The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.

Piercing isn't healed.

Food?Food? Registered User regular
edited July 2007 in Help / Advice Forum
I got my cartilage pierced in my left ear last August, and it's still not healed. I clean it every other day (since it's mostly healed), but just last week it got really irritated. A bump formed on the front, and it got crusty and all that. I woke up today and it's back to normal, but it's still obvious that after 10 1/2 months, it remains un-healed. Now, I've never taken it out to try and clean the inside of the hole itself, as neither my friends nor I can figure out how to get it off (it's a hoop with a ball on it; the ball won't unscrew, and we can't seem to get it to pop off either). Suggestions?

gr_smile2.gif
Food? on

Posts

  • liquidloganliquidlogan Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Go back where you got it pierced and ask them. Seriously, they would know best. They should be able to take it off.

    liquidlogan on
  • Bouncing_SoulBouncing_Soul Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Those rings are a bitch, the ball should have two little dimples in it and is held in the ring by tension.

    It's possible to spread the ring ever so slightly with needle nose pliers, I'm not sure I'd do it by yourself though.

    The ball is even more fun to get back into the ring. God damn that shit was a pain in the ass when I had my eyebrow pierced.

    Bouncing_Soul on
    Umlauf.gif
    Buy some useless stuff at my Cafepress site!
  • Dublo7Dublo7 Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Aren't you supposed to have a bar/stud when you first get your ear pierced?
    That's what I got, and I never had any problems.

    Dublo7 on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • ege02ege02 __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    Go see a doctor. It can be something serious. Even if it is not, they can tell you what to do to get it healed.

    P.S. Also, you're pretty stupid for getting a piercing in the first place.

    ege02 on
  • ShogunShogun Hair long; money long; me and broke wizards we don't get along Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Dublo7 wrote: »
    Aren't you supposed to have a bar/stud when you first get your ear pierced?
    That's what I got, and I never had any problems.

    It depends on the place. I got my ears pierced a couple months ago and he used the same thing the OP has, with the ball in the middle held by tension. Yes, those are bitch and a half to get in and out, which is why I switched to studs.

    What do you use to clean the wound, OP?

    Shogun on
  • EndomaticEndomatic Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    My ear used to crust up a lot, for quite a long time. I just kept cleaning it and de-crusting eventually it just healed.

    Endomatic on
  • ShogunShogun Hair long; money long; me and broke wizards we don't get along Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Also OP a piercing can take up to a year to heal. Even something as simple as an ear lobe can take a long time. Cartilage takes even longer usually at least a year to heal completely.


    edit: Quality post, Ege.

    I mean, damn, that was classy.

    Shogun on
  • Erayc3rErayc3r Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    ege02 wrote: »
    Go see a doctor. It can be something serious. Even if it is not, they can tell you what to do to get it healed.

    P.S. Also, you're pretty stupid for getting a piercing in the first place.



    wow your an ass.

    anyways on to the OP

    Id try getting some new jewelry for it , do you know if you may be allergic to the jewelry you got pierced with? I would also make sure to clean the piercing with some sea salt solution as much as possible. If all that fails I would just take it out.

    and yes I have my ears gauged/ pierced .

    Erayc3r on
  • Dublo7Dublo7 Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Endomatic wrote: »
    My ear used to crust up a lot, for quite a long time. I just kept cleaning it and de-crusting eventually it just healed.

    That happened to me. I believe that's pretty normal.

    And yes, it will take Cartilage longer to heal completely.

    Dublo7 on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • ShogunShogun Hair long; money long; me and broke wizards we don't get along Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Erayc3r wrote: »
    ege02 wrote: »
    Go see a doctor. It can be something serious. Even if it is not, they can tell you what to do to get it healed.

    P.S. Also, you're pretty stupid for getting a piercing in the first place.



    wow your an ass.

    anyways on to the OP

    Id try getting some new jewelry for it , do you know if you may be allergic to the jewelry you got pierced with? I would also make sure to clean the piercing with some sea salt solution as much as possible. If all that fails I would just take it out.

    and yes I have my ears gauged/ pierced .

