Infected Ear Piercing

Ear piercing is the most common and popular body piercing done by girls and boys alike. While there are many types of ear piercings that are in vogue, you might suffer from an infected ear piercing which can be really irritating and annoying. Let us know more on what to do with an infected ear piercing.

If you are wondering what to do with infected ear piercing, then first be sure that the piercing is infected, and you do not have an allergic reaction to the jewelry. For this, you can visit your piercer, he/she will be able to tell where the problem lies. You can also visit a dermatologist and confirm whether you are allergic or not. The symptoms of infected ear piercing include redness, irritation and pain. There might be presence of green or yellow pus as well. An ear piercing infection may feel warm when touched.

Read more on:

• Ear Piercing Infection
• Body Piercing Infections

How to Care for an Infected Ear Piercing?
Care for infected ear piercing mainly includes not removing your piercing. If you remove it while infected, it can result in cysts or a bigger infection is also possible. You must wait until the piercing properly heals and then remove the jewelry. You must keep the piercing dry. Just use soap to clean the piercing, use a mild and fragrance free liquid soap. Now that you know how to take care of infected ear piercing, let us see how to clean infected ear piercing and treat it.

You need to clean jewelry and piercing two to three times a day in order to stop the infection. Remember to wash your hands with warm water and soap and dry them completely before and after touching your ears. Use a cotton swab to clean infected ear piercing. Dip it into an ear cleaning antiseptic. Now push your earring forward and clean around the piercing and the back side of your ear around the ear piercing. Discard the used cotton swabs.

Treating an Infected Ear Piercing
Proper ear piercing aftercare will help avoid the development of any infections on that area. Here are some treatments to heal infected ear piercing.

A sea salt solution is the best way to treat an infected ear piercing. Make a mixture of 1 cup hot distilled water and 1/8 teaspoon pure sea salt in a small cup. Microwave the solution for 5-10 minutes. Soak a sterile cotton ball in this solution and apply it over the piercing twice a day. This will heal infected ear piercing in a few days. Do not make the solution stronger. Moreover, using this solution more than the required number of times will lead to irritation and slow down the healing process.

Apply direct pressure with a Q-tip swab and push the bump back into the hole for about five to ten minutes. Repeat this every hour until it goes away. You can apply moderate pressure against the piercing using wool, even if it may feel hot and uncomfortable. Do this once a day to cure the ear infection.

Remember not to touch the infected ear piercing unnecessarily. Also, do not play with the pierced jewelery. Clean your hands with antibacterial soap or use an alcohol solution to prevent more germs getting into the area before touching it. Though your ear may not completely heal in 2-3 days, you will at least see some reduction in pus and drainage. In case there is no sign of improvement or the ear continues to get redder, or fever develops you must immediately consult your doctor.