How To Clear An Ear Piercing Infection

A new ear piercing is an open wound that can take several weeks to fully heal. During that time, any bacteria that enter the wound can lead to infection. Taking good care of your piercing is key to preventing infection.

An ear piercing is a hole through your earlobe or the cartilage in your middle or upper ear. Ear piercing infections may be red, swollen, sore, warm, itchy or tender. Sometimes, piercings ooze blood or white, yellow or green pus.

A new piercing is an open wound that can take several weeks to fully heal. During that time, any bacteria that enter the wound can lead to infection.

How To Treat Infected Ear Piercings, From Dermatologist

Your upper ear is cartilage, a thick, stiff tissue with less blood flow. Piercings in your upper ear are more likely to become infected, and infections in your upper ear are sometimes serious.

Millions of people get their ears pierced every year, and most of them have no serious complications. Mild irritation and infections are common, however, for new piercings. In most cases, infections aren’t serious and clear up quickly.

Some pain and redness are part of the normal healing process for pierced ears. It can be easy to confuse those with signs of infection.

Infected Ear Piercing: Symptoms And How To Treat It

If there’s a bump on the back of the ear piercing, it’s not necessarily infected. Small bumps called granulomas can sometimes form around the piercing. These bumps are trapped fluid that you can treat by compressing them with warm water.

If bacteria get into a new piercing, it can lead to infection. You may expose your new piercing to harmful bacteria by:

Many things can increase your risk of getting an infection from an ear piercing. Certain health conditions can affect your body’s immune system and your ability to fight infection. These conditions include:

Is Your Industrial Piercing Infected? What To Do About It

Upper ear piercings are more likely to get infected. Left untreated, these infections can lead to a condition known as perichondritis. An infection can also spread into your body (systemic infection).

If you see signs of an infected cartilage piercing, you should contact a healthcare provider. The provider can assess the severity of the infection.

A healthcare provider can tell you what to do for an infected ear piercing. They may recommend a variety of treatments to help heal an infected ear piercing. Ear piercing infection treatment may include:

How I Almost Lost My Ear In India — The Tipsy Gypsies

With good care, most infections clear up within a few days. If your infected ear piercing isn’t improving, you should see a healthcare provider.

Getting your ears pierced is most often a safe, simple procedure. Be sure to go to an experienced piercer who practices proper hygiene. Keep your new piercings clean, and don’t remove your earrings until your piercings have healed completely. Be patient — by preventing an infection now, you can enjoy your healthy piercings for years to come.

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. PolicyThis article was co-authored by Karissa Sanford and by staff writer, Dan Hickey. Karissa Sanford is the Co-owner of Make Me Holey Body Piercing, a piercing studio based in the San Francisco Bay Area that specializes in safe and friendly body piercing. Karissa has over 10 years of piercing experience and is a member of the Association of Professional Piercers (APP).

How Long Will My Piercing Take To Heal?

Marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, several readers have written to tell us that this article was helpful to them, earning it our reader-approved status.

You’re loving the look of your new piercing, but your excitement turns to concern when you notice the initial redness and swelling aren’t going away. An infected piercing is no fun, but in most cases, you can treat them yourself at home in just a week or two with some sterile saline and an antibiotic ointment. In this article, we’ll show you how to treat and prevent piercing infections yourself, plus share ways to reduce swelling and pain while it clears up. You’ve probably got everything you need in your medicine cabinet or first aid kit already!

This article was co-authored by Karissa Sanford and by staff writer, Dan Hickey. Karissa Sanford is the Co-owner of Make Me Holey Body Piercing, a piercing studio based in the San Francisco Bay Area that specializes in safe and friendly body piercing. Karissa has over 10 years of piercing experience and is a member of the Association of Professional Piercers (APP). This article has been viewed 1, 297, 594 times.

Infected Ear Piercing: Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention

To treat an infected piercing, create a saline solution by mixing ⅛ tablespoon (1.77 g) of sea salt with a cup of water, and stirring until it dissolves. Use a clean cotton swab to dab the solution onto your piercing for 20 minutes twice a day until the infection has healed. You can also apply a cold pack to the area to reduce swelling and fight off infection. However, if the infection persists for more than 48 hours, or if you develop a fever, you should see a doctor. For help preventing an infection, keep reading!When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site.

Karen L. Hudson is a tattoo artist and contributing writer for . She has been an amateur artist as a hobby since grade school, and served a 12 month tattoo apprenticeship in a tattoo studio.

Rachel is a board-certified dermatologist and Assistant Clinical Professor at Mount Sinai Hospital Department of Dermatology. She has contributed to , as well as Harpers Bazaar, Marie Claire, Allure, Vogue, and the New York Times, and more

Piercing Infection: 4 Ways To Heal Fast Infected Ear, Nose Piercing

When you have an infected piercing, your first thought might be to take your jewelry out. While that might seem like the best thing to do, it's best to leave this to your doctor. If your piercing is actually infected, and you remove the jewelry on your own, you may spread the bacteria. Instead, see a dermatologist, who will likely swab the area for a culture and start a course of topical and/or oral antibiotics to treat the infected skin piercing. Your derm will likely also want to monitor the area for potential abscess formation throughout your treatment plan. To learn more, we spoke to two dermatologists, Y. Claire Chang and Alicia Zalka.

Mild infections can be treated easily enough at home. If it's just a little irritated, slightly red or warm, you can try a few things to clear it up on your own:

The first thing is to determine if your piercing is actually infected. A piercing may be infected if you notice redness, swelling, pain or tenderness, warmth, crusting, and yellow drainage around the piercing site, says Chang. More severe infections can lead to spreading redness/swelling, fevers, chills, and swollen lymph nodes.

Can Pus Dry From An Infected Ear Piercing?

My experience is that bellybutton piercings are the ones most at risk for infections. The second most common would be nose piercings, says Zalka.

If you have a nickel sensitivity, you may not be able to handle jewelry made of nickel-laden metals. It’s best to see your dermatologist or other health care provider as an infection can be mistaken for an allergic reaction and vice versa, says Zalka. Some people react to the metal in the piercing object. This can happen to those with a nickel allergy. Silver, gold, and steel may still have small amounts of nickel in them; enough to bother someone who's very sensitive. In this case, niobium or titanium jewelry may be necessary. You may also have allergic reactions to other kinds of metals, even if they don't contain nickel. Always consider the jewelry first if you're having a problem, and have it changed to a high-quality metal if you think that could be the cause.

An infection does not necessarily mean that you need to remove the jewelry and jump ship from your new piercing. Many infections will clear up with some extra care, and you can keep your new jewelry. Minor infections can be managed conservatively with saltwater or sterile saline soaks, and it is not necessary to remove the jewelry, says Chang.

Infected Ear Piercing

It can be tempting to want to turn, twist, and touch the infected piercing in an effort to keep the hole from closing up. Chang warns, Avoid excessively touching or manipulating the infected site as this can worsen the irritation and inflammation. Only manipulate the piercing site when you are cleaning it, otherwise, leave it alone to heal.

Minor infections can often be treated at home, but it's important to make sure you are doing so with clean hands. Make sure you do not have