I got my lip pierced on the left side, with a labret stud, on july 2nd. I have recently (3 days or so) noticed there is a very small white sort of lump on the front of the jewlery (inside).
I was curious and a little worried, so i did some research, and I have started with a hot sea water soak, before i was rinsing with Oral B mouthwash, recommended by my piercer.
The lump is kind of tough, but not sore to the touch. Its not covering the backing of the jewelery or anything. However in the last couple of days, the backing of the stud has caught my tooth a couple times, and it hurt.
Is there anything else i can do to try and make it go away?
any help would be really great!
This is common with many lip piercings. Salt water is not a good idea as this is harsh for any piercing and will irritate more than help. You did not tell us what your aftercare is and how often you rinse with mouthwash. If you are still doing your aftercare, you are overcleaning your piercing and please STOP doing anything to it.
We generally start any lip piercing with a ring and then after 6 weeks, you can switch to a labret stud. Our aftercare is only 2 weeks long as it is just to kickstart the body in doing the healing.
The bump is generally from overcleaning and should dissipate as you stop doing anything to your piercing. You will have to be careful with the backing as it has been known to get caught on the teeth.
In about 2 more weeks, we recommend getting a shorter shaft to reduce the problem with hitting your teeth. Reduce the leverage and you should not hit your teeth.
Generally i would use my mouthwash after any drink other than water, and after any meal for the first couple of weeks.
Later on i would do it 3-4 times a day, as my piercer said.
Thanks for the help, ill stop cleaning it, and wait the 2 weeks to change the shaft.
You were definitely overcleaning. The bump will start to dissipate now that you have stopped cleaning and rinsing.
Try not to play with it as this will slow this process down.
Keep in touch
I have the same white lump on the inside of my lip. I've had my piercing for about 2 weeks now, and (I thought) everything was going fine - little pain swelling, a bit red but that's it.
I've been rinsing the outside twice a day with a saline solution provided by the piercing place and also been rinsing with antibacterial mouthwash frequently (usually after I eat something, about 3-4 times a day). I've been drinking tons of water, but I haven't used soap once. A few glasses of wine, but that's it from the 'what not to do' list.
It seems that a saline solution is a big no-no here, but I've heard from a few different sources that it's not a bad way to do it.
Anyway, I'm worried - have I been overcleaning? How should I continue from here on in? Soap? Less saline mouthwash? Is it too late for my piercing?! heh : )
Any info would be appreciated - Thanks!
You have been using a saline solution and it is NOT a cleaning solution it is a salt water solution.
Please look at our aftercare section of the forum to see what the care is for the lip. If your piercing is about 2 weeks old, please STOP doing any aftercare. Salt water is drying and this is irritating to the tissues and explains why you have a white lump. The solution has created a hypotonic environment causing the tissues to swell and fill with too much fluid and they cannot take anymore.
Leave the body to do its job of healing and the bump will start to shrink soon. With respect to what to do now that the aftercare is done, just do what you did to your mouth before you even got the piercing.
I have stopped the saline solution - the bump has gone down, but the tissue is still white. That part is fine.
Unfortunately, I now think the piercing is infected (I kissed someone about a day ago, I know, stupid). It's not in pain or swelling, I just have this yellowish translucent pus that keeps appearing, in minimal amounts, even after I soak it off (this is the 2nd day of this).
What can I do to help it? Should I turn to over-the-counter antibacterial wash? Or just keep de-crustifying it with warm water and the usual keep-the-mouth-clean routine?
Thanks :)
Glad to read that you have stopped the saline solution and that you have seen a positive result.
Your piercing is NOT infected. From all the damage that you have caused up to this point, the body is now getting rid of the irritation and the result is the yellowish discharge. We actually expected this reaction to occur, so its not because you kissed someone, its your body doing its job of healing.
You are doing great and keep it up. To help with the dryness (the white skin), do a warm water compress for about 10 minutes and then take a Q-tip to remove the soften crusties. If the tissues look dry or chapped, take another Q-tip and apply a water based moisturizer (we use St Ives) and rub into the skin.
Other than that, just leave it alone. Because you have abused the piercing for so long, it will take a little bit of time for the discharge to discontinue. So please be patient.
At this point, all you should have to do for the inside of your piercing is to do what you did 'before' you got the piercing. Anymore of that and you are overdoing it and this may give you other problems. You also do not need to get anything just wash your face as you normally do (ignoring the piercing).