    The ring he has in right now should be surgical steel. OP do you spin the ring inside the piercing at all?

    Shogun on
  • Regina FongRegina Fong Allons-y, Alonso Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    I had an ear cartilage piercing that was exactly as you described. I had it nearly two years and it never fully healed - but it also was never infected. When I joined the Navy I had to remove it, and it healed rapidly without any negative effect whatsoever.

    But the symptoms were just exactly as you describe, complete with the bump that got crusty and then went away, and the mild irritation from time to time.

    There is no need to go to the doctor unless the piercing actually becomes infected, and a doctor will always advise you to remove the piercing, even if it isn't infected. That's just how doctors are*. I highly recommend going back to the piercer if you have questions or problems. Believe me, a piercer doesn't want to be sued into oblivion, so if there is a real problem they will send you to the doctor. But they also want your piercing to stay, just like you, so if it doesn't actually *need* to come out, they won't automatically tell you to pull it out, which like I said, a doctor will.



    *There are a few doctors who are not outright hostile to body modification, and if you find one then you're lucky, they are rare.

    Regina Fong on
  • Aoi TsukiAoi Tsuki Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Dude(s), doctors may tell him to take the piercing out, but that doesn't mean that

    1. He'd then have to take it out when it might just be an issue with healing time, or

    2. It wouldn't perhaps be a good idea to see a licensed medical professional in either case.

    Going back to ask the piercer first is your best bet, because it doesn't sound like a really serious problem. It CAN be, though, if you've never cleaned the inside; ask the piercer to show you how to do that. Hygiene is your best friend when it comes to maintaining unhealed wounds of any kind.

    Aoi Tsuki on
  • DisenchanterDisenchanter Magnolia, DERegistered User regular
    edited July 2007
    those rings (capture ball) are a favorite of piercists to use, and the OP having one is a good sign, means he didn't go to piercing pagoda to get the cartilage done with a gun.

    As far as the piercing not being healed, since the blood flow to your cartilage is minimal it takes a long time to heal, and can easily become infected. To help with the healing, DO NOT USE ALCHOHOL ever on any piercing. Lather up some anti-bacterial hand soap on a q-tip and swab your ear around the piercing and swap the ring and spin it in your ear to make sure the soap gets distributed. Usually advisable to do this right before a shower, which allows you to almost totally rinse off the soap (remember to spin the ring again to get the remaining soap out). Otherwise you have to find another way to rinse off the soap (the excess can lead to infections and slowed healing).

    The most common issue with a cartilage piercing is a "bubble", which usually only happens when the piercing is done with a gun. If you get a bump at the piercing site (front or back of your ear) and it does not go away in a couple days. Take out the ring and pray, that bump can lead to your cartilage becoming mis-aligned and growing over itself, sometimes resulting in an "elf ear" or a keloid (sp?) which requires surgery to remove (that is, if your do not want a twin growing on your ear, mine got to be about 1.5 inches wide).

    Also, just about any dermatologist (yes thats the one you ahve to see about piercing issues) will call you a dumb ass and tell you the problem is you got a piercing.

    Disenchanter on
  • ege02ege02 __BANNED USERS regular
    edited July 2007
    jeepguy wrote: »
    *There are a few doctors who are not outright hostile to body modification, and if you find one then you're lucky, they are rare.

    I think a more correct term is "mutilation". After all, we're talking about piercing yourself with a metal object for the hell of it.

    ege02 on
  • Erayc3rErayc3r Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    ege02 wrote: »
    jeepguy wrote: »
    *There are a few doctors who are not outright hostile to body modification, and if you find one then you're lucky, they are rare.

    I think a more correct term is "mutilation". After all, we're talking about piercing yourself with a metal object for the hell of it.


    Seriously , did you read the OP ? This isnt a discussion on piecings and your feelings on it. Obviously you dont have any , compounded with your retarded comments youve done nothing to help here. Find another thread to troll.

