Ok... well i just got an industrial about 3 days ago, and its flipping sore, but not just around my ear, i have a feeling its whats causing my headache... there isnt any pus or anything coming out of it (well not that i can tell, and ive been cleaning it with anti bacterial soap twice a day, and doing the salt thing the best i can.
But its so painful, im really freaking out, because i really dont want it to be like a spread infection or something because I've heard that industrial piercing infections can lead to like an infection of the brain or something... could someone tell me if this pain is normal or if I'm in serious trouble.
oh yea and its a barbell, which is quite long, but the lady said that its long so that the balls dont rest on the skin when its swollen, but it hasnt been swollen at all.... but really painful... its so sore, I'm thinking about taking it out, is that the best option?
oh yes, and I am usually a very fast healer, if that helps at all... all my piercings, my tongue, nipple, ears and both top and bottom navel have all healed faster than the recomened healing times.
Well its been like 3 weeks since I had my piercing done, and it was infected, I went to the doctor and got antibiotics... it was ok for a bit but now I think its infected again... its like hot, and theres lil bits of white pus coming out of the holes.
My question really is, should i keep my piercing? I'm a swimming teacher, and I'm constantly in the water (well once a week), so i dont think my piercing has a chance to get better. I'm so confused. I love my piercing, but its causing so much hassle.
What can I do? I'm still cleaning my piercing once a day, and once when I get out of the pool, but nothing seems to help.
There is a lot of misinformation on the internet and its difficult to distinguish truth from myth.
Glad we were of help and we are very happy that you have stopped using the salt water on your piercings.
Please keep us informed with your progrress.
thank you once again for the help
Saw the dr. today for a totaly unrelated issue (sore throat) she took a look at my piercing as she checked my eardrums said it looked slightly infected and gave me antibiotics and a ointment called mupirocin, i wonder if its okay to use it or not( the ointment) as she has no experience with piercings like this.still planning to see my piercer on the 1st of the month. as for good news i started sleeping on my other side though it gave me a restless night, some of the sweling on the top went down though.
For all you people out there this forum rocks for help! these people really know what they are talking about
We are not doctors and we did not see the piercing in person to be able to tell you if it was infected or not. From our experience, most of the time it is not infected because it would take a lot to develop an infection.
If you have an infection inside your ear, then it could also have an affect on the piercings. Take the antibiotics for the eardrum infection but do NOT use the cream for the piercings. As you have already noticed the problem is not as bad since not sleeping on the piercings.
Pressure is the biggest problem we have seen for industrial piercings. Please be patient and try and warm water compress we have written in other threads.
I got my industrial 14g a month ago and I got 4 balls 2 in each holes, I think is the pressure of the headband I used everyday... and I got a razor and try to cut one but is only blood, after few days the ball is normal again.... what should I do???
We are very sorry but we do not understand what you mean. Did you try to cut off a bump from your ear with a razor? If so, please DO NOT do that again.
What became normal again? You are not very clear on your problem. Please be more specific.
yes a bump, there are 4 I think is the headband I used everyday.......
yeah it was an ear infection and a slight scratch infection from my cat clawing it.I went to see the piercer finaly like i said on the first wich was a weird experience as i guess he has taken off for tax evasion according to the owner of the tattoo place.he had no idea how to help or what to look for.handed me two gloves and said pull it out and clean it,wouldnt help in any way. because of where i live (boonies) there are no other places that do piercings so im at a loss as to what to do,it seems slightly better no more waking up to blood
To Ghost
Please start your own thread. You have not given us any information so that we can better help you.
You did not inform us as to whether or not you started using the ointment that the doctor prescribed and if that was helping your piercings at all.
If it was infected then you must follow your doctor's advice as we are not doctors.
Too many piercers do not know what to do for problems as they never learned to understand what they are doing and what problems can occur. Leave it alone other than using the prescription and do warm water compresses.
yes i used the ointment on the cat scratch alone, and the top bump as it was ripped by the cat nail too, i left the bumps alone as well did the warm compresses and its healing up!! thank you guys for the help
The main reason you are having such problems with your piercing is that it was originally done with a barbell.
Even though it may not seem like there is swelling, there is always swelling when you have any injury done to you, and a piercing is an injury. The problem is the swelling between the two holes, the barbell does NOT allow for that swelling, even though you claim the barbell is long.
The second problem is that you are cleaning the piercing too frequently. If you developed an infection, then the healing time will be hindered as the body has to deal with the infection first and then start the healing process.
