I had my daughter's ears pierced last Nov. If she sleeps one night without the earrings, will her ears grow up overnight after almost a year?

I have been piercing people's ears for 20 years at Rothstein Jewelers of Beverly Hills. I use the gun (I sterilize it after every use). I recommend 91-99 percent isopropyl alcohol and Neosporin creme -get these into the ear hole and twist the earrings every day. This works- tried and true. You need to keep bacteria out of the holes! You need to keep your hands and ears clean! If you take the earrings out too soon, the holes can close up. Be patient and diligent.

There is some seriously bad advice floating around this discussion board! First of all - guns are cheaper, quicker, and more common at cheap accessory stores. They may "clean" them before, but you cannot properly disinfect a piercing gun because it would cause the plastic to melt in the disinfecting machine leaving lovely second-hand blood plasma all over them for the next lucky person, greatly increasing your chance for infection or disease spreading. Guns also cause trauma to your place of choice because of the force used. This can damage the tissue and cause scar tissue. The backing on the studs can harvest bacteria because of their shape. Professional piercers (who do not work at Claire's and never will) use studs with flush backs which also don't stab your neck. Second - hydrogen peroxide kills bacteria, yes, but it also kills white blood cells which are needed for your piercings to heal! Use an antimicrobial soap that contains no creams or moisturizers (I use neutrogena). Use saline solution on a q-tip to clean your ears or a sea-salt bath on the piercing site. Third - if your ear is infected, of you think it may be infected - do not take out the earring. The holes will close up and trap in the infection. It is best to leave it in, wait for it to heal completely and then take it out. Fourth - leave piercings in for at least three months to be sure the area has properly healed. Fifth - Turning your earrings will tear any new tissue and prolong healing. Sixth - White gold contains nickel and 25 percent of the population is allergic to nickel. Use pure metals or titanium - it is very important not to cheap out here! Cheaper is not better! Spend the extra money and save the suffering!! I learned ALL this the HARD WAY!!!!!

I've had my ears pierced 3 times already. should i get them pierced again? if so, how do I take care of them properly?

i need someone to really help me! is it ok if i don't clean it for like the two days after i pierced it? cause i went to pierce my ears, and i didn't have enough money to buy the antiseptic liquid thing. my friend is giving me a new bottle on tuesday, which is two days from now. but during these two days, i am scared that i could get an infection. what should i do?

i have just had my ear lobe pierced for the third time every time has been in the same hole. i have now had them in for about a month. these seem to be going much better. i would say that you should get your ears pierced with a gun because they *will* clean their hands and the gun before they pierce your ears. if you do it with a gun it is fast and almost painless. if you do it with a needle it is very painful and dangerous. anyway i say clean it twice a day -- once when you wake up and again before you go to bed. always use surgical spirit because it cleans your ears and hardens the skin around the hole. you need that to be hard so it is not painful and won't close up when you take out earrings. also always push the earrings back and forth to make sure the surgical spirit goes into the hold then twist the earring so that they don't stick. if it is your first piercing you should keep them in for up to 6 weeks. however if you're like me and it is your second or more time and you have had it done in exactly the same place you need to wait 8 weeks because the old scar tissue needs to heal up. if your ear gets infected just keep cleaning it every day and do not touch and it should clear up, or go to the doctor's and get some antibiotics. these are tablets to take that and clean out your body of any infection. if one or both of your ears is swelling up (this happened to me) all you do is get some ice cubes and hold one on either side of your ears and squeeze your ears until the ice melts. do this until the ear goes back to normal. it could take a couple days but it will be fine, i promise. just keep doing the ice before it embeds. if you do this your ears should be fine. ;D

I may have twisted my ear stud to much and it seems I can't feel the bottom of the stud. would it require surgery?

I am about to get them pierced. Is there anything else i need to know.

I got my ears pierced a little over three weeks ago. ever since i got them pierced one ear seemed as if it was a little more swollen than the other. i just figured that ear was fatter. but it's been very hard to clean because the earring is surrounded by the ear and there's no room to move it in and out like the other earring. i've also noticed because the earring sits on the piercing the hole in that ear is bigger, but when i woke up this morning the stud had gone into my ear. i've seen this happen to someone else before from wearing to small of studs so i just pushed it back out, then took the earring out completely. but should i be worried that the hole in that ear is much larger than it should be? should i just find longer earrings to put in that ear? or should i see a doctor or go back to claires?

