Page 2 | Ear piercing not healing

ewwness · 2022-09-13T06:22:43+00:00

DD 8 had her ears pierced 11 months ago and they've still not healed. We bathed them in the solution every day. Then salt water. There are lumps next to the back of the piercing and gunk around the back of stud. We've seen pharmacists who say see gp, gp says keep bathing. Im thinking just take the damn things out and let them heal up. DD is in pain with them. This morning she's woken up with blood on her ears and pillow. Im ringing 111 for advice once I get the other children to school but any mum advice would be greatly appreciated

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Original poster

ewwness · 14/09/2022 07:05

No I haven't

If I take her to a miu would they numb her ears to remove them? - That's my last resort.

OP posts:

itsthesound · 14/09/2022 07:14

No they'll give her gas and air though as one dd went through this previously.
You can get antibiotic cream on Amazon. We got it for my 2nd daughters ears and it was great. It's called brulidine.

treesandweeds · 14/09/2022 07:19

That looks horrific! Take them out! And take her to the doctors

JuneOsborne · 14/09/2022 07:23

Isn't there meant to be space for swelling with the earring before you move to a flat back? The poles should be longer than they are.

I'd also suggest she should have silver or gold earrings, less likely to cause a reaction.

Try surgical spirits. Bathe the area liberally with surgical spirits, try and get the earrings clean too.

Probably needs starting over. Poor love. Looks so sore.

Allthegoodusernamesareused · 14/09/2022 07:30

It sounds like metal sensitivity, my oldest DD had the same thing. She had her ears piercing at 11yo, and had a year of constant infection, oozing, and those same lumps on her ears. We persevered for ages, until one of the ears swallowed up the back of the earing in the swelling, at which point both earrings were removed by a lovely nurse at urgent care. I will say, she'd had several courses of antibiotics over that period.

A couple of years later, she had them done again, at a piercers, with titanium studs. She's has absolutely no issues this time. She's gone on to have multiple piercings, and as long as she sticks to titanium she's grand.

Afterfire · 14/09/2022 07:34

They MUST come out. They look very infected. If you can’t remove them you need to take her to urgent injuries or even a and e. Don’t leave them. (My husband has a lot of piercings and none of them have ever got like that). She can get them redone when she’s older.

Original poster

ewwness · 14/09/2022 07:35

treesandweeds · 14/09/2022 07:19

That looks horrific! Take them out! And take her to the doctors

Wow thanks, never even crossed my mind to go to a doctor ffs 🤦🏼‍♀️

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Original poster

ewwness · 14/09/2022 07:41

Once my older kids are off to school I'm going to ring 111 and book her into minor injuries today.

To a previous poster her ears haven't looked like this for 11 months, but they've got worse since she's returned to school last week as she got into "a scuffle" with another child - as the teacher called it. I won't lie or defend myself, I've let my daughter down, this should have been sorted months ago and not have gotten this bad.

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keeprunningupthathill · 14/09/2022 07:41

It's usual for new piercings to be done with a flat back I think (where it's a proper piercing place.) Both my second and third holes were done with flat back/screw on. They have long shanks so more room for swelling than the butterfly backs. The screws are hard to turn though, I've just spent ages trying to get one of my newer piercings out and I think I was turning it the wrong way. If the doctors aren't helping could you take her back to the piercer? Mine said they would take them out for me after twelve weeks if I came back, they are probably going to be a bit more used to getting them out without causing too much pain. I really feel for her! My eight year old is desperate to get her ears done but I know the pain of when they get infected so been putting her off!

Sniffypete · 14/09/2022 07:46

Just take them out and let her heal. If she wants them done again then let her have them done when she's old enough to deal with them herself.

Mmmmdanone · 14/09/2022 07:50

I really feel for the op. This happened to my dd at same age. Her ears were caked in blood and so painful. I felt awful. Gp gave her antibiotics and when swelling went down she lay in a warm bath until the gunk had softened and we managed to get them out without too much pain. That was 10 years ago and she has since had several piercings that have been fine (I never wanted her to do them again but she persuaded me at 16!)

