Infected Cartilage Piercing?

I had my ear cartilage pierced on Thursday afternoon and it felt fine, was a bit painful but that was it. Then the next day it started to become more painful and finally today its so excruciatingly painful that I can't touch it, I have to keep taking paracetamols every four hours to try and control the pain. Just wondering if anyone whos had this piercing experienced a similar thing, and if it settled down after a couple of days? It doesn't look like it's infected at all as I've been cleaning it and it's not oozing or anything, it's just a bit red and swollen. Do you guys think I should take it out or wait to see if it settles down?

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Reply 1

WokSz

I would wait for it to settle down as it could be that the piercing just wasn't done in the correct way. Have you tried using some anti-swelling cream?

Reply 2

ginag123

Nope, what would be a good anti-swelling cream to recommend?

Reply 3

vaughn_

germolene will help
also you can use salt water on some cotton wool to clean the area, it will sting a little but it should clean the infection up.

If it is still bad in a few days go back to the place where you got your piercing

Reply 4

nursing_sue

Let me guess, Claire's Accessories?

All you need to do is salt water soaks. Don't put any cream on it, as that can trap bacteria. Dissolve 1tsp salt in 1 pint water, warm a bit slightly in a shot glas or similar, and try and soak your ear in it.

Reply 5

Trigger

hmm clairs shouldnt pierce the cartalige as its considerd a body piercing and not lobes

Reply 6

nursing_sue

Trigger

hmm clairs shouldnt pierce the cartalige as its considerd a body piercing and not lobes

They do noses too!

Reply 7

Trigger

they shouldnt...unless noses are ok because its ok to use a gun on them. you should never pierce cartalige with a gun. youl end up with ears like mine, i can fold them up :p:

Reply 8

nursing_sue

No, they shouldn't do noses or cartilage (and I'm against lobes too) but they do

tut tut

lol guys it wasnt even claires accessories that did it! it was a professional piercer called michael rose hahaha.

btw the piercing has started bleeding quite a lot when i rotated the ring, is that normal?! i tried the sea salt thing and it made it feel better. :smile:

Reply 11

scaredashell

Do the salt water twice a day, dont touch the earring, or if you do wash your hands first.
What earring do you have in, is it a ring or a stud? rings hurt way more, and also it should be titanium.
Try not to sleep on it, mine still goes funny after 2 years if i sleep on that side for to long.

Edit;
Also if you are still taking painkillers you should taken ibuprofen like nurofen as it is an antiinfammatory as well.
You can take paracetamol as well as this but nurofen should work just fine

Reply 12

Kate.

Ibuprofen will be good for the swelling. Don't turn the ring or try to move it at all. Sea salt soaks are great! Try to soak your ear for 5-10 minutes twice a day.

Unfortunately cartilage piercings do tend to be bitchy and it might take a few days to settle down. It can take 6 months or more to heal, so be prepared for that ;D If it does bleed, try and leave it to clot rather than keep cleaning it off. Nasty, but the bleeding should stop sooner :P

You might find the ring starts to irritate the piercing, because they turn and can drag bacteria and crusties into the hole, so a few months down the line if it is acting up or you get any scarring on it, I'd get it changed to a barbell. Some people are fine with rings though, I guess you'll see how you get on :smile:

Reply 13

ginag123

ahhh thanks kate, ive been moving the ring around because i thought it would be better to help it clean or something, but im gonna stop doing that now! its settled down a little, just theres a lot of crusting, i hope thats normal.

Reply 14

Dollaleigh

when i had mine done it hurt for ages but then settled down and now its absolutely fine. dont turn it at all cos that will just irritate the wound and make it heal a lot slower. u can also use tea tree oil on it between salt water washes. i was told to use sea salt or rock salt, dont use cooking salt. just keep it clean and dont touch it and itll settle down. if it doesnt after a bit go back to the piercer. u must remember though that a piercing is a trauma to the body and its a wound so it will hurt and will take time to heal

Reply 15

Kate.

Don't use tea tree oil on healing piercings, it's VERY harsh and will dry the piercing out a lot.

Reply 16

Trigger

used it on mine and it was fine, got given it by blue banana

Reply 17

tetrahydrocannabinol.

Used it on mine too, and it worked better than salt soaks or antiseptics, plus I like the smell :biggrin:

Reply 18

Trigger

good for your hair too ;yes;

Reply 19

Kate.

Just because it was fine for you doesn't mean it should be used. :P
As a last resort, maybe. But in general, it shouldn't be put on a healing piercing.