Hi i got my ear periced a three days ago and it is still a bit red. is that normal?

i got my ears pierced about seven months ago and i occasionally use peroxide to clean them. I've tried rubbing alchohol which works really well, but i almost fainted because of the smell. I'm trying to take off my safety backings because i need to take them out to clean them and because i'm starting school next week and i can't wear my studs to P.E. One of my safety backings is almost off. It's right at the bottom of the earring and it's kind of locked there. I need help taking them off before next wednesday so someone please help me! oh yeah and if any people want to get their ears pierced i recomend getting 14 karat gold posts and backings too. or you can use white gold. sterling silver could infect your ears easily if they're sensitive. anyway, someone please help me with the safety backings please!

After taking out earrings and cleaning them thoroughly at the 3rd week mark, inmmediately put them back in the ears. I don't know about the spirit stuff, but I swear by hydrogen peroxide. Also, it may sound odd, but when a big "lump" developed in my right ear, after the 3rd week cleaning, I rubbed gold bond in (the green container), and it went right away! I then put the earrings back in, and no further problems.

i have my ears pierced and they were done about 3 weeks ago and i knocked my earring the other day with my hair brush. i carried on cleaning it, then yesterday it became swollen and red and sore to touch. i have been bathing it in surgical spirit. is that OK? also when i had my ears pierced the lady never told me to take my earrings out after 3 weeks and clean them and then put them back in? i'm really confused should i go to the doctor and find out if there's anything he can give me? also i'm going on holiday on thursday and i want it to have gone down by then. any suggestions welcome.

After three weeks when you take them out to clean, how long can you leave them out?

For ease in turning the earrings when newly pierced or crusted, use a dab of petroleum jelly, then turn gently. Also, try antiseptic mouthwash to cleanse the pierced holes.

anon38133, I had trouble with my first ear piercing, but not the next two. The next two I had done in a salon, and took really good care of my ears. Have it professionally done. Keep ears clean. Enjoy!

I need help guys. im a guy and i want to get my left ear pierced but im worried it might get infected like before because the last time ive had my ear piereced was 6 years ago and was infected and my aunt took it out and it closed up. so if i get done again would it be infected again

I have had my ears pierced 3 times. I have started each time to use the stuff from Claire's, but then went to hydrogen peroxide (*no* alcohol!) as it worked better. This last time, I took the earring out after 3 weeks. I cleaned my ears thoroughly with the peroxide, and also cleaned the posts completely. I then applied gold bond ointment to my ears and the posts, and put the earrings back in. My ears felt so much better, and I haven't had any problems with them. I would always recommend hydrogen peroxide, and I'd also recommend that midway "cleaning". I have *never* gotten any pus in my ears, and they haven't tried to close up because of the peroxide. Claire's told me not to use it this last time, too, but their stuff was not working and my ears were sore, and my right one had a big lump in it. So I started using the peroxide, and did the cleaning bit. No more soreness or lumps!

Do not use peroxide or alcohol. It makes the holes try to grow up. It's proven! Also, when they say guns are bad, they are wrong. Guns are proven to be the number one most sanitary way to get piercings.

I have had my ears pierced 4 times now. Every time, I just went to Claire's and I got the bottle and stuff. I always have gotten pure gold earrings, used their santiation stuff and peroxide and or alcohol.

But, after like 2 months, i get giant purple balls of puss on both ears.

This time, I'm going to extremes. The woman was really nice, and said that peroxide and alcohol were my problems before. They say to apply their stuff two times a day, the woman said to do it 3, but i'm doing it 4. I just got my ears pierced friday, and today is sunday! I am not going to go in the pools or ocean or anything because I am afraid of bacteria irritating it. My mom had her ears do the same thing her whole life and couldnt get them to be ok until age 34. Her ears are fine now, and my little sisters ears have always been fine. So this time, I'mnot going to use the stupid myth of peroxide and alcohol. I'll tell y'all how it goes! Just didnt want anyone to use that! Also, dont take them out for 6 weeks! guns are the best way to get them done! I recommend Claire's to everyone!!

