Nipple crustiessss
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Wednesday October 10th, 2007 @ 9:42 PM
Filed under: Nipple, Piercing
Hi there,
I got my nipples pierced in the early part of this year (the first one in March, the second in April). They are still forming crusties and recently the second of the two formed bloody crusties (I know, pleasant!). I took them both out last night to clean the bars and the nipples themselves and the smell was awful! I go through all the aftercare rituals as I should and can’t work out what the problem is, any ideas? Thanks a lot!
In order to troubleshoot this problem correctly, more information is required. We would need to know what gauge (thickness the jewelry is) to evaluate the situation better. If we are to simply go by the law of averages, I’d be inclined to say the barbells you have in your nipples are 14ga. From there however we need to determine what metal the jewelry is made out of: A) Stainless Steel or B) Titanium; as well as if it’s implant grade material or not, with a mirror finish.
Also what are the current aftercare rituals that you’re going through? As there are many different views on aftercare techniques.
To give a simplistic answer to your question “crusties” are quite often a mix of dead skin cells, body oils(sweat,etc) combined together. This occurs when the body realizes it has foreign material in the body, so it generates skin cells to seal up the hole. But due to the fact that you have jewelry is in the body, that matter has no other option but to expel from the wound.
As for the bleeding this is why I asked about the gauge size. The reason being because if it’s too thin a piece of jewelry and are prone to catching it, playing with it,etc then tears can occur resulting in the creation of the skin cells (crusties) as well as bleeding due to the irritation/tearing.
Everyone’s anatomy is different some people require 14ga jewelry, while others might require 12ga or 10ga+. It’s all based on the individuals development of their nipple.
As for aftercare protocols the best option is to use a very simple mild liquid castile (vegetable oil) based soap in the shower. As well as using a Sterile Saline Wound Wash (Blairex Wound Wash).
If the problem persists after all this I’d be inclined to suggest stretching to a larger size barbell then what you currently have and make sure the jewelry being used is Internally Threaded Implant Grade Stainless Steel or Implant Grade Titanium with a mirror finish.
Also if the bleeding and crusty matter is developing overnight, you might want to try wearing a snug shirt while sleeping. As you might be catching it on the bedsheets while you move around in your sleep at night. Also look to clothing that you are wearing that might be the cause of this irritation as well.
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6 Responses to “Nipple crustiessss”
ak, hope the ‘taking it out’ isn’t part of the ‘usual afercare’
cicatrix on October 11th, 2007 at 2:25 amI would assume based on how I read the statement, that the individual who posted the question, took them out recently for the very first time.
Based on the time frame in which they stated. There’s nothing that can really pose a risk of removing the jewelry at this point to try and give everything a good clean rinse/clean. So long as they are not left out for a long period of time.
But based on the smell,etc I’d assume that soaking perhaps wasn’t a method of aftercare…As usually soaking for 5-10 minutes will enable the saline solution to get in the pierced location and flush the wound out.
Warren on October 11th, 2007 at 4:44 amum, vegetable oil soap? I thought the writers of the QOD established long ago that soap is too harsh for irritated or healing piercings, and just a basic sea salt solution was bar far the best aftercare method.
Bethany on October 11th, 2007 at 6:22 pmMy 14ga. nipple piercings still form light crusties daily. I’m guessing this is something that will be happening for the life of the piercing. I don’t worry about it too much.
Elaine on October 11th, 2007 at 11:13 pmthis same thing was happening to me after like a year…I had 10g industrial strength ss internally threaded barbells, yet if you just moved them a little bit the horrible death smell would come out…and I always had bloody crusties. I switched to ptfe barbells and the smell went away completely, but the bloody crusties never have. this is 4 years later…
julia on October 12th, 2007 at 8:55 amBethany: You need to maintain a good body hygiene, that means shower. That means you need to use a soap as the soaps friction helps remove excess body oil, sweat, debris,etc.
With the soap you shower your body, like you normally would, just with something VERY mild…You don’t actively put it directly on the piercing and work it in or anything like that…You shower your body like you normally would, the vegetable based soap is as mild and gentle as you’re going to get. Before exiting out of the shower you take a couple extra seconds to make sure the water fully rinses off the body and exit the shower, reaching for a FRESH/CLEAN towel.
Again you use it in the shower to clean your body, not your piercing. If you shouldn’t use soap, there’d be A LOT of funky smelling people in the world.
The problem with sea salt & water solutions is that you are unable to measure by volume, so the measurements are NEVER precise. Basing on averages, it will be fine to use and can most definitely be use. However if you’re capable of obtaining STERILE Saline Wound Wash such as Blairex Wound Wash, you can use that as well. Because with these types of products its pure sterile saline and its unable to be compromised and contaminated.
Elaine: Piercings will gather crusties occasionally/daily. One option is making sure that the jewelry you’re using is high quality internally threaded jewelry, with an immaculate mirrored polish, in your nipples. Sometimes this can reduce the amount of crusty matter that forms, but yes they often will occasionally be producing this matter due to dead skin cells, body oils sweat,etc.
Warren on October 12th, 2007 at 9:51 amLeave a Comment