Piercing gone purple...

Hey, i got two navel piercings yesterday (the sides) and they have turned purple this morning... i was just wondering if this is normal or if i should be worried as it's been so long since i got my other piercings that i can't remember :confused:

Reply 1

concept2

It might be bruising. I would leave it for a few days (looking after it how they said) and if it doesn't settle down, visit the doctor.

Reply 2

abc137

OP

Thanks for your help! I thought it might be bruising but just wanted to double check in case. He didn't actually say how to look after it, just said i could take some pain killers and antihistamines if i wanted to. I think that was because i have the other piercings done so he assumed that i knew... I can't remember exactly but i think you wash it with salt water or tcp is that right? Thank you :biggrin:

Reply 3

Talya

16

Have you been following the cleaning instructions given by the piercer?

Reply 4

rosetinted

2

It sounds like bruising to me. Is the area swollen or particularly painful? If it is then try an anti-inflammatory, such as Ibuprofen. If not I'd say just leave it a few days and see if the colour fades. If you are worried then head back to your piercer.

You need to wash your piercing with a warm salt water solution. Put a quarter of a teaspoon of salt into a mug of warm water and stir it in (or 1 teaspoon to 1 pint of water). Then you need to soak the piercing. You can either do this by dunking it in the mug or putting some of the solution into a shot glass and pressing it to the skin.

If you do this for a few minutes (no more than 10) then it will loosen up any crusty bits and draw out possible infection. Then you can gently clean with a cotton bud.

Finally give your piercing a quick rinse so there's no salt left on the skin and allow it to air dry, don't pat it with a towel or anything. There is no need to use tcp or anything harsh on your skin. Salt is a natural astringent and a mild salt water solution is the absolute best way to heal a piercing.

Reply 5

yellow96

15

My navel piercing went purple around the hole and stayed that way for quite a while, so I assume it's normal. Mine then went on to become horrifically infected (it's fine now..) for several months though, so make sure you keep it clean in case the purple skin is a warning sign for infection. As for the salt water recommendation, it is considered the best way to cleanse a new piercing but I found that it only aggravated mine, so instead I used warm soapy water which helped a lot.

Reply 6

Segat1

16

Mmm crusties!

Reply 7

abc137

OP

Thanks for your help everyone! I hope it isn't an infection! I will take some ibuprofen and wash it with salt water and see how that goes :biggrin:

I really don't like it at the moment, but hopefully i will when i can change the bars to tiny ones with gems... but if i don't and i take it out will it scar? I expect it will but i really don't like it at the moment.

Reply 8

abc137

OP

Segat1

Mmm crusties!

Eww lol

Reply 9

brokenangel

16

xSweetheartx

I really don't like it at the moment, but hopefully i will when i can change the bars to tiny ones with gems... but if i don't and i take it out will it scar? I expect it will but i really don't like it at the moment.

Yes it will if you do decide to take it out you could always try rubbing bio-oil into it once it has healed to minimise the scar.

Reply 10

yellow96

15

If it *does* get infected, wait until the infection has subsided before you take them out, otherwise it'll heal up and leave no escape route for all the pus it'll most likely produce.. God, bellybuttons are unpleasant :| It'll heal up really fast too, I left mine out for an hour once and it was a struggle to get it back in, so make sure you definitely want to get rid of it before you start.

Reply 11

abc137

OP

Thanks everyone :smile:

I cleaned it with salt water... it stang!

I'm hoping it will look nice when it has healed and i put the small bars in but if it doesn't then i will take it out as long as it isn't infected.

Reply 12

starless_dark

2

If it stung you may have made the solution too strong, or maybe the piercings are just reacting to being cleaned. The guy is a bit silly not giving you any information about aftercare - even if you had other piercings, it's a part of your body you haven't had pierced before and you might not know whether the aftercare is different, piercers should always check with the client that they know how to care for their new piercing.

Reply 13

Talya

16

I would be worried if you went to a piercer who didn't tell you how to care for it :s:

Reply 14

Juno

20

xSweetheartx

Thanks everyone :smile:

I cleaned it with salt water... it stang!

I'm hoping it will look nice when it has healed and i put the small bars in but if it doesn't then i will take it out as long as it isn't infected.

Your solution was far too strong then. it should feel really soothing! Are you sure you followed Rosetinted's insturctions?

Piercing gone purple...

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