Should the GP not have been able to do this?

[ohthatbloodycat]

This strikes me as a bit ridiculous, but do correct me if you feel I'm in the wrong.
My 15 year old got her ears pierced as a birthday treat a week ago. I think the earring on one side had been fitted a bit too tightly; it had always been tender, but got sore last night. My plan had been to go to the piercing place in the morning to ask their advice.
This morning when my daughter woke up, the stud part at the front had completely embedded itself in her lobe. All you could see was the butterfly sticking out the back. Her ear became swollen and very painful, unsurprisingly enough. I should add that she cleaned them each day religiously, and the other ear was fine.
Because the skin had closed over it in the night, I wasn't able to pull it out myself. I phoned our GP surgery for some advice. The receptionist checked and then came back to say that the GP wouldn't do it, and the practice nurse was busy all day. I then had the faff of phoning 111 (on GP's advice) and they eventually sorted me out an appointment at the A&E hospital miles away. There was no time to take the bus (I don't have a car currently), so I spent £20 on a taxi there. And then the bus on the way home. My daughter wasn't numbed up, or anything like that. The nurse warned her that it would be painful, as he pulled the stud through the skin of her ear. And it was, but over quickly thankfully!
This seemed like a palaver for a simple procedure, that surely the GP could have carried out. Rather than leave the paediatric A&E department to sort it out, particularly as Covid cases have risen in my city.
Even the NHS phone operator sounded surprised that they had refused to do it.
AIBU?

when my dds earrings became embedded we ended up at the hospital. She needed gas and air before she would let anyone touch them, so im not sure why youre getting grief for calling the doctor.

[quote Zilla1]@BungleandGeorge IME plain studs but the key thing is that they are made out of surgical steel or solid precious metal but be careful that the butterfly/clip isn't an allergenic metal as this often causes problems hence the reaction presents initially at the back of the ear.[/quote]
As a professional I wouldn't recommend surgical Steel. You want implant grade titanium or solid gold only. No butterfly backs at all regardless of material.

Please use the safe piercing site for more info and help in recognising a safe piercer.

GP’s surgeries are barely open, they have never been less stretched.

What a fabulous generalisation. Well, we've never had a working day inn 2020 or 2021 when we've not seen patients face to face as well as the remote consults some patients prefer. We're up to date on all reviews and and QOF-able services which is a good job since the government have moved those goalposts back while we've been delivering a PCN vaccination program which we'd still be happy to continue if the government hadn't sabotaged that. We're now planning for a September COVID booster and 'flu program. The physical and emotional cost on some of the HCPs and PM team and receptionists has been collossal but we regularly remind ourselves what Lord Bethell in effect told us, 'payrise/bonus...lucky to have a job'.

@maddening

Nhs own website say to call the dr for an urgent gp .

The GPs office should have a nurse that can deal with minor injuries rather than fill up a&e.

think you got a contrary pile on group op

Our GPs surgery has a lot of staff - including Drs and nurses - off/isolating at the moment due to covid. They could just be short-staffed.

This happened to me as a child. I did the turning and the cleaning and everything, but it got infected despite that and then the skin closed over the butterfly of the earring. Despite my mum trying her best, i had to have it cut out at a&e. GP wouldn’t touch it and that was 25 years ago,

@TheBodyPiercer that's interesting. What problems have you seen with surgical steel? I've only ever seen a couple of patients with problems with that and one said she reacted to 'everything, gold too'.

I have taken a heap of these out in A&E. Going back to the person who did it is not the answer. They can be a faff- numbing them up, potentially local anaesthetic, potentially gas and air. For a GP
with 7 minutes it would be disruptive, require a nurse as well for gas and air and if it didn’t work you would end up in A&E anyway. I am fully understanding of the GP tbh

A pharmacist told me to go to A&E for a splinter I was struggling to get out. Like another poster, I eventually got it out myself with paste.

While it is a simple procedure, I don't think GP/pharmacy will usually do anything that breaks the skin due to the need for everything to be sterile.

Had your DD changed the earring from the one she had it pierced with? The studs they use to pierce it add chunky studs (I’m wearing them right now) and I’m really struggling to see how the skin could grow over them overnight.

I'm signing out after this but there's an awful lot of bad piercing advice on here.

No guns
No butterfly backs
No stainless steel
No salt baths

Single use sterile needs only
Implant grade titanium or solid gold flat back barbells
Sterile saline for cleaning

Professional piercers are well versed in aftercare however it is a liability and insurance risk for us to touch an infected/embedded piercing that was not done by us. Claire's & Superdrug are definitely not professionals and just because someone works in a tattoo studio doesn't mean they are either. We are also not medics & also we are generally self employed so shouldn't be expected to sort out other "piercers" messes for free.

Tattoo parlours are better for piercings - side she’ll want it done again perhaps look into those? Guns are awful.

[quote Zilla1]@TheBodyPiercer that's interesting. What problems have you seen with surgical steel? I've only ever seen a couple of patients with problems with that and one said she reacted to 'everything, gold too'.[/quote]
Surgical steel is just a blanket term, it can be any range of different grades. Most reputable and well established body jewellery companies do not even make jewellery in this material. Titanium is much less likely to cause reactions & that is and should be any good piercers main aim, to offer the safest service so as to minimise any risks.

Some people can happily wear £1 costume jewellery but it's not something I'd recommend as it's not the safest.

