I got my piercing done a week ago. I was told to wash the openings with warm salt water.
Now every time I turn the piercing it brings out yellow puss and bleeds a bit the other day.
Also the skin which it's going through has turned red and I think it's swelling. Oh, it's a barbell.
The swelling may be putting some pressure on the balls of the barbell. How do you wash with salt water? You can wash with soap and water but salt is not a cleaning agent and is very drying to the tissues.
You may have to squeeze the tissues and then somehow add the salt water over the piercing and then move the barbell up and down. Is this what you have been doing? If not, how did you clean it? How often?
Yes, your tissues will become red as salt water is damaging and irritating and if you had to pinch the skin. This is also part of the healing process. If you scratch your skin and as it starts to heal and you develop a scab, what colour are the tissues around the wound? Redish pinkish?
Because of the damage that you are doing each time you clean, it is better if you do NOT move the barbell at all. Just wash your face daily and do not do anything special to the piercing. In a couple of days, you may notice that the piercing is looking better and less swollen.
Keep in touch with your progress.
I cleaned it with a cotton ball for 3 days as the leaflet told me. The skin around the piercing is quite redish but the top one has crust around the piercing.
I pushed the piercing up today and alot of puss came from it as well as blood. Also, if I want to go swimming would I need to do anything to the piercing?
The symptoms you describe are typical of salt water issues. Please do not do anymore cleaning.
The discharge is not an infection but a serious irritation and by stopping any cleaning, should reduce this completely. We also recommend warm water compress to help soften the crusties and use a Q-tip to remove them.
Other than that, please leave it alone and let your body heal the piercing.
Please keep in touch with your progress.
