I had my tragus pierced at a top quality piercing shop, so i know that it was done with a needle and that it is a clean place.
However a couple of days ago i felt a small lump on the back, i have carried on cleaning it as i have been told but it has grown slightly bigger. The lump itself is the same colour as my skin maybe with a slight red tinge to it (i am looking in 2 mirrors to see it), its also a bit flaky looking and doesnt hurt.
Could someone please tell me what it is and how to cure it.
thank you
You did not tell us how long ago you were pierced and what your aftercare is was. We need this information so that we can assist you in resolving this issue.
The bump is fluid filled because you seem to be irritating it too much and the body is trying to stop the irritation. But you keep irritating it and therefore the bump only increases in size.
Please STOP cleaning and moving the jewellery. We recommend using a warm water compress to soften the crusties and then use a Q-tip to remove them. Other than this, please just leave the piercing alone and let the body heal itself.
A day after posting my topic the lump had completely dissapeared, i have no idea what it was but now its completely gone.
I had had it pierced for 4 weeks and was cleaning it once a day with a salty boiling hot water. I did that for 3 weeks as told. I am going back this friday to get the bar changed to a slightly smaller one as my piercer told me to.
Thank you for your help and i hope this article has helped others with their problems.
PS: I am from England and i'm assuming this is an American site (looking at the time difference) and this may sound stupid to you but what the hell is a Q-tip?
We are very happy that your piercing is doing better.
Yes we are in North America (Canada to be exact).
No, your question is not stupid, we do understand that some products are not available in your country just as certain ones are unavailable here.
A Q-tip is specific brand name of a product and because of its name we now refer to it as the product, not really the company name. This would be called a cotton swab or cotton buds (2 buds at each end of a short stick).
Take care
Oh right lol yeah over here we call them cotton buds or ear buds.
Thank you very much for your help and time :)
Glad that we could be of some help.
Take care
Hey i have had another problem and there is a huge lump this time. I am not cleaning it or irritating it as you said.
This lump looks like a blister and a tiny bit darker than my skin colour. I've been doing what i did last time (using a hot compress on it) which before made it disappear but this time its not and its not even shrinking.
Sorry to be a nuisence.
It sounds like you injured it again. You may have bumped in in your sleep. At this point, it is still quite young and anything can set off another bump problem.
Just keep doing what we suggested and do not stress about it. If it is extremely hot to touch, serious pain or giving you an earache; then seek medical attention.
You also used salt water and if you were using the water compress, this could have brought up stuff and now your body is trying to get rid of it.
Again, just do what we have suggested and allow the body to do its job. Sometimes this process takes some time especially when we have interfered with it.
Thank you, that is probably true about bumping it in the night (my boyfriend does say i fidget a lot and always tossing and turning).
Anyway it is going down and i stopped touching it all together now.
Thanks for your help, you have truly been a great help to me.
Glad we have helped.
Please keep in touch with your progress.
