Thursday June 4th, 2009 @ 3:02 PM
Filed under: Ear
I got an industrial piercing in each of my ears over 2 monthes ago, but they still don’t seam healed. i followed the piercers instructions and washed them every day with anti-bacterial soap, and bactine. and did this for about the first month or so. when i realized they werent making any progress in healing, i decided to cut back on the cleaning. They have had big lumps on the entry and exit holes of all 4 holes for pretty much this whole time. these aren’t quite as bad on the left ear, but are very noticable on the right. i’m not sure why they aren’t healing. they don’t really hurt unless pressure is applied. but they still get extremely crusty, and one hole is very scabby. im not sure if they’re keloids or hypertrophic scarring or what they are. is there anything i can do to help get rid of this unsightly lumps? or am i doomed to ugly industrials?
(P.S. my girlfriend got an oribital in each ear less than a month ago and they never once swelled up or got weird lumps or anything!)
If you have read much on BME you would realize hardly any reputable piercers recommend soap and none of them recommend bactine. So the first thing to do is cutting out all that nonsense and using the gentler Sea Salt Soak approach (easily searched). Chances are this piercer also used crummy jewelry and more than likely didn’t quite get the angles right either. In all likelihood, these piercings are probably lost causes, but if you want to try and salvage them, immediately switch aftercare routines and seek out a more educated piercer to check them out in person.
+15 / 17 votes 
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Posted by Sean Philips | Permalink | Comments
Thursday May 28th, 2009 @ 10:11 PM
Filed under: Ear
Hey there,
I wrote back in August about a misbehaving Snug. I took it out within a week of the suggestion being made. That said, I’ve got a few questions. I’d like to have it repierced but I know that cartilage doesn’t grow back like skin, in fact, I can still feel a bit of a ‘divet’ where the piercing used to lie. Is repiercing a snug in the same spot (with a better piercer and different jewelry) a typical option?
If the placement and angle of the piercing is good, there is no reason why you can’t have it pierced in the same spot.
-1 / 7 votes 
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | Comments
Thursday May 28th, 2009 @ 9:53 PM
Filed under: Ear
I have been working on gauging my ears and today I tried going from an 8g to a 6g. I tried putting the 6g in my right ear without any lube (I forgot..lol) and I was massaging it and working it all the way through. I finally got it out the other side and when I looked at the back of my ear, there was a flap of skin around the plug. So I decided to pull it back out because I have had this happen before.
(The first time it happened was when I went from a 12g to an 8g. There was a flap on each ear. I didn’t go back to the 12g, I just kept my ears clean with salt water everyday. No blowout.)
So when I pulled the 6g back out, the skin that was hanging out the back ripped off and came with it. These plugs have a small indention on each end for an o-ring to fit around and the skin caught on it and ripped it out. My ear bled for a few minutes, nothing too serious, and I waited till it quit bleeding and used moisturizing lotion on my ear and massaged it back through with no more skin flap on the back of my ear.
My question is, I have done this before with the flap and I didn’t get a blowout. What can I do now to prevent a blowout from occurring? Just clean it daily with salt water and use lotion on it?
Thanks in advance
I’m going to hazard a guess that you didn’t wait long enough after your disastrous earlier stretch. Just because you got lucky the first time - and that most certainly was luck rather than good judgement - doesn’t mean you will get lucky again. Downsize and let your ear heal. Once your ear has healed, give it at least eight weeks before you stretch back to 6g. Messing your ears up in the early stages of stretching can interfere with the general health of your lobes further down the line and may limit the potential for going large. Don’t bother with lotions at this stage. Concentrate on twice daily seasalt soaks until it is fully healed. Lotions are best to maintain healthy lobes, not fix damaged ones. Once again, there is plenty of info out there in cyberspace on correct stretching techniques. Do your research, folks.
+9 / 13 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 9 Comments
Wednesday May 20th, 2009 @ 5:03 PM
Filed under: Ear
I just got my industrial piercing last week, and the piercer told me to use anti bacterial soap to clean it. I was wondering if I could use H2Ocean or if I should just stick to using the soap?
Given the choice between antibacterial soap and using H2Ocean, I’d get a jug of distilled water and some kosher sea salt and make my own solution. 
+26 / 26 votes 
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Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | 1 Comment
Sunday May 17th, 2009 @ 4:30 PM
Filed under: Ear
After a year of having three pinna piercings with surgical steel, they still aren’t healed, and sometimes very sensitive.
My doctor recommends removing the piercings, because the skin is around them is visibly inflamed, raised, about the size of ball bearings. I really would like them to heal properly finally.
Can you recommend anything to help me?
I am going to hazard a guess that by ‘pinna’ you mean ear cartilage as pinna is the medical term used for the outer structure of the ear and not just the rim. Ear cartilage piercings can take on average a year to fully heal but the raised tissue you describe is a sign of irritation. Three piercings of this nature, in my opinion, is alot to heal in one go. You may find that if you remove one, the other two will settle down. However, it is worth looking at your aftercare regimen (information on correct aftercare can be found on this site), the type and quality of the jewellery and any other factors that may annoy your piercings (hair products, sleeping etc). With angry piercings, it really is a process of elimination.
+9 / 11 votes
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Posted by Tiff Badhairdo | Permalink | 4 Comments
Tuesday March 17th, 2009 @ 4:35 PM
Filed under: Ear
My earlobes are currently 1″ and I love them dont get me wrong but it definitely does not help the career process, i want to pursue a career and I feel my earlobes are hindering the process so I am wondering where (in southern california, riverside to be exact) I can find a doctor or someone certified to fix earlobes that can completely close my earlobes up back to normal? I want them closed and I have no idea where to start, or who to contact.
