Prepare to be repulsed.... is this just me??

[Rdaisyleo]

So I'm 26. Got my belly button pierced at maybe 15. I took the bar out about 7 years ago and have always had the piercing hole still there but never connected from both sides (the bar can't go through all the way )... now I shower every other day, I'm clean... but I can smell my piercing sometimes and can push yellow crap out of either side of the hole... is this just me? If someone has had it, what did you do to stop it?

Am I the only person now squeezing old piercing holes?

@theblackparade

It’s not a cyst or an infection, old piercings can just go a bit gross sometimes. Clean it with salt water - rubbing alcohol and TCP are too harsh for it.

Came here to say this. Never put tea tree oil, rubbing alcohol or TCP on fresh, existing or old piercings.

Warm soap and water in the shower is fine if the piercing is mostly closed over (may never fully close due to internal scarring/placement/age of the piercing etc). Belly buttons are notoriously filthy, so just try and stay on top of it as best you can. Used to get a lot of people running into my piercing shop thinking they had infections (9/10 it's not an infection - telling the OP that isn't helpful at all) when it was mostly just a cleanliness issue. Good luck OP, and try not to squeeze yourself too hard!

Thankyou. I won't clean it with TCP anymore. I'll just keep on top of checking it.

@Rdaisyleo

Its not sore and doesn't weep. I push the stuff out. Well I'm glad I'm not the only one but its disgusting. I hate my partner putting his head on my belly because of it (paranoid he can smell it). Also I will clean it with tcp now and then. I'm sick of it. Wish I could tell my younger self not to get it pierced. Ahhhh

Its just the skin and oils. You've made a awkward little area where it faces inwards to just collect.

Some scilacilic (spelling?) Acid wash/shower gel might help as it dissolves the stuff so if you use that you might find it never builds up to the point of needing squeezing out

@ZZTopGuitarSolo

I get the same thing happen with my left ear piercing but not my right ear.

I occasionally soak a cotton wool pad in rubbing alcohol, and hold it against the piercing for a few minutes which seems to help.

I've also heard that you should soak it in saltwater but I'm not sure how you'd do that with a bellybutton piercing.

With a shot glass. Lean over it, make a good seal then tip back.