Should I see a GP or go to a MIU? (A little bit gross)

[colabucks]

Both of my ear piercings which I have recently stretched, have torn slightly. I removed the jewellery as there was a lot of swelling and pressure and now they hurt a lot less than they did before but are dripping with clear fluid. I have anxiety and have been up all night worrying. The swelling, pain and redness indicate either infection or severe inflammation and I know I need to see a medical professional ASAP, but I don't know if just my GP is enough or if I should go to my local Minor Injury Unit.

Please keep negative opinions about stretched ears to a minimum please, I know they're not for everyone but I choose to have them. This injury is from my own malpractice and should not be a representation of what stretched ears do to everyone - I know I did it wrong. Thanks in advance

Wait & see your GP or Practice Nurse today.
Even if they are both infected, waiting a few hours won't make any difference. Meanwhile take some painkillers, it sounds very sore.

I'd go to MIU. It would take about 2 weeks to get a GP appt.

Getting a GP appointment isn't too difficult in my area, they often have an odd slot late morning and late afternoon, so I'll probably try ringing them when they open at 8:30. If not, then i'll go to MIU. Thank you

Tell them your in pain and leaking infection, they can typically fit you I as an emergency.

GP, definitely. Unless there is clear sign of a bad infection such as green pus or excruciating pain and you can't get a GP appointment. Hope it clears up soon.

I overstretched and one ear got infected a while back. I have severe anxiety but mine keeps me away from doctors as much as possible rather than going to them. I am also immunosupressed.

I went down a size and went OTT on the cleaning with (as hot as possible without burning) salt water. I lived to tell the tale :)

To clarify, i used a salt bath made up in a ramekin (ahh, a use for the six million ramekins ) which i soaked my earlobe in. Made up with sea salt and kettle water, cooled just to the point where i could hold my ear in it without burning.

Managed to get a GP appointment for later this morning. Theyre no longer weeping, just a bit crispy and red!

Went to a couple of piercers and they told me to keep the metal tunnel in and that it would settle. Only when they started to ooze did I resort to taking them out, and it was instant relief to take the pressure off. Thanks for all of your advice so far! Will let you know how the appointment goes

Do you think they need stitches?

If so, it's minor injuries.

If not, then clean with cooled salty water/cotton wool every couple of hours.

Try not to fiddle with them.

If you can, then take ibuprofen for the swelling.

Ouch! Hope it goes ok.

On a weeks course of antibiotics and have been told to keep them as dry as possible. Might clean/bathe them gently this evening though as they look a bit disgusting but other than that I'm leaving them alone

I think it's normal for them to go red and sore. Mine took ages to heal.
If you ever want to try stretching them again you need to do it really really slowly.
You should leave at least 2 months for them to heal between each size, 1/2mm at a time. That will prevent you from tearing your ears. It is a really slow process, so don't get impatient and try 5mm in one go!
Also make sure you're using metal or glass tapers because they reduce the chance of infection.

I've never considered this process - how are ears stretched? Do they put something small in the hole and crank it open?

been told to keep them as dry as possible

Might clean/bathe them gently this evening

'Sake.

The clear fluid is lymph.

You've obviously been stretching too much too quickly though, because tearing is not normal for a stretched piercing.

Try this forum - lots of knowledgable people here:

forum.bodyjewelleryshop.com

You put in a taper, which is like a cone shaped rod and it expands the piercing. When you get to a certain size tapering is no longer safe and you need to use Teflon tape to very incrementally make the jewellery thicker. I tapered to 8mm which is never good. When i say 'bathe' i mean just clean the area that isnt the hole, the plasma/lymph was covering my lobe all over and it looked disgusting, but its kind of flaked off during the day so i'm going to leave it. I hope it gets better from here on out

Fluid doesn't necessarily mean infection, it's lymph like Driver says. Can you not just do salt water soaks? I've used them for an actually infected piercing (yellow pus, hot, swollen) and it was miraculous.

I'm very surprised that they gave you antibiotics!

There was definitely greenish yellow opaque fluid last night when I woke up. The swelling was pretty huge, like I said, it was covering the back rim of the hollow tunnel jewellery.

As for soaks, i'm just gonna keep it dry, the scab has formed nicely and I dont want to make it weepy again.

I did take photos of the swelling if you want to see but theyre a bit grim!

This is totally what the NHS was created for.

I love fixing broken teeth on patients who have tongue piercings. Especially when they complain about the NHS charge (just over £50). Clearly the tongue piercing was free.

I wholeheartedly admit I made a ridiculous mistake by injuring myself in this way. I paid for my prescription, no complaints here. If I was stupid enough to hurt myself in the first place then I deserve to pay for whatever medication I need to fix it.

There was definitely greenish yellow opaque fluid last night when I woke up

Yep, that's lymph.

Infection is unmistakable. Infection is hot and red and swollen and painful and leaking pus. Lymph is crusty and harmless.

I would bathe with salt water personally. Leaving the earlobes all crusty and gross won't be ideal for healing. If anything, failing to clean your lobes will make them a more habitable environment for an infection to start.