By all means, take the earrings out and replace with something you're not allergic to.

im 15. i recently got my third holes done in my ears 3 weeks after i got my cartilage pierced. i've had my first hole since i was 6 weeks old and they never bothered me nor did it hurt when i got my second holes done when i was in 5th grade. my cartilage is fine but my third holes are sore inflamed and swollen. they do leak some pus and blood but they also are showing signs of embedding but the earrings are on the safety notch on the bar. i've been cleaning it with a 3 step remedy. i clean away and dry pus, skin or other stuff with rubbing alcohol then i do a warm salt water soak for 5 to 10 mins on each ear. the last thing i do is apply claires ear antiseptic to make sure it stays clean.

the lady who pierced my ears told me the earrings were sterling silver but the owner of the shop told my mother that the earrings she was going to use were surgical steel which irritates my ears but my mom didn't know. i want to know if its okay if i take the earrings out and change them if it will help with the fact that my ears are freaking out on me or will it just make the problem worse?

I just got my six year olds ears pierced today. I clean them like I've been told. However when I try to rotate them like they tell me it causes her lots of pain.. should I do this or not? I dont want to cause her pain but I want her ears to heal correctly.. Any advice?

Well, 35408, I disagree with you completely. I used the stuff from the salon, and it was not working. finally, I took the studs out, cleaned my ears completely with hydrogen peroxide, then used a little Gold Bond ointment, put the earring back in, and they never bothered me again. Also, I think it very unwise not to keep turning the earrings.

First, you should never clean a peircing with anything but a sterile sea salt and water mixture or you will get huge amounts of swelling and infection. You should never turn your earrings, it grinds scabs and infectious material into the wound. And it is unwise to ever take your earrings out for two months, the time it takes to fully heal.

Also, the guns used to do these piercings in stores are -bad-, horrible in fact. They only shove broken tissue into the sound and it essentially rots there in the wound, very often causing massive infection. They should -only- be done by a professional, in a studio, with stainless steel medical grade jewelry.

Clean your ears with hydrogen peroxide. It doesn't hurt to take the earrings out, do the cleaning, then put them back in. I did that, and my ears felt so much better. Also, you might "paint" the studs with clear fingernail polish. Or better yet, get the product L'Protect. It's sold on the internet; that's how I got it.

Hi, i pierced my own ear (cartilage) about a week and a half ago, and its become very peel-y and wet like puss stuff but other that that its fine i think :s but the only problem is i pierced it with a real gold earring but it broke so now im wearing some cheapy old thing not gold or silver (real) the color of it is silver, but i have never worn them, i thoroughly cleaned them with antibacterial spray and wipes. any advice?

I had my ears pierced twice, the first time was a horrible mistake and my ears just got infected and I had to take out the earring and it just closed up again, but the second time I pierced my ears, I was extra careful, and it was fabulous, at first I had to keep on the same earrings for four to six weeks, but now, I can change earrings as long as I want!

My ears used to get really sore after I'd worn the earring for awhile during the day.. Especially when I wore dangly earrings (which I love!), and they would swing back and forth. One day I was watching TV, and I glanced over at my tube of Gold Bond. (I swear by this stuff!) I impulsively rubbed some into the front and back of both my ear lobes. My ears *never* got sore again! I couldn't believe how well it works.

Also, I sometimes fall in love with "cheap" earrings. I used to use clear fingernail polish to "paint" the wires or studs, but now I use a product called "L'Protect" by Earrs.

The best advice is gotten from a piercer and not done with a gun but a hollow needle. Why ask a doctor or a chemist(which is the last person i would imagine going to)?

talk to someone who is a piercing professional.

A lot of people here are asking about itching ears. *Yes*, you can be allergic to gold. I wasn't when I first got my ears pierced several decades ago, but began reacting to gold earrings later. My ears itched but did not become infected. Eventually the diamond posts I wore the most became black around the post and began to thin as it seemed my body chemistry began to eat away at the post. If you are allergic to a metal in your ears, it is a safe bet you will react to it in your navel as well.

Most people's ears to grow back a thin layer of skin if they go a long time between wearing earrings. You may have to 're-pierce' the hole a bit to get the earring in. It may get angry and sore for a couple days, but infected? It's important to watch your hygiene with your earrings. If your hands or earrings are germy when there is a slight 're-piercing' then bacteria can get into that opening and begin to get infected. With proper care, an infected ear should clear up in a few days. Once that hole has opened up (bleeding) it is a good idea to keep good quality earrings in your ears until the infection is gone and they re-heal. Otherwise, you'll be tearing through skin every time you go back to wearing the earrings and starting the potential-infection process all over again. In the old days, we used rubbing alcohol and peroxide. Now they say that damages the metal in the earrings - and maybe it does. Most shops that pierce ears carry a sterilizing liquid for daily cleaning.

