Do you think this is infected? Sorry if TMI

[silverfishgoldfish]

It's the back of my daughter's ear...she pushed the back of her earring in too far and I've just taken it out and found it like this! I've given it a good clean but not sure what to do...she doesn't want them to close up, only got them done a few months ago, but I'm not sure we should put some back in...

My daughter did this. I had to really pull to get the back out :-(
I cleaned and replaced the earrings making sure they were not too tight! Kept cleaning and they healed up fine with the holes remaining and no problems since.

It's clearly swollen, this could be a sign of infection but it could also be related to the "trauma" of removing the earring.
Does it feel warmer than the other earlobe?

Look more sore ? Lots of disinfectant and maybe a plaster and sudocrem when she is asleep ?

Disinfectant slows healing and is not indicated for any wounds and sudocrem would be a bad idea also. Clean with cooled boiled water only maybe a bit of salt if sticky. I think keeping the infection in check is rather more important than the holes healing up. Redness swelling and heat all suggest infection

Doesn't really look infected but hard to tell. Salty water to clean it for a while.

Thankyou, it does lool pretty grim close up...It's like the hole where the earring was has gone really big..it looks like it's ripped a bit.

Signs of infection are swelling , redness, pain , heat and loss of function( difficult to asses the function of an earlobe).
Yes it looks infected, it will clear up with some tcp/ dettol etc twice a day.
In my experience even infected lines don’t heal up, but if she’s brave she can do 3 days treatment, then numb her lobe with ice and put the stud back in. It’s not too painful, more the thought of it.

Don’t let anyone tell you she needs antibiotics unless she is immunocompromised.

Put the earing back in, if there is an infection there and it heals the infection will be sealed inside the ear.
Keep the ear clean and if it's hot, red or swollen take her back to the piercing place and ask them their advice.

It does
antiseptic first thing and before bed then after anything like swimming / hair wash etc
Will clear up fine

Do you think it'll be ok to put it back in @snappy? I will keep cleaning with antiseptic etc

Front of ear

She’s not allergic to any types of metal is she?? My dd’s went very mushy around the hole and looked a bit like that? It developed over time so wasn’t immediately obvious.
I would keep cleaning with antiseptic and soak earrings and backs in salt water before putting back on.

That front pic looks infected, as it’s got yellow pus. Keep cleaning and check it regularly to see if it’s spreading.

I would put the piercing bar back in if it is hypoallergenic, and just use baby bath and salt water soaks. Antiseptic is too harsh and inhibits healing.

Another salt water advocate here. Salty water is quite miraculous, but you do need to apply it very regularly, or preferably immerse the ear lobe, if you possibly can.

It's called nesting when a piercing does this it's normally advised to keep the area dry and clean and like pp said salt water helps.

I had something similar with one of my kids. We decided healing was more important and let it close properly before getting it re-pierced again later on.

Looks like metal allergy, are earnings pure silver or gold? As a point of interest many hospitals / district nurses now clean wounds with tap water not saline as studies show there is no difference in outcomes.

When my daughters was first pieced we used surgical spirit, you could try googling to see if it is suitable.

As a professional Piercer I see this very regularly. Give the ear a good clean with pre boiled water and sea salt then dry thoroughly. Clean the earrings and pop them back in making sure they aren't too tight. It might also be worth giving a dose of neurafen as well as this help reduce inflammation. Keep them clean and dry and they should heal up fine.

Thankyou, I'll try the salt water cleaning too...I think we'd best check what type of earrings we buy in future and make sure they're hypoallergenic.

I've seen lots of these in young girls at work in a kids ED. Cleaning with cooled boiled water +/- salt is good. Wouldnt replace the earring though and wait until fully healed before getting them relieved if you want to. Would usually advise 6 months.

That looks like nickel allergy to me.

I've had this a few times (have 13 piercings in my ears). Cool boiled salted water, several times a day, and replace the earring making sure it's not tight. Some anti inflammatries will help too. If after 3 days it's still pussy, red, and inflamed remove the earring and let it heal. Encourage her to sleep on the opposite side tonight.

My ears did this when I had them pierced 20 oddd years ago. I was reacting to whatever the earrings were made of. The butterfly would literally stick to the back of my ear and I’d have to rip it off. As they were healing gold earrings helped. I think they were only 9ct gold ones. Once they healed I could wear cheap earring but not for long. Sterling silver also didn’t cause a reaction after a time but my piercings would close up if I didn’t wear earrings for some time. So check what the studs and butterflies are made from and maybe see if gold or silver helps.