Piercing Care

Ear Piercing Types – After Care

One of the major causes of pain or even general discomfort during the whole ear piercing process is infection. While this often brings thoughts of puss filled wounds and swollen limbs – it is in fact a very common occurrence in body piercing. The infection may not even be visible or be little more than the area being slightly red and sore to the touch.

In most cases a small infection will be dealt with by your bodies natural anti-bodies. These will break down the infection and heal the tissue with the infection safely on the outside of the body – this leads to the infected tissue drying out and eventually breaking off from the body (normally in the form of a scab).

In severe cases an infection can cause long term (or even permanent) scarring and even amputation (although VERY unlikely). Some of the more common issues in severe infections can cause the area to swell up and become very difficult to clean – this can often mean that taking your piercing out for cleaning is very painful (with a number of people failing to be able to put the piercing back in due to the pain). Perhaps a more worrying issue amongst infections in the various ear piercing types is scar tissue forming as a result, this can vary from a fairly ‘low key’ skin coloured scar covered by your piercing jewellery, all the way up to raised keloid scars forming that will misshape the area.

The cause of infection

All ear piercing types are susceptible to various different forms of infection and so causes of that infection can vary. As a general rule, you need to keep your new piercing clean and out of harms way. While I am sure this sounds obvious and simple enough to do, it is important that you remember that bacteria that could potentially cause infection (or provide the environment for more dangerous bacteria to spread) can be found on almost any surface.

This is not however as bad as it may sound since the majority of this bacteria is ‘harmless’ or can be easily broken down by your body’s natural defences. As a general rule, bacteria will be on almost every surface you touch; your breakfast table, your car steering wheel, your pen, your pillow and CERTAINLY on your keyboard! The reason I tell you this is not to scare you but to stop people from obsessing about avoiding bacteria, the rule here is to live your life amongst bacteria but keep your body clean so that the bacteria cannot fester into something more dangerous.

Keeping all ear piercing types clean

Generally speaking the following items will make it easier for you to manage the cleaning of your new piercing:

  • Sea Salt
  • Antimicrobial or Mild Anti-Bacterial Liquid Soap/Wash (E.G Provon)
  • Cotton Balls
  • Cotton-tipped Swabs (cotton buds)
  • Small disposable cups (2-4 ounces)

Below is a general guide to cleaning your piercing:

  1. The first and possibly the most important step is to first wash and dry your hands thoroughly.
  2. Dip a cotton ball or cotton bud in warm water and gently wipe away any dried ‘bits’ from around your piercing.
  3. Work liquid soap into the piercing are and all over the areas of your jewellery that make contact with the piercing.
  4. Rinse the piercing and jewellery with warm water until all soap has been washed away.
  5. Finally, dry the piercing and surrounding area with a clean paper towel.

There are also options such as soaking your piercing in a sea salt solution that can help relieve pain and sterilize any infection.