    Anyways.....

    Ive found this website is a pretty good collection of information for piercing , its pretty much all user generated content. But all in all its good reading on the subject.

    http://www.bmezine.com/pierce/bme-pirc.html

    Erayc3r on
  • Food?Food? Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Yeah, I went to a professional piercing/tattoo parlor, so they used a needle and a hoop vs. a stud and a gun (like a mall department store would). I assume it's either surgical steel or silver, but they never told me. It cost $40 for the earring, and the piercing was free (or something like that); if that price suggests anything to anyone, feel free to say what it means.

    To clean the wound, I used Band-Aid bran antiseptic.
    Shogun wrote: »
    OP do you spin the ring inside the piercing at all?

    Not usually, when I got it pierced they told me to pretty much not touch it. They said that my skin won't stick to the ring, so spinning it wouldn't do anything except hurt. However, when I clean it, I usually first clean the area immediately surrounding the ring, then rub the ring with antiseptic and spin it, hoping that some of the liquid will stay on the ring and clean the inside of the hole as it passes through.

    And ege02, go away. I don't need to be lectured about a decision that a) I made almost a year ago, and b) I would not have asked your opinion on in the first place.

    Food? on
    gr_smile2.gif
  • -Spitfire--Spitfire- Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Everything I learned about body piercing and the healing therof I learned from these guys.

    I got an Industrial piercing (ie, two upper-ear piercings connected by a long bar) about a year and a half ago that still flares up sometimes if I accidentally bash it really hard, but is pretty much all better now. The Chamomile tea thing really worked, go figure. I suggested the same thing to a friend of mine who was having a problem with his lip piercing, and it cleared it right up in a few days as well - so it might be worth a try.

    I wouldn't suggest taking the ring out unless you intend to leave it out for good - especially if the area is already irritated. It will be a lot harder to get back in, and cause unnecessary discomfort and aggravation to the wound.

    -Spitfire- on
  • Regina FongRegina Fong Allons-y, Alonso Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    -Spitfire- wrote: »
    Everything I learned about body piercing and the healing therof I learned from these guys.

    I got an Industrial piercing (ie, two upper-ear piercings connected by a long bar) about a year and a half ago that still flares up sometimes if I accidentally bash it really hard, but is pretty much all better now. The Chamomile tea thing really worked, go figure. I suggested the same thing to a friend of mine who was having a problem with his lip piercing, and it cleared it right up in a few days as well - so it might be worth a try.

    I wouldn't suggest taking the ring out unless you intend to leave it out for good - especially if the area is already irritated. It will be a lot harder to get back in, and cause unnecessary discomfort and aggravation to the wound.



    This is very true and a good point. Once you remove jewelry from an unhealed piercing, you're done. Just leave it out. Trying to put it back in afterwards will traumatize the tissue and then the fucker will never heal right. At that point you are better off leaving it out, letting it heal, and trying the piercing again at a later date - in the case of a cartilage piercing, a much later date because that area heals slow, if it were a tongue or nose piercing you could get it re-pierced in a month or even less, cartilage I'd give six months once the piercing was out before trying it again.

    Regina Fong on
  • HolyHesusHolyHesus Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    a cartilage piercing takes about a year.

    HolyHesus on
  • AtomBombAtomBomb Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    Not sure if this is really helpful, but I don't know much about the subject. I do know (from helping my wife with her piercing) that it is MUCH EASIER to remove the ball from those tension type rings than it is to put it back in. At least in my experience.

    AtomBomb on
    I just got a 3DS XL. Add me! 2879-0925-7162
  • Regina FongRegina Fong Allons-y, Alonso Registered User regular
    edited July 2007
    HolyHesus wrote: »
    a cartilage piercing takes about a year.


    The piercing yes, I was refering to healing time after the piercing is removed, which is much faster.

    Regina Fong on
Sign In or Register to comment.