Ear piercing

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Not really S&B but posting here for traffic.

I had my ear repierced a couple of months ago. All fine until I changed the earrings after about 7 weeks, at which point it went a bit manky. Cured it in a day or two with a bit of Savlon.

It's suddenly gone manky again. I haven't been poking and haven't changed the earrings in about a month or so. Savlon again or is something else better? I tried bathing it in salt water but ended up spilling most of it!

Don't use savlon, go to the piercer and get the pre-mixed salt spray they recommend, so easy to use!

Savlon is not recommended.
Sea salt dissolved in water. A bit awkward but I try to rest my ear in a cup of it or get cotton wool and bathe it.

What metal is the earring made of? i can only use certain metals - surgical steel and gold, anything else makes my piercings manky.

Yep, cotton wool and salt water. You only need to mix a tiny bit. Take the jewellery out, give it and your ear a good clean with it, and then clean it a 2-3 times a day until it clears up.

I'm ok with proper silver too. But not silver coloured cheap metals.

Don’t use creams. Continue with salt water or some sort of liquid anti septic. What metal was the ear pierced with and what metal are the new earrings? Did you sterilise the new earrings before swapping them? I know the general advice is it’s ok to change them after 6 weeks. A specialist piercist will tell you not to change them for a good 13 months though

Mne get manky I have decided cheap metals are a prob.

@Raphael 13 months?! Seriously?! Shit, that's a long time to go yet (mine are only three weeks now)

Thanks all.

The earrings are rose gold. I only wear real gold or silver.

Will stick with the salt water for a couple of days and see how it goes.

Salt spray sounds good. Any ideas where I could get it?

Oh and they were pierced with sterling silver

I've only ever used two piercers and both have their own recommended spray. My favourite is NeilMed piercing aftercare/wound wash. It's around £10

I just use normal salt dissolved in a bit of hot water. For lower lobe, I managed to put some in an egg-cup and held it up to my ear. With the one I've recently had done higher up, I can't manage to bathe it without it getting everywhere so I'm using cotton wool soaked in the salt water and squeezing. I changed from the titanium earring the piercer used to silver after 6 or 7 weeks but had to change back as it was causing me gyp. The titanium studs I have now look like silver - not like the multicoloured titanium that was popular in the 80s!

Thanks again. Salt water definitely seems to be helping. Nowhere near as sore as yesterday, although still not right. Will keep it up for a few days. I'm doing a combination of dipping my ear into a cup and dabbing with cotton wool soaked in the salt solution.

You might be reacting with the gold .
If it's 9ct then you have gold : other metal in a 9:15 ratio
Rose gold (if I remember my Chemistry) has copper .

Sterling silver is much purer . ( I tend to stick to silver , its stronger and cheaper )
Best non-irritant is titanium.

Thanks 70. I hadn't thought of that. I actually took the rose gold ones out yesterday and out the ones they were pierced with back in. Hopefully that will help too.

These were my first ever pair of gold earrings but they're only from H Samuel so they're probably not great.

It would be worth going to a reputable piercer and getting some surgical grade titanium earrings for a while. Although you can change jewelry after 6-8 weeks it takes over 6 months to heal completely so you'll need something decent in, and left alone for a while to avoid agitating it and delaying the healing.

So sterling silver is OK?

DD had her ears pierced 8 weeks ago, and fancies a change of earrings (titanium studs so far). I want her to have piercing quality only for the first six months, and was thinking titanium, surgical steel or gold - shouid I be adding silver to that list (and removing lower carat gold)?

Thanks, Bobbie, although I have no idea where I might find a piercer. I got mine done at H Samuel and have on the whole been really pleased with them.

They seem a lot better today, with the original earrings in, so I think the rose gold might have been a bit of an expensive mistake! I suppose I could wear them to go out etc and then change them back to silver, once I'm happy that all is fully healed.

SexTrain - sterling silver seems fine, although based on what people have said below, maybe leave it for at least another couple of weeks,

Google local tattoo studios and see if they have a resident piercer, many do. I wouldn't go with sterling silver for years, or low carat gold. Both contain nickel that can cause an allergic reaction.

Thank you (and apologies for diversion). She's got zirconium/gold studs in now, which she is happy to wear all the time and for some weeks to come (taped for sports training, out for fixtures and straight back in afterwards).

Fingers crossed she remains problem-free!

No need to apologise!

Mine are now totally ship-shape again, thank goodness!

Silver isn't recommended for piercing jewellery. Do you mean silver coloured?

Not silver coloured, no. Sterling silver. Have worn sterling silver for years with no problems at all. I think it was the 9 ct gold that's caused the problem with the newish piercings.