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Original post by z_o_e
It's been a week since it's piercing and I took it out the other day to clean it and it took a lot of pressure to insert back.

It's been 2 days it's really heavy and swollen my entire ear. It's not infected but I have a lot of discomfort. Any tips?


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Keep it clean (hot water and salt, but not too much salt.) Don't take the piercing out for much longer than a minute or two. When putting the newly sterilised piercing in, run it under the cold tap for a few seconds so it doesnt heat up the surrounding skin. I didnt take mine out for a month after piercing, just use cotton buds with warm salty water. Try not to take it out for at least another few weeks.

Cartilage takes longer to heal for first (mine took over a month and a half) but after it is healed you can leave the piercing out more and more.

If you hold one end of the piercing in one hand while its in your skin, if you turn it around (if you are able) and you can feel it "sticking" as you turn, it means it's starting to get infected. I wouldnt take it out in any case until the first heal, but if infection is starting, DEFINITELY dont take it out as it can cause many problems such as drifting and inability to get it back in (as well as full blown infection setting in, if it does set in, youll need to see a doctor, who will probs tell you to take it out for good)

Hope this helps.
The standard advice for cartilage piercings is to not remove them for 12 weeks. Try to touch it as little as possible, and don't rotate or twist the jewellery as you will damage the healing fistula. Clean with sterile saline solution. Avoid cotton wool as it can get caught in the jewellery.


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In my opinion, mine was infected for abit. It hurt so bad. Because I changed it like 3 times within the first week. My ear is still swollen but that is the process of healing. It's hard to sleep on it. Sometimes it takes up to 5 months to recover but I had it done with a needle gun. And people say it's wrong and it shatters the cartilage but my piercer had up to 18 years of experience and she knew what she was doing. It's just that she made a mistake and didnt put a titanium jewellery into my ear.
I then made a mistake and bean fiddling with it and I was obsessed with cleaning it. I've now changed my piercing the last time to a big sized/medium real gold hoop. It's embarrassing but I cover it up very well lol. And the swelling has gone down.

I can't wait till this month is over so I can go to my piercer and get a new real gold in a really small size lol


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Original post by AishaAsad.90
In my opinion, mine was infected for abit. It hurt so bad. Because I changed it like 3 times within the first week. My ear is still swollen but that is the process of healing. It's hard to sleep on it. Sometimes it takes up to 5 months to recover but I had it done with a needle gun. And people say it's wrong and it shatters the cartilage but my piercer had up to 18 years of experience and she knew what she was doing. It's just that she made a mistake and didnt put a titanium jewellery into my ear.
I then made a mistake and bean fiddling with it and I was obsessed with cleaning it. I've now changed my piercing the last time to a big sized/medium real gold hoop. It's embarrassing but I cover it up very well lol. And the swelling has gone down.

I can't wait till this month is over so I can go to my piercer and get a new real gold in a really small size lol


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No piercer worth their salt would use a gun for a cartilage piercing!


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I’ve just had my cartilage pierced how many times a day should I wash it
Twice a day is all you really need. Once in the morning and once before bed. In my opinion, you cant really over clean a helix piercing so if you feel it’s necessary, then by all means clean it more than twice a day. But the standard is twice daily.
Reply 8
Original post by lolasalem
Twice a day is all you really need. Once in the morning and once before bed. In my opinion, you cant really over clean a helix piercing so if you feel it’s necessary, then by all means clean it more than twice a day. But the standard is twice daily.


Mine has luckily recovered, the swelling and the infection was extremely bad! Im extremely paranoid of piercings now. I would use salt and water and the infection cleared away and then i stopped touching it. As soon as i took the piercing out it would get infected so yeah!

Thanks everyone :smile:
Just had my cartilage piercing about 4 days ago it a bit swollen, is it normal and part of the healing progress? I clean it 3 times a day
Reply 10
Original post by sionzynbach
Just had my cartilage piercing about 4 days ago it a bit swollen, is it normal and part of the healing progress? I clean it 3 times a day


I will never understand why people bump old threads without reading through them. Why not just start a new thread if you're just going to ignore everything that's already there and answers your question?
You removed it way too quickly. It may swell even after a few months if it is not kept clean or irritated too much. My advice is, only touch it to clean it, and the irritation should stay at bay.
Ive been through the comment, i didnt see anything about swelling after 4 days and if it part of healing progress
Reply 13
It had been almost a year since i got my cartilage pierced, really took good care of it, rinsed it with sterile saline (salt water), always makes sure my hair is clean, it just always forms a bump and gets swollen no matter what so i had the courage to take it out today and it was the best feeling after. I really have bad anxiety and thats why the certified piercer who did mine gave me an informed consent and they asked if u have anxiety or depression cos now i realized it triggers it.
(edited 5 years ago)
Mine issue is similar, is it actually because of my anxiety?
I. I need help. I've had mine for about a month and a half now and it's going ok so far. But at times it gets swollen and I have to pour and rub alt water on it. But That has stopped working. Because of how swollen it is the piercing just slips out in the night because I can't wear a back on it. What do I do
Reply 16
First I would go pack to your piercer. Either you need a longer post or you could get a captive ball hoop which will not restrict your ear even if it swells a lot. Pretty much avoid removing or touching it once you have that done becuase it introduces bacteria to the area and irritates the wound both of which can cause more swelling. Then I suggest using a salt bath or a saline spray to avoid putting your fingers near the piercing.
Original post by Sm2027
First I would go pack to your piercer. Either you need a longer post or you could get a captive ball hoop which will not restrict your ear even if it swells a lot. Pretty much avoid removing or touching it once you have that done becuase it introduces bacteria to the area and irritates the wound both of which can cause more swelling. Then I suggest using a salt bath or a saline spray to avoid putting your fingers near the piercing.

Hi, I hope you don’t mind me asking you. My kids paid for me to have my ears pierced yesterday for my graduation on Friday. The piercer gave me the solution, aftercare leaflet etc. so I cleaned around them last night as instructed. The leaflet says not to sleep on the piercings. I sleep on my right side - I can’t sleep on my back because I have a heart problem. I’ve had no sleep all night. How can I resolve it? I have to keep them in for 5-6 weeks.
When I first got my piercings, it really helped to use a travel pillow when I slept. I just kept the pillow looped into its circle shape so that my ear was in the empty space but my head was still supported and comfortable. It worked wonders.
Reply 19
OMG! Great idea. I'm going to try this! I never thought about which side that I slept on until AFTER I got a daith and helix in the same ear at the same time. REGRET.