I think My earrings may be infected!?

Question

I got my ears pierced this summer past, about 6-7 weeks ago and I woke up today and my left ear is swollen and is bleeding when the earrings moves a certain way. I was just wondering is there a possiblity it's infected? and If so what should I do about it? I mean I've been doing all the cleaning my piercer told me to, she told me to wash it atleast every morning with the Saline solution and a q-tuip and if you want you could do it before you go to bed which I have done both faithfully, the only way I could see it got infected is from my bedding (Maybe I drooled when I slept and when I rolled over my earrings got in it I dunno) Anyways I need some serious help as I'm new to this earring thing and I'm very nervous at the moment, Help would be sincerely appreciated!

So ok my left ear might be infected will this bathing in salty water, vasiline and hydrogen peroxide draw the infection out?

Answer 1

clean it with hydrogen peroxide, dab a little antibiotic ointment on it and don't worry -geeze people have been piercing since time began and I have never heard of anyone's ear rotting off or falling off from it

Answer 2

this fluid is called lymph. It is basically our bodies own way of cleansing the piercing. Lymph consists of dead white blood cells or plasma. It is NOT pus! It can be clear, pale yellow or white and will form a crust on the jewelry. Secretion of lymph indicates a healing piercing. Make sure to carefully remove the "crusties" while cleaning before rotating the jewelry to prevent them from going back inside the piercing and irritating the inner tunnel of the piercing (called a fistula). after 3 or 4 weeks,without seeing any lymph, you can safely assume your piercing has healed completely. if you notice that the lymph eventually becomes hard and almost waxt...that is acually sebum which is a sign the skin is completely healed. sebum comes from the oil glands of the skin. this, too, wil pass in time. you must be patient and vigilant on your wound care. do avoid cheap earrings and keep your earrings clean. i suggest you wear a stainless steele, nickle free earring for the duration of your healing. some people lymph more than others, and you sound like you may be a prolific one...but here is the thing...peroxide is the worst thing you could ever use on a piercing-or any wound other than in the mouth. it dries out the skin to the point of damaging the good, unaffected skin around it. thus causing a wider unhealed area which then secretes lymph. alcohol is the second worse thing ever. it also severely dries out the wound and the area around it. the best thing to do is the natural way. wash with antibacterial soap at every shower...douse your ears well and even turn the piercing so that the soap gets between the skin and the stud. rinse thoroughly. a couple of times a day, or when it feels hot and itchy or you just need to get rid of the crusties, use warm salt water to soak the area. it will soother the wound, is a good cleanser, and has natural antibacterial tendecies. oh, and if you doubt what i am saying or want to know more, any good piercing site will give you the same information and care instructions. good luck!

Answer 3

There are a few things you can do. All there suggestions are good. I myself have pierced my own ears. My ears are very sensitive. I have had to repeirce my ears a few times and this last time they finally healed. You could take out the earring and allow it to heal using peroxide and or go to a doctor. Or try different kinds of earrings to see if you are just allergic to the ones you are using. Try real silver or gold. Because I found out the reason why my ears were like that was because I my self was allergic to certain kinds of metal, all I can where are gold earrings and they HAVE to have gold backings. So if you want to not go to a doctor or let them close which I do recommend then try a different kind of earring with backing and use peroxide..it works. But if it does NOT work then please take them out and go to a doctor.

Answer 4

Try bathing more often in a solution of warm salty water with cotton wool.
When you have done this put a little vaseline on the front and back and gently turn the earring .
Also are you still using the original earrings?.
I would keep using them until your ears have healed.
This is the way we did it years ago.
Many years ago an Italian lady pierced mine with a needle and cotton the cotton was my earring until they cleared up.
Some people cannot wear cheap jewelry as their ears become infected

Take care !

Answer 5

Yep, it's infected. Take the earring out and put an antibiotic ointment on it for a while. It's possible you have a sensitivity to certain types of metal, which is called contact dermatitis. Usually jewelry that contains nickel can aggravate this condition. When your earlobe heals up, get earrings with surgical posts or gold posts, and you shouldn't have any more problems.

Answer 6

If your ear lobe is swollen and bleeding, it is infected. Take off the earrings and go see a doctor before it gets any worse. Saline solution is not enough to keep infection at bay.

Answer 7

Sounds real like it is really infected, if I were you take off the earring on that ear, and keep it off, till it heals, and go to your doctor too...later you can go back and have it done on that ear, but please take it off...good luck, I am Latin and we used to just tie red thread in our ears after piercing them, till it healed...old customs