The white puss you are describing is a result of over cleaning, not an infection. To be an infection, the colour has to be greenish yellowish and smell foul. But the white puss is dead white blood cells that are trying to do their job but something is irritating the piercing, which tells us that you are still cleaning and moving the barbell. So again, stop doing anything to the piercing and allow the body to heal itself. If you have crusties, then take a warm compress and lay on the piercing for a few minutes, then take a Q-tip and remove the softened crusties. If the piercing looks dry and chapped, the take another Q-tip and apply a water based moisturizer to the tissues, not the piercing and rub until absorbed. Do the moisturizer only when needed, do NOT overdue or else you will develop problems.
Do not remove the piercing, at least until the infection has cleared because if you do not, then the puss will become trapped in the tissues and this is NOT good.
The pool is not a big problem but you are cleaning it and causing the problem to continue. Just dry it out and run clean water in the shower and leave it alone.
With the other piercings, did you pay this much attention to them? Did you clean them this much? If not, then try to do the same for this piercing and it should be alright soon. If you over cleaned those piercings, then, your body finally reacted to all the abuse.
Good luck and keep in touch.
Glad to read that your piercing is doing better. Remember that the body is what does the healing, when we interfere with that process is when the problems begin.
they are looking and doing better
everyone had been telling me to just take out my industrial because i had keloids, but thanks to you i kept it and its fine
thanks for the help
you guys rule
Yes, they are doing better.
Glad that we could help.
Take care
Yay! its getting alot better! Theres no puss any more, just crusties.
I think my ear is a little relieved, its treating me very nicely now. Thank you so much for your advice.
When i think about it no i didnt pay my other piercings much attention at all. i guess it was cuz my industrial was so painfull that i noticed it more, but thank you, now my ear can start healing properly.
By the way, how long does it take for it to fully heal? and would i be able to take it out for very long when its fully healed? because im going to be a primary school teacher in one and a half years, and i think that the piercing will cut down my job offers. I dont want to lose it for good.
Thank You
Glad to read its doing better. Any piercing takes a full year to completely heal. This means that at that time, you can remove the jewellery and not have to put anything in its place. But know this, if you leave it out for long periods of time, the piercing can shrink and it may be difficult to insert a piece of jewellery.
Our advice is put something in the piercing, even regular studs. If its a problem, then take them out.
Good luck
Oooook... well today when i took my bar out i noticed something that really worried me quite alot.
i have a huge swolen bumpy bit on the top hole... its like all swolen and red... im pretty sure its not infected, because there is no pus and it doesnt hurt, but its just big and swolen.
is that normal after 3 months? could it be because of the bar? because i put rings in the holes, but they sat at the wrong angle and stuck out and hurt so much when i slept.
is there anything i can do to reduce my bump? or is putting rings in the only option?
No, its not infected but irritated. It could have happened from all the problems you had experienced in the first 3 months. This bump is formed as the body is trying to heal the irritant and sends the fibrous tissues to patch up the problem, but there is something there (the jewellery) so there is no place to go but near the problem so that in case its needed, its right there.
As time goes on, as long as the irritation is gone, the body will reabsorb the fibrous tissues. But sometimes, this does not happen. Try to leave it alone for a week and see what happens, if the bump starts to shrink, then its on it way to dissipating. But if not, please write back a private message and we will assist further.
Im having the same problem kinda i got mine in december and its been tugged a few times by my brush another time by the doctor and misalanious times by my hair, i got a bump at the top and one at the bottom im starting to think the bar is to small or something as its pushing in at the top.
i dont think its infected as there is no puss just wake up to sometimes blood scabs on it which i just flake off or wash off its still kinda tender and hot.im more worried about these lumps.
The blood tells us that you are still injuring your piercing and these bumps will not go away until the irritation is gone.
We strongly recommend inserting 2 separate captive bead rings to reduce the pressure and hopefully the blood as well.
If you are still cleaning and salt water treatment, please stop. All these things are just irritating your piercing and it will not heal as long as you are doing something to it.
Your piercings are not infected just seriously irritated, it seems that you sleep on them and this pressure is probably why you have so many problems.
Thank you for the prompt response ^.^ im going to go see my piercer in 4 days and ask about a captive rings like you said, i had stopped the salt water 2 weeks after the piercing was done but when i saw the bumps i started them again but its making it itch a bit. i was extremly worried about a keloid as i see so many warnings about them but as long as you dont think it is one im cool with it