Sometimes after wearing the original piercing earrings for several weeks, it can tear the hole a bit when they are removed. One of the things it seems they don't tell you when they pierce your ears is that it is important to turn your earrings in your ears and slide them backward and forward. You don't want the hole healing with the earring exactly in one spot or it will tear your ear when you go to remove it for the first time.

Finally, even after having pierced ears for well over 30 years, my ears sometimes get mad and bleed a bit or even seem a bit infected. It is rare, but it can happen - especially with studs. It is easy to fasten studs too tightly, get a cheap metal, or just wrench the earring with your hair, pillow, etc. Just like cutting your finger, the earring hole will heal. If it takes more than 2 or 3 days I'd say you might want to see a doctor. I remember a friend who kept trying to get her navel piercing to heal and it just always looked angry and infected. This went on for weeks until it was just pretty gross and puffy looking. She was probably allergic to the gold or something and just kept wearing it. After a while it was positively sickening to look at, and I think that piercing eventually healed into a puffy mess. Yikes - not everyone can wear gold or silver. I have *never* had a reaction to surgical steel - but body chemistry is a funny thing and your body chemistry can change slightly (acid balance I'd guess) and your allergic reaction can go away or lessen. If you've got earrings that freak your ears out every time you wear them, it would be better to get rid of them than deal with the pain and mess of a chronic irritation and infection.

My sons recently got their ears pierced and they freak out whenever they see a bit of blood or pus. Relax, be smart about it, keep them clean and be a bit patient. It will be OK. Hope this helps.

i've had my ears pierced for one year now.

after approx one week after piercing, i took the studs out and wore clip-on earrings instead of the post types. i think it was put on too tight, so it was a little sore that night. the next morning i tried putting my trainer studs back on, it was too sore.

eventually i put the studs back in. then i wore just plain metal earrings and again ears got a bit sore. not sure whether it was because i wasn't used to dangling earrings. they weren't that heavy either. again i removed and put on studs.

then after that i kept on getting infections. i do use earcare spray, but it seems to get worse. recently, my ears got infected, when i tried to remove the studs, i accidentally poked a second hole through the back, so I've got three holes on my left ear lobe. what should i do?

ps i hardly take my earrings off and jst keep to the same one the past year without changing.

please help

I got my ears pierced by a doctor Friday. Yes, that includes numbing, needle, and etc.

Recently, my ears started to itch, but my ears aren't infected and the earring is at least 18k gold. Yes, I clean them. No I do not twist the earrings.

Any help?

The best thing to use when getting your ears pierced is a piercing gun and to get the chemist to do it. I got mine done 3 times, the 3rd one today. None of them hurt when they got done. The gun was clean and sterile so I have never had any problems with them.

Doing your own ears is dangerous and unclean. I have never had any problems with them because the chemist did them clean and quick with minimal pain. I always use a antiseptic spray on my ears for after care.

i got my ears pierced about 9 weeks ago. still sometimes they are swollen and have pus. my right ear is ok with every earring i have tried, but the left one keeps bleeding and is swollen all the time.

i have tried gold earrings, gold plated earrings, loops of threads and even silver, but nothing seems to work.

recently my right ear got better but the left one kept on bleeding and was swollen. i got pierced by a gun and i wore a stud for like 2 to 3 weeks, but no effect. we have also tried old remedies like putting onion fried oil onto the earlobe, but no effect. i have also tried antibiotic creams, but to no effect.

can u please help me?

I want to get my belly done, but i went on this web site and it said that it's best to have titanium or steel bc it's less likely to get infected. But when i got my ears done, i found out i can only wear gold or silver bc it gets infected.

What shall i do ?

I got my ears re-pierced with a needle at a local tattoo shop. Instead of a stud, they put in a small hoop. Kind of like the one you see on people who get their brow pierced (hoop with small ball in the middle). It has been over 15 years since I have worn any pierced earrings. I have had them done 6 times before I was 15 and they always became infected. After much research I have found out that you should *never* get them pierced with a gun. They cannot be sterilized therefore that is where a lot of infection comes from.

The guy at the tattoo shop told me that the best aftercare is to use 100% antibacterial soap, clean them and rotate them and to leave my hoops in for at least 1 month, before taking them out to change them. Just wanted to give my two cents on this issue due to the fact that I have had so many issues in the past with getting my ears pierced, but this time was different.

