What To Use To Clean Infected Ear Piercing

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.

Infected

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 An Infected Ear Piercing

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.

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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:

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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:

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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.

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Help With Infected Piercing

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Ear

You can clean your infected ear piercing with a saltwater rinse. Don’t remove the piercing or use alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or antibiotic ointments. See a doctor if it doesn’t get better, or the earring is stuck.

When you get your ears pierced — whether at a tattoo parlor or a kiosk in the mall — you should receive instructions on preventing infection. The vendor should also assure you they only use sterile tools and hygienic practices.

Ear Piercing Faqs

But if the protocol isn’t followed, or if you don’t carefully follow the post-piercing care instructions, an infection can occur. You can usually treat a minor piercing infection of the earlobe fairly easily and without complications.

A piercing is essentially an open wound. An earlobe piercing usually takes six to eight weeks to heal. Cartilage piercings, which take place on the harder part of your ear, generally take longer to heal and can be more prone to infection. There are several ways your ear piercing can get infected.

Any bacteria left to fester can quickly turn into an infection. If you touch your piercing with dirty hands or instruments, you can introduce an infection. If the earrings are on too tightly, not allowing room for the wound to breathe and heal, an infection can develop. A piercing can also get infected if there’s too much handling of the piercing or the post of the earring is rough.

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An infection can also occur if unsterile instruments were used, if the person piercing your ears didn’t use gloves, or if the posts themselves weren’t sterile.

As long as your infection is minor, you may be able to take care of it at home. If you’ve had a cartilage piercing and it seems infected, seek medical treatment. These types of infections are harder to treat and may require oral antibiotics. Significant infections of the cartilage can require hospitalization.

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After the infection appears to have cleared, continue this cleaning regimen twice a day until the piercing is totally healed. Remember, an earlobe piercing can take six to eight weeks to heal. Routine care is important during that time.

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Usually, a minor infection of an ear piercing can be treated successfully at home. But if any of the following symptoms occur, seek medical attention:

To avoid infection, have your ears pierced by a professional. Don’t do it at home. Be sure to ask about their infection prevention protocol. Also ask if their tools are sterile. Confirm that the earrings they use come out of a new, sterile package.

After you get the piercing, clean your ears twice a day with the rinse provided or sterile saline. Don’t turn your jewelry, as this can create trauma to the skin and cause infection. You can clean around the piercing without removing the earring.

Tips For Ear Piercing Aftercare

Getting your ears pierced should involve a few moments of pain in exchange for the chance to dress up your earlobes and have some fun. When an infection strikes, treating it promptly ensures faster healing with fewer complications.

Has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.Jewelry has always been an important part of makeup. There was a time when women wore only flowers or ornaments made from natural resources like wood, stone, etc. Then gradually they were replaced by precious metals like gold, silver, etc. With time, there was a change in the way and choice of wearing jewelry. Getting nose and ear piercing or piercing has been a common procedure. 

It is also adopted as a rite of passage for newborn babies and as a hobby by both male and female adults. Many times, after getting an ear piercing, a small wound is formed, for which the application of warm oil and turmeric is mostly recommended, but this wound can also take a serious form if not given enough attention.

Why

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Sensitivity of the skin, and the presence of some kind of problem in the body due to which the wound takes time to heal or is vulnerable to any kind of infection, are some of the reasons that can make this ear wound worse. can.

Usually, when there is a cut or injury anywhere in our body, the body itself starts the process of healing the wound. The healthier the body, the faster this process will be. When the delicate skin of the ear is punctured with the help of a machine or other means, it also becomes a kind of wound.

Now if you are getting the piercing done on the softest, lower part of the ear ie, then the problem is not that much, but if you are getting the piercing done at two or three places on the slightly hard area of the ear which is called the pinna, then it should be cured. It may take time. Here the pain can also be more due to the hardening of the skin and the presence of bones. Therefore, the risk of infection is also high at this place. Sometimes, several days after the ear piercing, when the wound appears to be drying out, signs of infection may appear. At this time, immediate treatment is necessary.

How To Treat An Infected Ear Piercing?

After getting the ear pierced, many people see a bulge in or around that place, which is also called Mussoorie or pimple in common parlance. It arises due to fluid filling within the skin and it is called a granuloma. Apart from this, symptoms like redness, pain, itching, burning, pus, etc. may appear on the skin. Immediate treatment is essential as soon as these symptoms emerge.

Turmeric and hot oil are commonly used as home remedies after ear piercing. It also provides relief in pain and the process of wound healing is also faster. Apart from this, some people also clean the wound by adding a little salt