Cheek piercings gone wrong!
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Wednesday February 6th, 2008 @ 1:15 AM
Filed under: Lip/Cheek
I had my cheeks pierced for 16 months, but around month 14 or so, I developed a some discoloration around my right cheek piercing, and the tissue surrounding it became hard. Over the next month, the area continued to become red and hard, and it appeared that there was a lot of trapped fluid underneath the skin. I came to the conclusion that it must be an abscess or a cyst, so I went to the doctor and she put me on antibiotics. The hard “lump” never went away, so I went to my body modification artist and he took a scalpel and cut the lump, which drained green & clear infectious fluid [yummy!] I also took both piercings out. Luckily, this seems to have done the trick.. the area has drained over the course of 3 days and is back down to its normal size. I am trying to heal the cut with neosporin, so the scarring will be minimal.
My question is, is it possible for me to get my cheeks re-pierced through the scar tissue? Will this pose an even greater risk/ complications? If I can get them re-pierced, how soon?
What steps can I take to ensure that I don’t develop another abscess/ cyst? Is his a rather common problem for cheek piercings?
Thank you for your time!
While there are many people out there with well-healed cheek piercings, they are somewhat notorious for being problematic and/or delicate. While more “extreme” issues like yours aren’t the norm, many people find their cheek piercings are prone to become irritated and swollen very easily, for a very long period of time.
Given the various anatomical structures in that part of your face, and the considerable movement cheek piercings are subjected to, abcesses, cysts and fluid build-up are a risk.
In my opinion, if you had this sort of problem once, and you have the piercings re-done in the same location…I think you will have an increased chance of the problem happening again. If you were my client, I would suggest waiting at least 6 months, and then would evaluate the scar tissue at that point.
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3 Responses to “Cheek piercings gone wrong!”
I just went to the doctor today out of despiration.I think I have the same problem as you had.My right cheek isnt that bad..it has a marble size lump under the skin and oozzes green (ew),but it doesnt hurt,smell and it isnt red.However,my left cheek is another story.Its red and swollen/hard I’d say about a half inch around the piercing.The other night when i was cleaning it it bled alot,alot of pus came out and what was even more horrifieing is that when I cleaned all this away I could see that a lille of the skin around the stud had died alowing a small piece of yellow flesh to pop out of my face!what could this be?do I need to have my piercer cut me open?(my doctor told me to take out the piercings and gave me anibiotics…today when i cleaned my left cheek the little piece of flesh was gone)
kim on February 19th, 2008 at 12:55 pmI’m a piercer myself and cannot offer you much on the problems you are going through, Ive had my cheeks done for about 3 months now. This is the second time, im developing hardened scar tissue on the left side, im not swollen and it isnt oozing so to say, its only noticeable until I smile. Im on here now looking for answers. i’ll check back and let you know if i find anything. But was that the first step before the lumps you were noticing?
Tori on May 15th, 2008 at 2:53 amI’m having the same stupid problem. No pain, very very little pus. but a small lump about the size of a marble =[. I have never had a professional piercing done before but as far as facial piercings i have a had great success. I guess it’s about time I get unlucky. I have My Monroe, a center labret, and a piercing on each side of my lip and one that goes straight through my lip. I Don’t ware them all together that would look silly =P but i really really love this piercing on my cheek. I just need to get rid of the bump! I never use antibiotics unless absolutely necessary but I decided that it was now necessary and just started applying tea tree oil (a very very light concentration) and Terramycin. If it helps I will let everyone here know since it seems to be happening to others. I am considering taking a syringe and just removing the fluid that way. If anyone else has luck post it. Because I don’t want to lose the piercing and I’m sure others feel this way was well.
Morpheus on October 13th, 2008 at 12:48 pmLeave a Comment