To think this was poor from the pharmacist?

[Pharmacy1one]

6 weeks or so ago I got two cartilage piercings in my left ear, tragus and helix.

I kept irritating them by turning over in my sleep and my toddler has knocked them a few times too so I was getting those annoying irritation bumps which were tender. I haven't had any pus coming from them, no temperature or discharge, just a bit of clear fluid when i removed them which I know isn't that abnormal.

I went to the chemist and asked to speak to the pharmacist, receptionist asked what the problem was and I briefly explained and said I want to buy something for the inflammation but was hoping the pharmacist could take a look first.

Receptionist relays that to the pharmacist and the pharmacist decided, without looking or even speaking to me at all, that it's infected and I need to go to A&E and get antibiotics and sprays would be no good.

She had her baby with her strapped to her back so I don't think she could have sat down with me in the consultation room in the first place.

I'm a bit miffed as we are routinely encouraged to see a pharmacist for minor ailments to take the strain off of GP's and hospitals, but this is the response I got for trying.

I have PTSD after having sepsis so now I'm scared about an infection that I didn't feel I had in the first place 😔 I can't just rock up to A&E for something like this surely, and there's nobody to have my children anyway.

Do you think I'm being unreasonable for thinking her response was poor?

Are you in the UK? It would be breaking all kinds of rules to have a child in the pharmacy dispensary in the UK and also deeply unprofessional. You also keep talking about a receptionist when we call staff in community pharmacy either healthcare assistants, dispensers or technicians.

Are you being unreasonable? No, I would have wanted to take a look.

You forgot the full stop 😂😂

I am in the UK yes, and I'll take that on board.

You need to finish your sentences with a full stop.

You don't seem to be able to do this, do you have an issue with full stops? Is it missing from your keyboard?

Get some aspirin, crush it up into a powder and make a paste with sea salt/water.

Put the paste on to dry and do this twice a day. I had exactly the same from my nose piercing and this is what they told me to do; it went so fast.

Have you had cartilage piercings before? My body is a bugger for healing them and I just gave up. Those bars do look very short though. I hope it gets sorted for you. Look out for bumps!

@Pharmacy1one neither of @TheCatOnTheBedIsAllMineAllMine posts have full stops, not sure her keyboard has one.

I'm laughing into my coffee, what a tonic.. I needed a good giggle after today. Thank you! 🤣

I mean you gave incorrect medical advice on this thread so I'm not sure you have an intellectual high ground here

But if you couldn't work out the OPs meaning from the general sentence then I don't think my literacy is the issue 🙄

Both Community Pharmacies (Chemists) and GP practices are private businesses providing NHS services.

Thank you @imparsleythelion

OP has provided some more information now - the ears were so swollen with the new piercings that the metal was sinking into them. On a weekend, it doesn't seem unreasonable for the pharmacist to suggest that more care than she could provide was needed.

And you

It’s not the case that I couldn’t work out what OP was saying is it. I think you just fancy a row. You’re coming across as the type.

From you, seriously 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

You might want to work on your self awareness instead of being pedantic about other people's spelling

I'm not the one hectoring people about their spelling or literacy and trying to appear intellectually superior am I? 😂

@TheCatOnTheBedIsAllMineAllMine you thought the OP had a cat in her ear because of an extra S on the word pus? Alright.

Hope you're feeling better soon @Pharmacy1one, some of the reply's on this thread have been bonkers. The same thing happened to me when I got my helix done and I ended up taking it out too.

The pharmacist sounds rubbish. She shouldn't have been at work with her kid strapped to her back, she obviously couldn't do her job properly because of it.

Sometimes you are in a position where you have been advised to go to A&E because it is potentially an emergency. I had this recently when I had chest pain. I knew it wasn't a heart attack but my GP surgery wouldn't see me. I really wouldn't have wanted to drag my DC down to A&E for hours on end in that situation. When you have noone to have your DC it isn't always black and white.

She has no symptoms of sepsis.

It could be her pharmacy.

One of my DCs had an infection after one of those piercings. Went to the GP, who took it very seriously. I would call 111 if you think you may have an infection.

I'm almost certain I don't. There's nothing to suggest an infection other than the fact the piercings hurt when the bars were in, cartilage piercings are sods for healing anyway and do tend to flare up when knocked, which mine have been, especially if the bars are too short.

I'll continue to keep the area clean and if there are any developments that suggest infection I'll be on top of it.

Tbf even if it was an infection there's no saying A&E would do anything anyway

By DH recently had an infected finger, he went to A&E because that's where he was directed, and tbf it was quite infected

He was sent away and told to come back to minor injuries the next day, which he would have gone to in the first place if he had be told to go there

So if you are going anywhere minor injuries would make sense, but tbh piercing bumps are very common without an infection

Not at all strange having multiple piercings eh

No, thank God

@TheCatOnTheBedIsAllMineAllMine you are making an utter fool of yourself, whilst this is very entertaining, you may regret it

.

Who hurt you?!

There's nothing unusual or rare about somebody having multiple piercings, being deliberately antagonistic to strangers on the Internet though.