This is a pretty simple one- if you’re looking for a licensed medical doctor to fix your lobes- start calling up plastic surgeons in your area- explain what’s going on and you’re guaranteed to find someone who can help you out.
+5 / 7 votes
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Posted by Shawn Porter | Permalink | 2 Comments
Monday March 9th, 2009 @ 2:49 PM
Filed under: Ear
Hullo!
I’ve recently been having problems with my stretched lobes that I can’t figure out. I haven’t stretched them in atleast 6 months nor have I changed the type of jewellery I’m using for over three year. (New sizes, obviously, but always the same type..) Yet they’re suddenly (Well, for the past month..) ithcy, red, flaking, gunky and leaking a clear fluid. :/ Sometimes, clear crust builds up too.
I did have a problem the last time I stretched.. One ear could handle going up a size while the other ear couldn’t. I left it in for the day hoping it would adjust but ended up taking them both out (I hate having uneven ears..) and going down a size as it was uncomfortable. It was a little red and swollen for a couple days but that was it..
I’m not alone, though, my husband hasn’t stretched or changed his jewellery in years yet his ear suddenly flared up a couple days ago and is now swollen, gunky and crusty. >_<
What is going on?? O_O (P.S We both wear silicone plugs.)
While a reaction to silicone isn’t incredibly likely, it is possible. And, the symptoms you describe certainly sound like your ears are reacting to something. Sensitivities and reactions typically build-up over time, meaning you may be fine with something for a while and then develop a reaction to it.
Having said that, it would be one heck of a coincidence if you and your husband developed a reaction to silicone at nearly the same time. So, this leads me to think maybe you are reacting to something else in your life. I would suggest thinking about any recent changes you’ve made to laundry detergents, fabric softeners, soaps, body washes, shampoos etc. Things such as changes in your diet could also be the culprit; or a change in your water source also. It seems that perhaps something new has been introduced into your little ecosystem and it’s causing you and your husband problems. It could be something that is reacting with/to the silicone, which might explain while you aren’t seeing a reaction anywhere else on your body.
If you figure it out, I would definitely like to know what the culprit was.
+8 / 8 votes
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Posted by Derek Lowe | Permalink | 1 Comment
Saturday February 28th, 2009 @ 6:12 AM
Filed under: Ear
My niece is about to turn 6 and for her birthday wants her ears pierced. My sisters had their ears pierced when they were about 5, as did I, but of course they were pierced with a gun at the mall. My sister is okay with my niece getting her ears pierced, but I am not so much okay with it knowing what I know now about piercing guns…
My question is, would a professional piercer be totally against piercing the ears of a child? Because shes not mine I of course dont get the final say as to whether or not she gets them done, so if its going to happen I’d like for it to be as safe as possible. But is it going to be possible to find a professional who would do it? Or is she pretty much doomed to the tradition of piercing guns at the mall?
While I don’t know of any professional piercers who will pierce BABIES, I know lots of professional piercers who have no problem piercing children, myself included. Most 6-year-old kids are plenty capable of understanding what’s going to happen, able to sit still and to look after the piercing themselves, with a little help from their parents. If you reply with a comment as to your geographical location, maybe someone can helpfully recommend someone close to you? You might call around and ask the better shops in your area, though, it’s more commonly done than a lot of people think!
+21 / 23 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 17 Comments
Thursday February 26th, 2009 @ 6:25 AM
Filed under: Ear
I know all of the horrible reasons why you should not use a piercing gun, and I agree. But I wanted to know AskBME’s take on the things that are along those lines.
At your local walmart in TX you can have you lobes pierced or buy the supplies, with a disposable thing that is loaded like a gun but is pushed through only with the pressure the person piercing the ear can apply. In essence its just like the gun but not pressure loaded and disposable. So it seems to me that it would be like your friend just pushing a pointed earring through your lobe, only the stuff for this comes out of what looks like steril packages.
Do you think its safe to use something like this on ear lobes?
I’m familiar with what you’re talking about, and in a nutshell, no. I don’t think they’re a great idea. The blunt force of shoving a relatively dull stud made out of cheap materials and held on by a backing that is, essentially, a big petri dish catching all the lymph and muck coming out of the piercing and allowing bacteria to grow while preventing adequate cleaning is never going to trump an asaeptic procedure with sterile needles and highly-polished, implant-grade jewellery, full stop.
Will you DIE from piercing your ears that way? Nope, probably not. But it’s not the safest or best way, IMHO.
+18 / 18 votes
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Posted by Lori St.Leone | Permalink | 1 Comment
Tuesday February 17th, 2009 @ 4:04 PM
Filed under: Ear
Yesterday I got a rook piercing done, but I’ve been concerned about it. First of all, my piercer pierced it with a CBR, which I’ve heard can hinder the healing process as it can be easily bumped around. Second, it was pierced at an 18 gauge, which is really small. Are these factors going to be an issue? Because I really am worried about the health of my piercing. If it is recommended that it be changed from a CBR to a curved barbell, is it okay to go to a different piercer as soon as possible and request that be done? Or is it still too early to be changed at all?
Any information regarding the jewelry style and/or gauge or just any other information about the rook piercing would be so helpful and much appreciated.
Thank you very much.
I would say the earlier you could see a different piercer to have it switched to a larger gauge curved barbell the better.
Rings do indeed get knocked around much more frequently and do pose the risk of traumatizing the piercing.
I prefer to do cartilage piercings 16g+ for the added stability a thicker anchor provides.
+5 / 7 votes
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Posted by Lexci Million | Permalink | 1 Comment