I would definitely recommend calling around tattoo/piercing shops to see their pricing (mine cost $40 total, usually varies from that price and up). Also, check and see what the age guidelines are (here in Kentucky, you can not be under the age of 13 to get a needle piercing, it is illegal. Other states may be different. It has something to do with getting a needle stuck through your ear being a form of minor surgery. Hope this helps any potential people looking to get a piercing done.

hey. I was wondering what type of metals are good for starters that do not stick. Would stainless steel be good? my friend said gold or silver only, but i wanna stay cheap.

i dont have to worry about any allergic reactions. im immune to having any allergies: never have had one, never will.

Emily I think you might be allergic to the stainless steal earrings and that might be why the doctor said it was an infection but I'm really sorry to say this but once you get an infection you can't really stop it. Just try to clean it every time you think about it and don't get any weird crap in it. Like don't get shampoo in it when you're taking a shower or something..

hey i got my ear pierced 2 days ago, they are now very swollen and red and has pus, it stings and i get a burning sensation. i went back to the people who pierced it and they said it was the stainless steal earrings that they pierced it with but the doctor said it was an infection? can anybody tell me whats wrong and how to treat it?

And for anon13346 I had to get surgery too on my first piercing. It was on my left ear. (I'm prone to ear infections on my left ear :[) and the backing of my earring was INSIDE of my ear and i went to the clinic to get it fixed and it was red after a while but i decided to be stupid and try sticking an earring in my ear. I think i got really lucky because it went through with like no problems. Now it's all good because I have an earring in. I think you can get another piercing but i really would suggest getting it done in a different place. because if you want to get it done in the same place, you would probably get an infection really easily. If you do get another piercing and you want to prevent infections use penicillin! It works! It's a pill that prevents any kind of infections. I hope that kinda helps you. If not i'm sorry i'm just a kid so i can't really help you that well..;]

my friend's dad just pierced my ears yesterday. He had bought a special gun thingy when my friend was born in the intention of doing her ears for her. (she got hers done about 2 months ago) he told me that all i needed to do was to keep them dry... im no so sure about that, because my friend got an infection after following his instructions. my mom said to just turn it and put rubbing alcohol on it. i've heard that sea salt and water is good too. which one is best?

they're not even red anymore, except when i touch them. i think they're doing fine so far, but i dont want to mess up...

I pierced my own ear, used a hot safety pin. the only cleaning i did was take a shower. I Then played with it continuously for 6 weeks, and it had pus leaking out it for about a week. after about 3 weeks i cleaned it with a warm cotton pad. now, 2 months on, its perfect. however, i dont recommend this method, as it has a 99% chance of infection. guess i just got lucky. happy piercing.

i just got my ears pierced 3 days ago. it is my first piercing and i am 16. i got titanium earrings, because i know im allergic to cheap metals-like some rings will turn my fingers green. but i have noticed that on my ear lobe behind the front of the earring my ear is actually like a purple color. i have no idea what this is, my ears dont itch and are not swollen or red or anything and they dont hurt. ive been cleaning them with the stuff they gave me for it. ive asked my friends and some of them think im allergic to the titanium and some said its a bruise. i have no idea what it is. should i take my studs out or leave them in? the purple color it only right behind the earrings it doesnt go beyond them. what is this purpleness on my ears?

honestly encouraging people to get pierced with a gun is a very very bad thing, needles are the only thing you should consider getting pierced with.

guns cannot be autoclaved so are not sterile no matter what anyone tells you, they cause blunt force trauma, scars and just aren't worse the risk.

oh and using a gun on anything besides a standard lobe is just a disaster waiting to happen!

i have six ear piercings; one in each lobe, two on right cartilage, one on left middle, and my tragus. here's the deal; when the people tell you to clean it and only twist it while cleaning, please listen. if you touch your new piercing all the time, it's guaranteed to get infected. only touch it with clean hands or, this means, when you clean your piercing. second, if it's a new cartilage piercing, sleep on your opposite side for a couple nights. third, if you have posts in your lobes and its causing your itching and burnings, you're allergic to the type of metal your earrings are made out of; look for "nickel-free" earrings because they are made for extra sensitive ears. if your piercing is infected, i've found it's okay to keep your earring in as long as you DON'T TOUCH IT or play with it, only when you clean it. you should clean it a couple more times a day. if they are infected, you can also try a piercing/tattoo parlor and ask for sea salt. you can mix sea salt with water to act as a cleanser. if you get a piercing at parlor, they usually give you little packets of sea salt. if you're having problems with getting the back of your earrings off, the back could be a little too small for the post, causing it to be hard to get off, or you can buy the clear, rubber backs which i find are the easiest back to work with, and decrease risk of infection.

