piercings

Please tell me best course of action - my instinct now is to take earrings out, keep lobes cleaned, (I have bought sA Lon cream) stop fiddling with them, and wait for infection / redness to go, then if need be re-pierce.. I have been disinfecting earrings with saline solution (different Pharmacists have recommended different things to keep earrings cleaned)

I think a combination of cheap earrings, perhaps put on to tight, and general fiddling with ears, taking in and out are the cause.

I would love to know of any remedies or what anyone else has done.

If the ears close is it "easy" to re pierce when ears have fully healed?

My DD is in the same situation, noticed redness yesterday and a bit of scabbing even thoughhiugh they are/were fully healed.

I spoke to our GP this morning (telephone appointment) as she had some pus so I wasn't sure if she needed to have them checked over. GP said to leave the earrings in as the holes will close over relatively quickly and if the infection isn't cleared then you're trapping it inside where it'll spread more quickly. He said to clean them twice a day with surgical spirit (£4ish a bottle at Boots) and to push earring outwards a little bit so the surgical spirit gets all around the piercing hole and the post of the earring, wait ages seconds for any scabs to soften, and then give the earrings a turn.

Go to a pharmacy and buy hydrogen peroxide. Rinse piercings and earrings with it. Keep doing it morning and night until they're healed. It should take 2-3 days max.

One of my piercings went a bit manky after I thought they'd fully healed. I just bathed my lobe in an eggcup full of hot salty water a few times a day - obviously not hot enough to burn but enough to do the job. Cleared up after a few days.

twice daily hot saline soak worked for us - a proper soak in a bowl rather than a wipe IYSWIM. tricky to do with ears but effective.

I second the hot salty water advise. Whenever my piercings have gone a bit funky, as hot as you can stand water and sea salt (not table salt) usually mix until dissolved and dip some kitchen roll in and hold over piercings for as long as can stand. Do this 3/4 times a day.

If she is wearing earrings with a post and butterfly, it will help if you change to a style that is a loop, (used to be called sleepers years ago). They will keep the piercing open and allow it to drain at the same time. You could dab a little of the cream on the part of the ring that fits through the ear too.

I seemed to get 'infected' ears every time I had a piercing, turns out I am allergic to nickel.

I've had pierced ears for years but recently only wore earrings when I went out in the evening and they would be so sore afterwards, would have visible pus and smelt nasty.

I got myself some small sleeper (hinged) earrings in silver. The wires are so narrow that they can be moved around through the piercings. I moved them every day,in the beginning with a little bit of savlon ointment.

Took about a week but both ears are great now. Very comfortable. Now whenever I've been out, I take out my earrings and put the sleepers back in.

🙂

Hot sea salt soak. No turning.

Source - me, many piercings 😉

Could it be a nickel allergy? I had infected ears all the time until i realised I was allergic to nickel.

Put about 1/4 tsp salt in a mug of boiled water and let it cool until its hot but doesn't hurt. She can then either lean over and soak her ear in the cup or use cotton wool balls to soak up water and hold on the piercing. Soak for 15 mins at a time 2-3 times a day.

You also need to make sure she has decent quality metal in them. 18kt gold, or titanium will be best. I suspect she's reacting to nickel.

Don't put harsh chemicals like surgical spirit etc. on them as it will dry them out and can make things worse.

Bath the hole in salty water soaked into a cotton ball! Also make sure that you have either real gold or silver earrings in there not plated ones!

YY to gold or titanium earrings.

Don't take them out as they will close up with the infection inside. Use saline solution 3 times a day. Do not touch with dirty fingers. Wear surgical gloves if possible. I use tea tree oil but only a tiny amount. Do not spin the earrings round! I've had 20 piercings and only 2 I've had trouble with and both were my nose because I kept touching accidentally. Both piercings are fine now after 2 weeks of very strict cleaning.

Titanium or niobium earrings

Use either BPA piercing aftercare lotion (you can buy on Ebay), it contains lavender oil which is very good, OR a salt spray.

When my ears were first pierced I had a lot of issues as I was allergic to nickel and didn't realise it at the time (I was 10). I found that changing them to solid gold/silver/surgical steel earrings and then cleaning them with surgical spirit on a cotton bud helped to calm things down quite quickly. It stings like billyo but I've looked after subsequent piercings the same way (6 of them in one ear and three in the other one now) and not had any problems with them at all.

Another o ff for the hot saline solution. Any further issues, pop into a local recommended piercer/tattooist. They'll give top notch advice.

I also can't wear nickel. My ears go very red and puffy then they go crusty.

Another concurring with others about not removing the earrings. I did and have an intermittently manky ear now.

I thought nickel was no longer allowed in jewellery in the UK (EU?). Not that that helps you, just saying!

We got fucibet from Dr which I'm sure made them worse. The only thing that worked was a tiny bit of dettol in cooled boiled water. Dip a cotton bud in & clean all round & under earring. At first there were horrible grungy bits. We took the earring out & a big bit of hair was wrapped round it inside the hole. Cleaned the earrings in dettol. Put them back in & cleaned round them with the dettol water 3 X day. Completely cleared it up after a few days.