How To Stop Your Ear Piercing From Swelling

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.

Tips

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.

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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.

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Easy Ways To Treat An Ear Piercing Infection Bump

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.

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.

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

How Do You Treat An Infected Cartilage Piercing?

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:

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).

Infected

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

What Does An Infected Ear Piercing Look Like?

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:

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.

Common

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.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).

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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, 353, 772 times.

How

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!

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