Often people think they react to gold but it's either usually gold plated so poor quality or a low kt and it's the other alloys causing the reaction rather than the gold itself so 14kt should be minimum.

Can't always rely on the incorrect statements put out by government about going straight to the GP unfortunately. When DHSC or NHSE or some ALB aren't actively trying to sabotage primary care, they don't understand it.

Got a problem with the vaccine record after attending massvac? Go to the GP who won't be able to do anything.

Here's a letter from central NHS telling you that some black box algorithm has been used to tell you something based on your health records, perhaps because you had gestational diabetes when you were pregnant 30 years ago, we'll treat you the same as a T1 diabetic. But don't worry, if you don't understand it or have any questions, don't contact the ALB that arranged for it to be sent, ask your GP to whom we've not told anything.

Often the English briefings by no 10 seemed to be written by someone who's spent their whole career in acute and not only don't understand primary care but appear to have forgotten it exists by making sweeping statements about the whole of the NHS that only apply to hospital care.

This happened to my friends daughter and she also had to go to A&E, they tried everything to get it out before hospital but it was totally imbedded in her ear. It sounds grim but they ripped it through her ear!

I had a facial piercing do the same and it needed to be surgically removed under local anaesthetic. Piercing shop wouldn't touch it.

Fortunately I was a patient under oral surgery for another issue and they were able to do the procedure for me when I attended a pre arranged appointment there.

My tongue piercing which I've had for almost 15 years with no issues then did the same thing the other week, the underside was completely sunken in and disappearing when I woke up in the morning. I managed to get it out myself at home.

Sometimes you do need a HCP, sometimes you don't.

no more piercings ever

@TheBodyPiercer thank you. Agree about plated and differing reactivity. I think when I meant surgical steel, I meant the medical grade alloys suitable for use in a clinical setting though I can see people selling to consumers might play fast and loose with descriptions.

So between the hours of bedtime and morning the skin had completely healed over the earring? Ok, not sure I believe that. I would have dealt with that at home, cotton bids covered in tcp or the like and pulled it out. I had to go to minor injuries when 2 of my piercings for badly infected and because they were at the top of my ear right by my face they were impossible to get out. Several people tried but it was agony so I had gas and air whilst they got them out. A lobe would have been an at home job definitely

I'm both a GP and A&E doctor. It's absolutely not a GP job. You need to be very cautious about digging around for any foreign body because you can easily make things worse.

I wouldn't have attempted this in my GP surgery, even though I have done 100s in A&E.

I’m a nurse practitioner in a GP surgery.

We’re not a minor injuries, walk in or urgent care service.

We don’t have numbing sprays, ring cutters, gas and air.

It is not my job to remove embedded piercings - I can give you antibiotics for an infected piercing but removing it is not my remit. I’d send you back to the piercer, but if you went somewhere that didn’t offer any aftercare I’d recommend you headed off to a MIU or UCC.

(And just for the record I’m getting really sick of the “GPs aren’t doing anything and haven’t done for 16 months” bollocks. I must have dreamed the 22 patients I saw face to face today and the 6 phone reviews I did.)

@TheBodyPiercer that is a really interesting site thank you. Is there any way to search for qualified piercers in the UK?
I’m happy to pay what’s necessary but not sure how to find a good place!

For what it’s worth minors or a&e is the right call OP. Same as if a child has put something up it’s nose/ in ears/ had a minor accident. Children need special treatment and extra numbing/ the right tools etc, you generally have to go to the hospital just for a child blood test. Not sure why people have said go to the pharmacy. Pharmacists deal with medication, it’s primarily a chemistry degree and quite different to medicine/ nursing- there’s no training in procedures/ injections/ IVs etc. Digging an earring out is nothing to do with medication!

@bellie710

This happened to my friends daughter and she also had to go to A&E, they tried everything to get it out before hospital but it was totally imbedded in her ear. It sounds grim but they ripped it through her ear!

And this is exactly why they need to be done in A&E. Sometimes butterflies pop out easily, like shelling a pea 😉, but they can be a nightmare. And ears bleed like bastards, and scar badly too.

Any company taking people's money in exchange for bodily mutilation of any sort should be fully liable for any resultant medical aftercare required, rather than burdening the NHS i.e. the general public. How's that for an opinion.

[quote BungleandGeorge]@TheBodyPiercer that is a really interesting site thank you. Is there any way to search for qualified piercers in the UK?
I’m happy to pay what’s necessary but not sure how to find a good place!

For what it’s worth minors or a&e is the right call OP. Same as if a child has put something up it’s nose/ in ears/ had a minor accident. Children need special treatment and extra numbing/ the right tools etc, you generally have to go to the hospital just for a child blood test. Not sure why people have said go to the pharmacy. Pharmacists deal with medication, it’s primarily a chemistry degree and quite different to medicine/ nursing- there’s no training in procedures/ injections/ IVs etc. Digging an earring out is nothing to do with medication![/quote]
Google UKAPP and you'll be in safe hands 😊

@malmi

Any company taking people's money in exchange for bodily mutilation of any sort should be fully liable for any resultant medical aftercare required, rather than burdening the NHS i.e. the general public. How's that for an opinion.

Well as long as alcohol and cigarette companies making a profit from people excessively drinking and smoking are also liable... Where would it all end?

Doesn’t surprise me OP. I don’t drive and was sent to a hospital a 2 hour bus ride away for some bloods ordered from the dietitian. Funny enough nobody knows anything about it now and i still don’t have the results for 6 months later.