I'd say that self-piercing is a great alternative for ear piercings. I did that about a year ago, and they've turned out great. As long as you sanitize what you use and keep your ear clean, it should be fine. All I used was rubbing alcohol, boiling water, and a needle. You boil the needle first and after that you let it soak in rubbing alcohol, swab down your ear, and pierce. It is really less painful than you would expect, and since you're in control of it, it usually turns out good.

Dear anon15757,

what you should do is take hydrogen peroxide and a cotton ball to clean it. Make sure you lift up the top of the earring when cleaning, and push the top down into the ear when cleaning the back. Wait about a day. If puss is still coming out of the ears, your best bet is that your ear is infected. You should take out the earrings immediately.

I got my ears pierced a few days ago and for three days now they have been red and swollen! They hurt a lot! It's my right ear by the way, I haven't taken my earrings out yet and I clean them 3 times a day. I got them done at Clarie's. They used a gun and I have post in. They messed up because both my earrings are slanted down and my left earring back part is at the bottom of my ear lob. I want to know why my right ear hurts so much! My mum said she will take me to the doctor after school tomorrow. (BTW I am 12) My earrings are on really tight too, The back is right up against my ear and worse is the front of my ear ring is sinking into my ears! I went to the nurse Friday to see if she could loosen them but she wasn't aloud to touch my ears. I try twisting the back left (While holding the front of the earring) but it feels like its getting tighter, please help they hurt like heck!

Hey people. I got my ears pierced to days ago it did NOT hurt at all. All i felt was wind. After a few second she put something with a cotton ball on it not sure what it is. She put that when we started the piercing also. When i sat down with my friend my mum was paying. My ear got a bit red and was burning alot. After a few hours it healed up. Now its all fine im twisting it and applying a spray thing 3 times a day it feels fine but weird. I was thinking to let 4-5 weeks pass till i take my studs of. I was thinking to buy a cheap earring after that. No more then $50 dollars. Do u recon it will have titanium or nickel?

twisting or moving your earring, or piercing in general is NOT good care. Your skin will not fuse to the metal in the piercing and irritating the sensitive skin can cause lumps that I think everyone would like to avoid.

I just got my ears pierced 6 weeks ago and I just took them out to put new ones in, but whenever I put in a new earring, it will never go through the back hole. I have to dig around in my ear with the earring to find the hole. It hurts when doing this but it goes in after 5 mins. Whats wrong?

i've had my newly peirced earrings for like 3 weeks and 3 days. and the only problem i've had with my ears, is my ear has itched. Only one of them though. It start happening, ehh, like maybe a week and a half ago. And idk if its infected or not cause its not red, or doesn't hurt, it just itches. my mom is gonna get me that antibiotic ointment for my ear and see if that helps. does that ointment really take it away, or is the itching a sign of slight infection? also. i got my ears pierced for the first time when i was 11. but after four days it got infected. But i'm 15 now, and have used the cleaner three times a day, u no, like after showering, running. when i wake up and before bed. are u more likely to get an infection if u already got an infection for previously peirced ears?

hi i ahv had my ear pierced today and it is a stud, but when i try to loosen it , it hurts because the gun put it nin to tight how do u tke studs off do u twist or do u pull??? and can i loosen it because it feels raw and it is red comment asappplz plz xxx

I just got my ear pierced today and it got knocked out while playing a sport. I quickly cleaned the hole with the cleanser that was prescribed to me and then I quickly put the earring back into the lobe with ease. The ear doesnt hurt, and there is minor swelling due to the fact that the earring got ripped out. Was it a smart move to put the earring back into the lobe after being taken out... even if the lobe and the earring was thoroughly cleansed with the disinfecting prescription?

i just got a newly pierced ear like a week now and i just got a swollen ear and its been swollen all day i'm worried it is infected b/c after my shower i found the puss was coming out....what should i do???

everyone heals differently. what I find best to do when piercings are healing is sea salt soaks twice a day for around three minutes *using warm water* you can use regular table salt if you want but do that and turn them a few times a day but always wash your hands before touching a fresh piercing! If not it could get infected. Do make sure to always have fresh pillow cases on your pillow. Another thing that helps with healing and reduces swelling is after you clean the piercing put ice on it for about ten minutes it also helps with the pain.

