Piercing help, Keloid?

Hey,

I turned 20 in February, and to celebrate that I 'treated' myself to the nose piercing I was always too chicken to get when I was younger.

I got it done, and after a day or so it was fine, no pain. A couple of weeks later I got the cold from hell. So of course I had to blow my nose and stuff (still maintaining the gentle cleaning regime I had going - salt and water with a bud every morning and before I went to bed. I never put any make up anywhere near it either)

A week or so after I get over my cold I notice this big ugly white bump around my piercing, and it was pretty tight around the bar too.

I read up about the white bump, people mention keloids and hypertrophic scarring and to treat it with salt water - as I had been doing. Tried that for a fortnight and it was just getting worse. So I went to a piercing shop and they recommended hydrogen peroxide (50:50 water and HP) which seemed to work then it just came back redder and sorer and angrier, and all the skin around my nose was starting to flake. I was also getting dried blood around the piecing too.

I would attach a photo of it, but I'm currently really self conscious of it.

It's now purply in colour, it's rock solid, and I can't even get my piercing out (which I really want to do now... i'm tired of this!)

I think I should make an appointment at the doctors for tuesday morning if I can (I'm at work the rest of the week) but do you have any idea of what I should expect? I imagine the doctor will give me a lecture about body modifications so on and so forth, which I can handle, but what treatment can they realistically give me if I've tried saline and Hydrogen Peroxide? Should I try rubbing alcohol, normal hand soap, or the Claire's piercing solution that I've seen on similar posts on the internet (they all seem to be American though)
*sigh*
I do wish I stuck to my ear piercings. I thought it would be a great thing to have done at the time, but now I just want it gone!

I've got my nose pierced and mine has never done this! This sounds really unpleasant and if you can't get the piercing out it will have to be surgically removed. Go to the doctors ASAP! I'd even suggest A&E if the piercing is embedded!

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I would go back to the piercers again and get their advice first. Doctors can be a bit judgemental about problems with piercings and a professional piercer will have more experience than a doctor with such problems. Go back to the piercer and go to the doctor if they tell you to.

If you can manage to get the stud out and another in I highly reccomend getting one of these http://www.bodyjewelleryshop.com/online_store/nose_studs_781.cfm bioflex studs. They are much gentler than any metal on piercings and may help the healing.

Neeep!! I mean, I could probably get it out if I pulled harder than I have been, but it'll hurt and there will be blood.

I really don't want to be wasting the doctors time at A&E either... Especially because this is my own fault. I didn't need to get my nose done, it's just a superficial thing, it wasn't even as if it was a silly accident like falling off a wall while drunk. I'd just feel stupid going there with a sore nose...

I know I should go to the doctors though, my partner's been at me for a couple of weeks to go in case it's infected too. I think it is now too. So much hassle for a bit of metal in my nose! I got my ears pierced years ago with not so much as one problem!

I've had my nose pierced, my tongue, lip (twice), tragus, rook and scaffolding and nothing like that has ever happened to me. Lumps are usually common in cartilage piercings but not on the nose. Sounds like you've just had an unlucky experience.

If the piercing gets embedded in your skin you'll have to go the hospital, yeah they'll probably have a moan at you but I wouldn't worry about wasting their time. It not your fault it got infected, it's their job to help. They're used to helping the self inflicted anyway with all the accident prone drunks they deal with every week!

It's up to you, if you can't get an appointment at the doctors then go to a one stop or to the A&E, it is an accident after all, and it if gets stuck in your skin it'll be an emergency!

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I've had the piercing since 8/02 if I got it out tonight is it likely to heal over overnight as it is pretty bad and obviously not healed. I'm hoping I could get one from blue banana, and while I'm at it, I could ask for advice.

I went once, and they just told me to use hydrogen peroxide, but that just made it sore and really unsightly.

Also while its healing, go with the bioflex ones, they really are better for healing piercings, my piercer never pierces with a metal bar, ever! And I've never heard of using hydrogen peroxide to help, that sounds harsh!
Go with sea salt and hot water (as hot as you can take it, don't scald yourself like). Make sure its sea salt, its better.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Well obviously don't take it out unless you have something to put straight back in it.

