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Original poster

For the love of God, dd's piercings are never going to heal

86 replies

twosoups1972 · 01/03/2019 15:54

Dd had her ears pierced 10 months ago. I followed all the advice, took her to a reputable piercing studio to have them done with a needle. Cleaned them carefully twice a day and left them in for a good 8 weeks.

They did appear to heal at first but nearly a year later we are still having problems. Tried a variety of different earrings - titanium, stainless steel etc. I don't think they are infected but they are sore, especially one side, and she keeps getting a crusty lump at the back.

She is ASD and has a very low pain threshold. She has to take the earrings out for PE so now we have this twice weekly agony of me putting them back in, her wincing and me trying not to lose patience.

I have suggested to her taking them out and trying again in a few years but she really wants to have earrings and after all this palaver it seems a waste.

We have prontolind spray which we've been using intermittently but maybe should be using it more regularly?

Any advice please? And what have I done wrong??

OP posts:
hellenbackagen · 01/03/2019 17:10

I'd also suggest gold over anything else, and change to sleepers for a while. Use an egg cup for a salt water soak or a few drops of dettol in warm water.

Did the trick on mine .

EhlanaOfElenia · 01/03/2019 17:22

Gold or sterling silver is definitely the way to go. Surgical steel and titanium give me an allergic reaction.

Aph413 · 01/03/2019 17:27

Hate to say this but I got a second set of ear piercings 4 years ago and the damn things still heal over if I take them out. First set were fine within 6 weeks. My only suggestion is asking if she can cover them for pe

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Haworthia · 01/03/2019 17:28

It won’t be the metal, it will be the trauma of taking them out and putting them back in again. It’s the worst thing you can do to pissed off piercings. I know you have no choice, but it is what it is.

Presumably you take them out in the morning before school and put them back after school? That’s a good seven hours or so twice a week. It’s amazing how much a piercing site can start to close over that length of time. And then when you put the earrings back in again it forces the hole open again causing inflammation.

imip · 01/03/2019 17:29

Dd12 has hers done st Claire’s last Shultz. A god awful time with Jane still, pus and a hard lump. She is petrified of the earring going in and out (a bit needle phobic from having lots of injections when younger). I’m following with interest. I usually stick the piercung stud into antiseptic cream and into her ear after PE. Like you, I need to take them in and out after PE on the day.

Ironically, my 10 yo dd with ASD is having no problems - could barely feel them being pierced! Not what i expected at all!

Toddlerteaplease · 01/03/2019 17:42

Try Sterling silver or gold. I had the same issue. I was allergic to nickel

Foonababoonalagoona · 01/03/2019 17:47

You should change them to hoop earrings. My daughter was the same the back of an earing got inbeded in her earlobe . We changed to silver hoops and everything healed in less than 2 weeks and now they are perfect

JoshLymanIsHotterThanSam · 01/03/2019 18:02

I would say it’s an allergy and you should give up now and remove them.

I say this as someone who appears to have a metal allergy (piercings only) I’ve never been able to heal a piercing in my life and I’ve tried. I gave up and had tattoos instead

FixTheBone · 01/03/2019 18:09

Wound management 1-0-1.... if a wound doesn't heal, check for a foreign body and remove it if present.

user1494670108 · 01/03/2019 18:12

My dd was exactly the same, she's been clear for a while now by wearing tiny hoops (hardly any metal in contact with the skin). She bathed them with surgical spirit when they were sore and only wears silver.
Another issue we had in the early days was when a long hair got tangled around the post of the earring but if she's taking them out this probably isn't the problem.

endofthelinefinally · 01/03/2019 18:18

They might well be infected. I would show them to GP or Nurse practioner. She might need a course of antibiotics. If there is an infection they won't heal.
Does she keep touching them?

DreamGirly · 01/03/2019 18:23

I had mine pierced as a child and gold put in as was the best practice at the time - turned out I was allergic to gold and despite changing to sterling silver they never healed. After 3 years I gave up and let them heal up. I waited until I was 17 to try again and this time went with Silver from the off - they healed up in record time. I think having something i was sensitive too in when they were raw meant that they were never going to heal and I had to start from scratch after they had a few years to recover.

Original poster
twosoups1972 · 01/03/2019 18:25

user or anyone else - can you recommend any particular hoops?

OP posts:
Redken24 · 01/03/2019 18:30

I am allergic to most earring's and the most comfortable ones I wear are these. Also have it as a nose stud which I have never had bother with.

www.bodyjewelleryshop.com/online_store/clear_bioflex_jewelled_flat_disc_labret_stud_crystal_ab_11384782.cfm

hellenbackagen · 01/03/2019 18:33

Worth a tenner to try and heal.

hellenbackagen · 01/03/2019 18:35

I'd go for a base metal not stainless steel - gold was the only thing that worked on mine .

Now I can wear any metal but I couldn't while they healed

Original poster
twosoups1972 · 01/03/2019 18:41

A question about saline/salt water - should you use cooled boiled water to make it? How much salt? Can you make up a batch to use or do you have to make it fresh every day?

OP posts:
hellenbackagen · 01/03/2019 18:45

I'd use boiled water and mix in some salt to saturation then allow to cook, use an egg cup and completely immerse the eat lobe for a few mins twice a day.

hellenbackagen · 01/03/2019 18:46

*cool not cool!

Original poster
twosoups1972 · 01/03/2019 18:47

Thank you, egg cup is a good tip.

OP posts:
DeathMetalMum · 01/03/2019 18:51

Mine took a while to heal occasionally one of mine flares up if I knock it (traegus). Sterling silver works for me, sometimes I accidentally buy a pair that has a different metal on the butterfly bit at the back and that will really irritate my ears. I'll use salt water for a few days and it will be okay again.

DeathMetalMum · 01/03/2019 18:53

Make sure you do regular cleaning of the ear rings as well in the salt water mixture.

BeTheHokeyMan · 01/03/2019 18:57

The school might allow you to cover them with a plaster.My daughter has to do that with her nose and ears every day and prefers it to constantly putting them in and taking them out - they haven't spotted her tongue piercing yet Confused

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