Hi, I need advice! I got my cartilages on one ear pierced in March and it's not July and I haven't taken the earring out. Simply because it wont come out! The "first earring" is so tightly clamped that I cant pull them apart to remove them from my ear! Any advice?? Its really sore and feels raw when I touch it...

I got 2 cartilage piercings done about 5 weeks ago and haven't had any problems. They were both done using a gun in the mall. I clean the piercings in the shower with antibacterial hand soap [bath & body works] and i apply the 'ear care' stuff they supplied twice a day with a cotton swab. Honestly, I haven't had pain since the first day, and it looks to be healing perfectly. I think its better to just clean them, turn them a few times, and leave it alone...

well i have kinda newly pierced earrings [5 wks.] and i took them out once to clean them [after 4wks] then just put them back in. it was fine...it hurt a little but whatever. but the thing is that i only took one out because i was afraid one would close. this was my second time getting my ears pierced because that one closed before. i had surgery on it when i was i was like 9 because i had a double earlobe. so now that ear lobe is thicker. should i wait longer than normal to take that one out or just do it the same?

I pierced my ear about a week ago from today. Today i decided to clean it like any other regular day and i saw there was some puss, but not a lot. So i decided to remove the backing but accidentally pulled out the the earring from my ear completely. It was so hard to try to put it back in and it bled a little. I got it back in and and it looked fine but a little red. Is it alright what i did and will it heal properly so i will be able to put in different studs later?

i have 7 piercings combined...i have 5 piercing all together on my lobes and 1 on my cartilage i also have my belly button pierced, none of which are infected.

when i first took my cartilage out it started bleeding and was also red what happened was that the gun they used to pierce my ear put it on too tight. putting the earring back in was painful because it wasn't completely healed so i ripped the inside of my ear the first time. when i took it out a few weeks later it was easier and less painful to take out and put back in.

my lobes didn't bleed at all but they were sore for once again the piercing gun put them on 2 tight. but you have to twist your earrings so that your earring won't get "stuck" make sure you move it also when you clean it so the cleaner gets all the way through your ear by moving it back and forth.

when i got my belly button ring done i was scared because i am allergic to steel. turns out what they used was surgical steel which i guess is different? but my body isn't allergic to it. make sure to soak it in a sea salt and water mix for 5 minutes about once a day to help it heal.

don't move this piercing!

ok, so i have two earrings in the bottom of each ear and my cartilage pierced as well. I had a needle for the cartilage and a gun for each bottom. ive had piercing eat the earring, had my ear grow over the backs, and every other thing you could think of happen. im kinda an expert now. this is what you do: first off, get the needle. second off, get it done professionally. buy 100% antibacterial soap. get cotton balls. a lot of them. mix 2 parts water and one part soap and clean your ears with it. and i mean drench them. then, just using the soap and a q-tip, push your earring forwards so the back is still on but you can see the post of it. clean it. if soap stays on the post, good. leave it on for like... 15 minutes and then rinse it with your mixture again. turning your earrings, is a good thing. dont do it excessively though. only in the morning, at night before bed, and when your cleaning. some crusty things are normal. pus is an infection, use one of the creams described above BUT wash it off with your same mixture i told you about. good luck!

I have had my ears pierced about three years ago and have had to get surgery because my ears "ate" them and was a big, gross-looking mess. I am now considering to get my ears pierced again, but I am very unsure and confused on how to take care of them. Should I twist or pull them back and forth, use prescribed peroxide or antibacterial ointment, have it pierced with a needle or gun?? I dont want to end up with elephant ears again:(

I just got my second hole done (on my ear). And trust me the best thing to do is to clean the ear around the hole with the special cleaner that the place you got it done gives out. Twist the stud after you clean it, but don't do it with your bare hand (so you don't get an infection). I have found no problem with the gun, but I have never gotten it done with the needle so I really can't compare.

okay. i just peirced my ear about three days ago it is super red and hurts like crazy, how long does it take before it starts to calm down a bit?

About six weeks have gone by since I got my ears pierced. Is it all right to wear earrings that aren't post earrings now? Will the piercing not continue to heal correctly if I don't wear post earrings?

What type of metal post earring did you have? You may have had a allergic reaction to that metal.

