Infected Ear Piercing - What To Do

The popularity of body piercing, a form of body or body modification has increased considerably among both men as well as women. Among the various types of body piercing, ear piercing is the one that has been part of several cultures since centuries. Though usually ear piercing is done on the ear lobes, different types of piercings can be done on the ear itself. As this trend of piercing the ear has become such a huge fashion statement, more and more people, especially youngsters are opting to get their ear pierced. However, not many people are aware that there are chances of an infection after the ear piercing is done. Although, this is not something dangerous, if infected ear piercing is not given proper treatment at the right time, it may cause severe damages. So, if you have infected ear piercing, what to do that will help in curing it, will definitely be your main concern. However, before going into the details of how to cure infected ear piercings, let us know more about what triggers ear piercing infection and how to recognize it.

Infected Ear Piercing Causes

It is often seen that to save money, people visit piercers who do not have much experience and sometimes, not even a license to do the piercing. Such piercers may not follow the safety measures that is required to do a piercing, like using sterilized instruments, which may give rise to infected ear piercing. Another reason for the occurrence of infected ear piercing (one of the most common causes) is not taking care of the ear piercing properly. Once the piercing is done, the piercer gives ear piercing aftercare instructions, that have to be followed strictly. If this is not done properly, there are chances that the piercing becomes infected. Apart from this, frequent touching of the piercing with unwashed hands, too tight jewelry or allergy to the certain types of jewelery, can all be the reasons for infected ear piercing.

Infected Ear Piercing Symptoms

During the healing process, you may observe things like crustiness, redness and swelling in the ear piercing area. This should not be a matter of concern, as this is a normal process of healing. However, if redness and swelling does not go away in a few days time and if you start noticing some yellow colored discharge (pus) from the area of piercing, most likely it is the first symptom of infection. Along with the pus, you may also have to experience burning sensation, irritation, red bumps, swelling, soreness and pain in the infected area. If the infection worsens, you may also see dark yellow or green colored discharge from that area of the ear.

Infected Ear piercing - What to Do?

If you notice any of these symptoms of infected ear piercing, the first thing you have to do is to go to your piercer or a good dermatologist, who will try to find out the exact cause of infected ear piercing. He/she will also explain the procedure of how to heal an infected ear piercing and also about infected ear piercing care. Here are some methods that you can use for treating infected ear piercing.

Soaking the infected ear piercing in saline water is one of the best ways to cure this problem. Mix 1/8 teaspoon of salt in water and soak your ear piercing using a cotton swab. Salt, here refers to rock salt and not the regular salt which we use, because the iodine in it can aggravate the condition causing irritation. While applying the saline solution, put a little pressure with your fingers to eliminate the pus inside it. This procedure has to be done at least twice a day, till the infection gets cured completely.

If you find red bumps on the infected area, putting pressure on it with a Q-tip swab for 5-10 minutes is also a good way of treating infected ear piercing. If you do not have a Q-tip, using wool or cotton will also do. Other than this, there are certain home remedies that you can try. Take turmeric powder in a small bowl and make a paste by adding clarified butter to it. These two ingredients have healing properties which help in destroying the bacteria, that caused the ear piercing infection. Read more on infected ear piercing treatment.

What to Do for an Infected Ear Piercing?

When your ear piercing has become infected, you have to know the correct procedure of how to clean an infected ear piercing. Your piercer will advise some kind of antibacterial soap or lotion to clean the piercing. Before you touch the piercing area, clean your hands with an anti bacterial soap that will help in killing all the germs and only then proceed to clean the piercing area. One thing you have to remember is, that it will take time to heal the infection completely, however, you may find a reduction in the discharge of pus. If your ear piercing infection is caused due to the wrong type of jewelery, it is crucial that it is changed as soon as possible. The jewelery that should be used during the healing process should be either 24 carat gold or silver and one should totally avoid inexpensive jewelery that contains nickel.

Know more about:

• Types of Ear Piercings
• Body Piercing Infections

I hope, I have answered all your questions regarding infected ear piercing what to do. Though, through proper treatment, infection can be eliminated easily, one must remember that ear piercing infection can be prevented, by following the after care instructions given by the body piercer carefully.