Weird earring hole thing

[LunanMoon]

I've had my ears pierced for years, no issues. Recently my earring holes have been itching, they're crusting over and skin peels off them. I haven't put earrings in for weeks and have been moisturising them; I also tried a hydrocortisone/Canestan cream. Today I put earrings in for the first time in a while. I take them out and they're covered in gunk. What's wrong with my ears?!?! Help! and thank you!

You are possibly sensitive to something in the earrings - nickel is a prime candidate. Or it could be another metal. Try nickel free earrings instead or putting clear nail varnish on the earring posts.

Thank you! The earrings I've been using are nickle free and I've been using them for years with no problems! I just can't figure it out...

Nickel is the tip of the iceberg.

What is the metal you are putting in your ears?

I react to silver and copper, which is part of the alloy for gold (9ct and 18ct) and in it's highly polished form, is also referred to as rose gold.

Can you put silver, gold or stainless steel earrings in? Gunk can indicate infection. Perhaps you need to dip the posts in surgical spirit before inserting.

Have you cleaned the earrings before putting them back in?

Do you have hay fever? I'm often allergic to things when I have hay fever that I can tolerate the rest of the year. The gunk could be the cream that you've been applying , it may have gone into the hole when you were rubbing it in.

I don't know if this is relevant but I suddenly became allergic to seemingly everything when I was pregnant. I'd had a lot of piercings, now I can't even wear basic earrings. The type of metal they were made from didn't seem to make any difference. It's like my body rejected everything. Even necklaces I'd work for years were turning my skin green. I don't know if I ever got over it because I stopped wearing jewellery then and haven't tried again since.

Worn*

They're 9 carat white gold, I've cleaned the posts with an alcohol wipe. I suppose the gunk could be the cream but I didn't put any on today before I put the earrings in. I didn't realise you could react to silver or gold. But I love my earrings! Does this mean I'm doomed to clip ons?

9 karat gold is only 37.5% gold, the rest will be other metals, so you could be reacting to that. Having worn them before without a reaction doesn't mean that you're not reacting to them now, my reactions to various things has changed as I've aged, mostly for the worse.

White gold doesn't tend to be hypoallergenic, I would try a different type that's marketed as either sterling silver or hypoallergenic and see if you're still having the same problem.

Oh dear; I did try another pair (silver) and it was no different. What earrings/metal can you tolerate @blackamericanonosugar? Looks like I'll be shopping for some more 😣

Thanks @addler; I had no idea it wasn't hypoallergenic

If I don't wear earrings for a while I get a buildup of yuck in the holes - I guess its natural skin oils that can't go anywhere. As I'm not a massive earring wearer I got some silicone retainer things on Amazon which do a good job of keeping the hole open and pushing the stuff out - but are soft and unintrusive

Like wot CMOTDibbler said ^

If you can find silicone-coated earrings they are generally low reaction. I don't wear earrings much, but I do have a few pairs that are 24-karat gold plated that work for me. The gold plating is very thin so it will wear off eventually but until then I can tolerate them very well and I only wear earrings occasionally so they should last long enough.

Same as CMOTDibbler - whenever I haven't worn earrings for a while and the holes close up a little, they get a bit crusty when I put earrings back in - just my body's reaction to having a foreign object intruding a bit

If it is that, just clean your earlobes and your earrings every day, and keep the earrings in, twisting them every so often - like when you first get them pierced. It shouldn't take long to heal up

Actually, I think my earrings are 18 karat gold plated. I've just had a look at the website that I bought them from (TruDiamonds) and they don't have 24K plated. Platinum plated might work for you too if you like a silver look (I can't wear silver either).

Put them back in and leave them, don't touch them. They'll sort themselves out.

Maybe spray some piercing spray on them a few times a day but don't turn them!

I'm allergic to pretty much all earrings now but found some really cheap plastic backed ones on Amazon via a chinese firm and I don't react at all. if that helps

I've found cheap titanium earrings are fine with my ears, though I react badly to nickel and some other metals.

Ok, I'll try to keep them in. I've been avoiding wearing them but maybe that's the wrong move. Who knows!! Really appreciate all the suggestions

This metal does not occur naturally but is made by adding either silver or palladium to yellow gold.

9ct white gold is an alloy of yellow gold and silver while 18ct white gold is yellow gold mixed with palladium to give a rich, creamy colour slightly darker than paler white of 9ct white gold. The palladium also makes 18ct white gold more resilient to wear and tear than 9ct white gold.

Both 9ct and 18ct white gold can be rhodium plated to produce an even whiter finish

From the Sheila Fleet website.

You might need to try platinum.

Or weirdly, plastic/silicone.