When you were using Hydrogen peroxide, were you using peroxide and nothing else? How often? Peroxide should only really be used every other day at most as it can be very irritating. What strength were you using as it comes in 3%, 6% and 9% and you should stick to the lowest.

Also, when you were using salt water, how much salt were you using and how often? It should be 1tsp sea salt to 1litre boiled water. Anything stronger can be irritated and you should use it no more than twice a day as overcleaning can be damaging.

Hey,

I turned 20 in February, and to celebrate that I 'treated' myself to the nose piercing I was always too chicken to get when I was younger.

I got it done, and after a day or so it was fine, no pain. A couple of weeks later I got the cold from hell. So of course I had to blow my nose and stuff (still maintaining the gentle cleaning regime I had going - salt and water with a bud every morning and before I went to bed. I never put any make up anywhere near it either)

A week or so after I get over my cold I notice this big ugly white bump around my piercing, and it was pretty tight around the bar too.

I read up about the white bump, people mention keloids and hypertrophic scarring and to treat it with salt water - as I had been doing. Tried that for a fortnight and it was just getting worse. So I went to a piercing shop and they recommended hydrogen peroxide (50:50 water and HP) which seemed to work then it just came back redder and sorer and angrier, and all the skin around my nose was starting to flake. I was also getting dried blood around the piecing too.

I would attach a photo of it, but I'm currently really self conscious of it.

It's now purply in colour, it's rock solid, and I can't even get my piercing out (which I really want to do now... i'm tired of this!)

I think I should make an appointment at the doctors for tuesday morning if I can (I'm at work the rest of the week) but do you have any idea of what I should expect? I imagine the doctor will give me a lecture about body modifications so on and so forth, which I can handle, but what treatment can they realistically give me if I've tried saline and Hydrogen Peroxide? Should I try rubbing alcohol, normal hand soap, or the Claire's piercing solution that I've seen on similar posts on the internet (they all seem to be American though)
*sigh*
I do wish I stuck to my ear piercings. I thought it would be a great thing to have done at the time, but now I just want it gone!

6% hydrogen peroxide with one cap of that to one cap of warm water as the back of the packet suggests. I was using that once a day before bed. In the morning I'd just clean with clean warm water.

Pretty sure I've been using more salt that that in my concoction. I'd just keep on adding until it tasted like tears like another forum suggested...

Are you black or south asian?
If not it's extremely unlikely to be a keloid, and even if you are it's still unlikely.

It's probably hypertrophic scarring.
Peroxide is very harsh, stop using that, use Bio Oil, you can get it in boots, the bump should be gone in about a week if you put it on morning and night.

The peroxide was a bit too strong going by my experience. Many piercers don't reccomend using it at all. In my opinion, occasionally won't hurt

How often were you using the salt solution? was the warm water boiled or from the tap, obviously, its better boiled so its sterile. My personal experience is that keeping it bearably hot really helps with swelling too.

I think you may have been overdoing it... theres also a chance you might be reacting to the metal of the stud. None of this would have been helped by having a cold. Saying that, I got a cold just after I had mine done but no real problems. You have to be so careful with healing piercings and its easy to be misinformed.

I actually have bio-oil somewhere in the house.

And no I'm not black or asian, I saw an article basically saying what you said. All I want is the swelling to go down so I can get it out and just leave my nose alone.

With the hypertrophic scarring would there be tender swelling inside the nose? There is a visible but pain free lump on the outside, but a sore flatter lump on the underside which is stopping me from removing the stud. (I believe it's a gold plated stud... though can't be sure.)

You've been poking and prodding and putting peroxide and stuff on an open wound so that probably explains why the inside is tender and swollen. The nose is super sensitive anyway.

Do the bio oil for a while and try not to play with/poke the stud and it should stop being tender.

Probably best to go back to you piercer to have it removed, if it's one of those wiggly nose studs they're really difficult to get out.

Hope that helps

That seems to be the case, I've seen so many suggestions, and was told something seemingly wrong by a professional piercer

What do you think about the bio-oil that Popppppy suggested? Would that interfere with using sea salt water?