I just got my ears pierced about 2 months ago and the back was filled with gunk. When you take them out it might hurt a little. I did not twist mine enough and they were hard to take out. I just started wearing new ones though and when you take them out and replace them you want to make the earring go straight though the hole otherwise the earring will poke you somewhere in your ear and that will hurt! Take good care of your ears!!!!!!!!

I had my ears pierced today. Now, after checking the web sites, I'm more confused than ever. Twist the stud, Don't twist, Use Alcohol, Use medical grade soap only, use antibiotic ointment, don't use ointment, use Peroxide, Don't use Peroxide, it dries. oh my, My Virgin ear lobes are compromised forever and right now I'm praying I don't grow grapefruit size infections.

Never use hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, or antibiotic ointment on a fresh piercing. These are all unacceptable treatments for a puncture wound (which, as someone has already pointed out, is essentially what a piercing is). Never allow yourself to be pierced with a gun/starter stud. Even if the whole operation is sterile, which is doubtful with this method, the gun/starter stud causes more damage to your ear (crushes the flesh) than a simple needle piercing (glides right through). Furthermore, a starter stud does not allow the fresh piercing room to swell, and traps bacteria between the earing and the flesh (particular at the back). A captive ball ring, commonly used by professional piercers, allows space to swell, room to breathe, and can be cleaned thoroughly while healing. Also, a stud is not necessary for "turning" the fresh piercing. A captive ball ring can be moved back and forth through the piercing, causing less irritation than the "turning" of a starter stud. Talk to a professional piercer.

If your earlobes become sore and inflamed when you remove the starter earrings and start wearing other earrings, after they had previously healed from the piercing, it's usually because you are allergic to nickel. (14K gold earrings contain nickel.) In that case, you may have to wear only earrings that are labeled "nickel free." Sometimes it works as long as the posts and backs are nickel free. Or wear other earrings only for a few hours before switching back to nickel free. I've discovered that I can wear my beautiful 14K gold diamond earrings for just a couple hours at a time.

Hydrogen peroxide dries a new piercing out; piercing guns can not be sterilized (not even a sharp point earring is better than a needle), ointment or cream will not allow the piercing to breath. It is not meant for puncture wounds, which is what a piercing is. Twisting it irritates it.

And by the way, yes, it did hurt when I removed the diamond earring after three days. I was a little gruesome. Let's leave it at that.

I had my ears pierced over 20 years ago and seldom wore earrings. When I did, my left ear would become sore and sometimes inflamed. I didn't give it much thought, but in the back of my mind I knew that it hadn't healed properly. This Valentine's Day my husband bought me expensive diamond stud earrings with a screw back. OK. Let me tell you, my left ear grew around the screw...I kept them in my ears for three days without taking them out because I loved them so much. Now I am treating my ears, especially the left ear, as if they are newly pierced. I went out and bought a pricey pair of studs without screws and plan to follow the procedure posted on this site. I want my ears to heal, but I also want to wear my diamonds! Thank you for the advice!!

My ears were pierced when I was a baby at about 2 years old. I am now 17 and have rarely worn earrings throughout my life (ironic), maybe once every 2 years, but my holes have never closed up. I've recently worn earrings a lot though for special occasions and my right earlobe is very puffy and itchy and when I last pulled the earring out it hurt and was very sensitive. There was blood and a kind of pus on the earring's bar, the part that sticks in the ear.

How should I care for this one earlobe?

if you continuously wear your earrings after getting them pierced for only a month, then have to take them out for a couple hours, is it likely that you holes will close up?

how do u know if you're allergic to silver in your ears? if you are, does it mean u will be allergic to silver in your belly button? if so can u just were white gold?

i pierced my ear more than 2 months ago, i believe, and didn't take them out until now... now i think that it was a big mistake.I thought it would be better if i kept it on longer..Anyways, when i took my earrings off for the first time,i saw blood come out of the holes and it was red only on the back of my ear. When i tried putting on new earrings it really hurt. Now it's okay but it feels weird when the earring sometimes shake. I didn't want to wear the post earring again because it's sharp on the end.I thought it would hurt even more if i tried to put them on my ear. I don't know if i should take out my earrings often of not. Plus i'm worried it might hurt every time i take them out. Any suggestions? oh yea my sister pierced her ear with me but nothing's wrong with hers. she did take her earrings out a little earlier but it was still after one month had passed. So why is this happening to only me?