Infected Navel Piercing

It is easy to confuse a healing navel piercing with an infected one. While your piercing is healing, after the first 4 to 5 days, a slight redness may appear where the ring pierces the body. Also crusting will begin to form around the ring, and the piercing may discharge small amounts of milky fluid. However, this does not mean that you have an infected navel piercing, but that your body trying to heal a wound with a foreign object in it. In 6 to 8 weeks time, the discharge will reduce and consequently so will the crusting. The redness will also go down, and once it disappears completely, you know that your belly button piercing is healed.

What does an Infected Navel Piercing Look Like

As mentioned earlier, it is hard to distinguish between a healing piercing and an infected one. While there is discharge and redness in both situations, one is more pronounced than the other. The symptoms are a discharge that is thick and yellow, severe pain and/or excessive redness. For some people the color of the discharge may be green, yellow or gray; accompanied by a not so pleasant odor. Red streaks at the site are also a bad sign. Some people experience hotness around the infection and there can be bleeding. If you suspect an infection, either visit a doctor or the person who did the piercing.

Treatment

If you have an infection in and around your navel piercing, you should visit your doctor at the earliest. Do not try to figure out how to treat the piercing yourself, for you may easily worsen the situation. Ideally, your physician should not remove the jewelry from the piercing, for this will prevent the infected site from draining properly, and could result in an abscess. Some doctors may use hot compress to assist the draining, and may recommend the use of an antibacterial powder.

In the meanwhile, here are some navel piercing care procedures you can follow:

• To start with, try a hot compress, which will help the pus to drain away from the wound. However, be very careful not to use a compress that is too hot, for you don't want to scald this already tender area. Heat a bowl of water and dip a clean cloth/towel in it. Squeeze the water out cloth, and test it against your skin. If it is warm, hold it against the area of the infection for a few minutes. You may repeat this a few times.
• Next, expose the infected to salt water. Make a mixture of a teaspoon of sea salt mixed with 8 ounces of water. Soak gauze pads or cotton balls in this solution and then place it on the infected area. You can try another method of soaking the area if you come up with one. Once done, pat it dry with clean paper towels.
• One may use over-the-counter antibiotic creams (ideally water based ones) or gels or powder on the infected area. Ensure that you only use it for a few days. However, the Association of Professional Piercers (APP) advises against the use of ointments as they cut off the oxygen supply to the wound, and in the process slow the healing process.

The best treatment for an infected piercing at the belly button is to prevent it! Get the piercing done by a reputed professional, and take good care of it during the healing process to prevent infections. Gently clean the piercing and any crusting that may have formed by holding a clean cotton soaked in a saline solution against it, and don't try to change the piercing jewelry before the recommended period of time.