Pierced Ear Problem...Help!

I've had my ears pierced for years now, and this is the first time this has happened, so I'm kind of freaking out...

Awhile back, probably about a month ago, I wore this pair of pretty cheap (but pretty!) post earrings. I don't know what kind of metal they were, but the next day my ears started getting really infected. I left them alone for a while, and when the seemed better I tried wearing earrings again, making sure they were silver of steel; really safe metals. But after that my ears were even worse than before, like bleeding and swelling up! (and my ears usually aren't ab-normally sensitive)

Now it's been more than a week since I've worn earrings, and almost nothing has changed. I've washed them out with hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil, everything, but nothing seems to have made a difference Happy Has this ever happened to anyone before, and if so how did you get rid of it? I really want to be able to wear earrings again soon... Happy

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9 replies since 1st March 2013 • Last reply 1st March 2013

Reply #1:

Hm... if it is an infection that won't go away, you may need an antibiotic. I would say to wash them with aloe vera and rub them with a mix of vitamin E oil and a tiny bit of eucalyptus and peppermint oil to reduce the swelling and soothe them.

Get 316L Stainless Steel earrings as soon as possible, or titanium since those are the two hardest metals and therefore the safest for piercings since they do not scratch or tarnish.

I once had a bad reaction to acrylic earrings and replaced them immediately with organic earrings.

The most important thing is to keep earrings in and make sure they are loose and can move. You can use rubbing alcohol to clean them once a day but don't use too much. Clean the area three times a day with a sea salt solution and cotton balls.

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Reply #2:

As soon as I read this I went to put in a pair of studs, and I almost couldn't get one through since the hole was closing up, so THANK YOU!!!! I am not taking them out again...

And as soon as I can I'm going to look for those earrings and vitamin E oil. Pretty sure I have or have access to everything else you mentioned.

Thanks again, this helps a ton! I'm going to go try these things now...

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Reply #3:

Yep. Just don't touch them too much with your hands either. If you have to, use sterile latex or nitrile gloves.

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Reply #4:

Sea salt solutions will clean up any normal piercing trouble & is used to clean/heal new piercings or irritated ones. Love it. ;) you can make it yourself, or you can get "wound wash saline" spray (same thing) at Walmart. Apply with a q-tip swab.
This sounds like the same thing that happened to my friend. You are probably allergic to certain kinds of jewelry. Like Monika said, steel & titanium jewelry is the best & safest route...Its extremely rare for anyone to be allergic to them lol. I'd wait 3weeks before taking the correct jewelry out again, applying the solution 1-3 times a day to heal it. If its starts to heal/look normal, do it less.

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Reply #5:

PiercedFish has a decent selection of steel stud earrings, so you may want to check them out Happy PF's been my favorite body jewelry site for years.

http://www.piercedfish.com/category/6760/6765,,3,,,1//Body_Jewelry_By_EAR_Earrings_31.html

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Reply #6:

Thanks for the link Monika! The infection is actually pretty much gone now (yay!), but I'm still thinking about getting a few pairs of studs from there just in case this ever happens again

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Reply #7:

If you wear good jewelry all the time from now on it won't happen again Happy
Getting too many infections or bad reactions can permanently damage the tissue around your piercings, so it's a good idea to use clean hard metals, and organic stuff like polished wood and stone.

Better safe than sorry, especially with piercings. Plus, some infections can get so bad that you'd have to get parts of your ear removed =/ It can happen with any piercing, really... and I can't imagine it's a fun experience.

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Reply #8:

Just a word of warning on Pierced Fish...their policy for defective jewelry requires you send back what they messed up, and pay for postage yourself. Considering the low prices, it becomes a greater expense to fix their mistake. Now, this happened to me one time out of maybe five, but it was the last time I shopped there. Customer service received a scathing letter, and I now go elsewhere. Just a little something to think about should you choose to shop there. My go-to site is now "Painful Pleasures", but be aware there may some content besides jewelry that the parents of a minor may disagree with.

I hope everything works out! Sorry to be a bit of rain on the parade. Good luck!

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Reply #9:

I've been shopping at PF for about 3 or 4 years and haven't ever received a wrong or defective item. I've made probably 6 orders [totaling maybe $200] so far this year alone and everything's been 100% right. I've never had a problem with anything customer service related. I suppose it's all about what you order though. Everything I've ever needed has been pretty straightforward and simple and hard to damage or even make improperly.

Other sites I've ordered from haven't been as reliable.

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