Original poster

ewwness · 14/09/2022 07:54

Mmmmdanone · 14/09/2022 07:50

I really feel for the op. This happened to my dd at same age. Her ears were caked in blood and so painful. I felt awful. Gp gave her antibiotics and when swelling went down she lay in a warm bath until the gunk had softened and we managed to get them out without too much pain. That was 10 years ago and she has since had several piercings that have been fine (I never wanted her to do them again but she persuaded me at 16!)

Ahh Warm bath!! We haven't tried that yet!! Thank you

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HilarityEnsues · 14/09/2022 07:55

I had one of my daughter's removed under gas and air after my mil changed the studs for some supposedly gold ones that weren't...she was nine. Let them heal up. She chose to get them redone aged about 12, I wouldn't have bothered! She also pierced her own upper ears with friends as a teen, secretly, don ask. So the episode didn't put her off. If it's really unfixable go to minor injuries or a and E for gas and air.

HilarityEnsues · 14/09/2022 07:56

And yes, I did feel like the worst parent but you have to do what you have to do once they are infected.

Mommabear20 · 14/09/2022 07:57

This is why children shouldn't have piercings 😭 they can't properly look after them if things go wrong!

Whatwouldscullydo · 14/09/2022 08:08

Mommabear20 · 14/09/2022 07:57

This is why children shouldn't have piercings 😭 they can't properly look after them if things go wrong!

If its a metal allergy/sensitivity there's nothing the kid did wrong and no amount of " looking after them" would have changed anything.

Dd1 had hers pierced with both kinds of earrings. Both done at a professional tattooist and piercer. They never seemed to get to the stage where they could be taken out and changed. They closed up even after nearly a year the minute they were removed and she couldn't get anything back through them.

We ended up having to leave them out fir good on both occasions.

I think with some people the body just doesn't heal/cooperate properly.

I know I have rings in that were done god knows how long ago and those are still fine. The last piercing i had done wouldn't settle. I think that there must have been a change in the metal composition which makes it more reactive or something

Original poster

ewwness · 14/09/2022 14:59

So now we have antibiotic cream to try.

Fingers crossed it helps

OP posts:

Mommabear20 · 14/09/2022 16:14

@Whatwouldscullydo I get that some people just have allergies to some metals, but what I'm saying is in that case, children aren't old enough or mature enough to look after them and deal with the reaction it causes.

Flopisfatteningbingforchristmas · 14/09/2022 16:25

Whatwouldscullydo · 14/09/2022 08:08

If its a metal allergy/sensitivity there's nothing the kid did wrong and no amount of " looking after them" would have changed anything.

Dd1 had hers pierced with both kinds of earrings. Both done at a professional tattooist and piercer. They never seemed to get to the stage where they could be taken out and changed. They closed up even after nearly a year the minute they were removed and she couldn't get anything back through them.

We ended up having to leave them out fir good on both occasions.

I think with some people the body just doesn't heal/cooperate properly.

I know I have rings in that were done god knows how long ago and those are still fine. The last piercing i had done wouldn't settle. I think that there must have been a change in the metal composition which makes it more reactive or something

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Seeking medical help earlier would have been looking after them.

MilliwaysUniverse · 14/09/2022 16:30

I have a piercing that was done with a needle and flat back bar with a front screwing ball. I got my boyfriend to help change the ball at the weekend, he wore silicone gloves which gave better purchase on the back to hold it still so he could unscrew the ball. It took ages and was a bit painful but the gloves were a game changer. We had tried without them first and it just kept moving.

jazzandh · 14/09/2022 16:38

I re pierced my own ears with a kit from Amazon. I put gold earrings in etc, bathed them - did everything but they would not heal up. As a last resort I bought a tiny silver pair of sleeper (rings) and they were fine within a week, and I've had no problems since. I think more air circulates round them with sleepers.

SergeiL · 14/09/2022 16:48

A good piercer will use a specify type of flat back earrings as they are more comfortable and longer as a pp stated. So that isn’t necessarily the answer. However, we were told not to bathe them, twist them or touch them at all for at least three months, but preferably much longer. They can take a good while to heal. It’s a shame not all piercers comply with these standards. Shocking that kids are ending up having these problems.