Sea salt soaks for cartilidge piercing?

Question

How do you do a sea salt soak? I heard that the measurements for the salt and water have to be precise otherwise the piercing could get infected...this is for a cartilidge piercing if that helps at all.

Answer 1

Non iodized sea salt. Use about 1/4 teaspoon per cup of warm water. The solution should taste similar to tears, so add it in small amounts and check it. Even if its not EXACT you won't get an infection from that.

If you are having a hard time soaking the area, use saturated cotton balls to drip the solution onto your ears of place the solution in a clean spray container and spray the area several times a day. Generally, soak the area 2-3 times daily for 10-15 minutes. Be sure your hands are clean when you are cleaning your piercings.

To avoid infection, make sure you don't get hair products on the piercing when you do your hair, wash your pillowcase weekly to avoid any oils and dirt, don't play with the piercing, don't change the jewelry until you consult your piercer or are sure it is fully healed.

Answer 2

I don't think it has to be that precise... when I got my nose pierced (left nostril) and it started to get a little infected, I just took some sea salt (it was actually a seasalt grinder) and warm water, mixed them together, then dipped a wash cloth into it, applying the cloth to my piercing a few times, wringing it and re-dipping it between times. That helped quite a bit. I was applying it to the inside of the nostril, not the outside, and instead of making the infection worse, it helped it and it healed 100% and I am positive that my measurements were not all that precise.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I have many, many piercings and have never heard that the measurements need to be precise. I've alwas just put as much salt as I wanted and went with the flow. The shot glass idea can work, but I liked getting a shallow martini glass so I could put my entire piercing in the liquid.

Also, please, please, please never use cotton balls, swabs, or Q-tips when cleaning your piercings. The cotton can get trapped in the piercing and just hold bacteria. You should just use your (clean) hands for anything like this. Also, make sure to change your pillowcases very often and be careful with hairproducts.

Answer 4

Since can't really soak cartilage in salt water, wet something like a cotton swab and moisten it, work it through so that the salt water gets in, and clear off any scabbing gently with the cotton swab.

Answer 5

I use the instructions from bme and hold it in a shot glass against my ear. It really helps with the crusties. I also recomend the H2Ocean product for aftercare.