Soreness wearing earrings - anyone else? Any tips?

[Shoeshelpplease]

I find earring so sore after wearing them for only ten minutes and for days after the site feels tender.

I have found that soaking the metal bit that goes through the ear in TCP for a minute then thoroughly drying before inserting can give a little relief. But it's not great.

I've just had my hair cut short and would really suit earrings now. I also have a small bit great collection as I love them but do I have to endure this pain to wear them?

I really admire and worship people who fall asleep with earrings in because they have forgotten they were there!

I have the same if I wear any that aren't silver or gold unfortunately

Some people say that you can stop the reaction by using clear nail varnish to coat the part that goes through your ear. Means that there is no metal in direct contact with your skin.
Never tried it myself but may be worth a go.

if all else fails, you could buy clip on earrings. I have an allergy to earrings but can wear these.

Is it an allergy or sore from not wearing them? I was determined to wear earring again a few years ago and started with the smallest hope and leaving them in for a while to get used to it.

Clip on earrings can have the same problem where they touch the skin unfortunately.

For me, the only solution is gold. Silver tarnishes very quickly and itches. I found my ears wouldn’t heal after piercing. For weeks. I then bought gold studs and have had no problems for 40 years! Gold only is the way to go. Let your piercings settle and you might get away with non gold for an evening.

Wear tiny sterling silver or real gold hoops 24/7, any time you’re not wearing fancier earrings.

I used to have that, then I got some earrings made of titanium. I’ve never had any pain wearing them, and can even sleep in them. Wearing those regularly, and others more occasionally, has stopped the problem for me...

Are you wearing cheap coated metal ones? I find I react to these too and can’t wear them anymore. It’s the copper in them I think that causes the reaction. I am fine with sterling silver but not ‘silver plated’. I had a bad reaction a few months ago to some plated ones and I had to not wear any earrings at all for a couple of weeks, used antiseptic on my itchy sore earlobes and sterilised my sterling silver earrings to make sure they were properly clean then I was ok after that.

That'd be a reaction to the nickel content in the metal - cheap earrings are full of it, and a huge number of people have at least a mild allergy to it.

Unless my earrings were silver or gold, I had the exact same problem - until I tried Asda's (George) ones.
They are the only cheaper earrings I can wear without any effect, but I make sure I take them out every night - I don't want to push my luck.

If you wear earrings that aren't gold or silver, try to ensure they aren't heavy, and also try to use ones that don't have metal butterfly fasteners on the back, they can really irritate your skin. (They do mine.) I tend to wear Asda/George hoops or drop style earrings with little plastic 'stoppers' on the back to keep them in place and "touch wood" my ears have been fine. Maybe try a cheap pair from there? Or for a good selection/good price of silver and gold earrings, have a look on notonthehighstreet.com. I've bought loads of lovely silver earrings off there (and direct from the sellers who are on there) at really good prices.

Yep, nickel allergy. I've got it really bad. I can't wear watches or wear jeans that have rivers or buttons that sit directly on my skin. I get terrible flare ups then have to apply hydrocortisone cream.

Silver or gold earrings only. Sometimes the butterflies are not silver/gold but rest of earring is, so I use rubber ones instead.

Has anyone else tried the mail
Varnish trick? Sounds a bit nuts but just maybe might work!

Some great advise here though, thanks al.

I can't wear any that aren't silver or gold, or the same thing happens.

As a teen I often used the clear nail varnish trick, it was pretty effective, and allowed me to wear a broader range. Remember to coat the back of the front bit and the earring back as well, in other words all the bits in contact with your ear.

Now I mostly wear dangly earrings and I just change the hoop bit for a silver one.

I have the same, I think it's a mix of not wearing them often enough (gold and silver type) and then wearing those that aren't proper gold or silver when I do. Within an hour or so my ear is really sore.

I'm trying to sort that by putting gold studs in (had to repierce a couple of times) and letting the shower run over them daily, cleaning the holes regularly, taking the earring out and cleaning it before putting a bit of cream on too every other day and putting it back in. Been doing it for approx 2 weeks so far, it's definitely getting easier.

when I get sore ears I get out a pair of gold eaarrings, dip them in something - sudocream, savlon cream anything antiseptic and soothing really, and then put them in, it calms the ears right down. But it means gold/silver only for a few days and no heavy danglies.

You could just be allergic to nickel, lots of people can’t wear earrings that aren’t silver, gold, titanium. Stop wearing any costume jewellery and see if it improves

Meant to say, I totally avoid anything that has nickle in it as the smallest touch of that would make my ears feel like they were on fire within seconds and really flare up and get sore

The M&S Skin kind earrings are brilliant. I can’t even wear gold usually but I can wear them.

Silver and gold only for me too, though I bought a pair in John Lewis with stainless steel posts and they were fine too.

I was going today about nail varnish too. I've tried it and it worked for me with cheap earrings

Another vote for the M&S skin kind earrings, as I have the same problem as you, OP, but can wear these.
Also like Andralok fastening earrings ( only seen them in Argos), and these are my in between earrings that I can just leave in and be fine.

I have this problem, I am going to look at the M&S skin kind earrings. I've tried surgical steel and plastic studs without success so far!

I will try the nail varnish with a old pair today. I would love to wear earrings again, but the burning when I put them in is awful - my earlobes swell and weep as well :-(

I had this- I think a combination of not wearing them frequently enough and perhaps mild irritation from the metal. I came on here and asked and was recommended titanium labrets. They are tiny and have flat backs so you can sleep in them comfortably (you actually put them in from behind then insert the front). I got threadless ones. Then I cleaned the piercings a couple of times a day but otherwise just left them alone, never took them out. My piercings are brilliant now, I can tolerate wearing different earrings in the day but I don’t do it every day and always put the titanium ones back in at night. I’d tried silver studs and sleepers before these but they just throbbed and I couldn’t keep them in.

@taybert can I ask where you get these from? I've just googled them and they look like nose rings?