The Infamous Piercing "Bump", what should I do?

Question

Alright, so I asked a question about this two weeks ago and got 3 totally different answers (it's a keloid, it's hypertrophic scarring, it's an infection). One of the 3 answers suggested Tea Tree Oil. I ran out to the pharmacy the next day and picked up a bottle. After 12 days the bump has decreased to 1/3 of the original height, yet the affected area's size hasn't changed (now its just a red area).

Another wierd development is that the skin on top of the "bump" seems to be peeling away daily. I don't know whether or not the Tea Tree Oil is drying my skin out, which is causing the peeling.

Anyways, I finally managed to get clear pictures of this "bump" with my digital camera. I hope someone knows what it is and what can be done to remedy the situation.

The link below shows the outer and inner surface of my tragus piercing with this bump.

http://www.imagehosting.com/show.php/122981_tragusbump.JPG.ht

I got the tragus piercing back in mid-October.

The "bump" appeared mid-December.

I don't believe it's a keloid either, I was just stating what the answers were to my original question (if you look at my posted questions you'll see it there).

For all I know it could be in the middle of healing (whatever it is) like I said, it looks 10x better than it did 2 weeks ago.

Incase its not obvious the affected area is quite small, its really not noticeable unless you know its there. It is roughly the same size as the diameter of the piercing, which was done with a 16g circular barbell.

As for the migrating, I hadn't even thought of that before you mentioned it. As with all cartilage piercings the chance of migrating is extremely minimal. I compared pictures from immediatly after the piercing with the pictures I took tonight, and it doesn't look like it has moved at all.

I'll have to take a day off from work soon to go to my piercing artist, until then I'll try the saline and H2Ocean approach that Trivial has kindly provided me with again.

Answer 1

I answered your first post, and i'm going to maintain my belief that it's hypertrophic scarring, which is the same as a keloid. Not necessarily a bad thing. Mine did this too, right after i was sick.

as i suggested before, use saline soaks once a day and clean it with mild soap when you shower. Mine did this peely thing too. What i did, although no piercers out there will approve, is just peel that skin off of there. I pulled one huge chunk off on two separate occasions, and now it's fine. No redness or bump at all. I never got a bump on the inside though. Just be very faithful to the soaking. I used H2Ocean spray, and it really does work wonders. Worth the money.

Great pictures, by the way. and it does not look awful. becky's mean.

Answer 2

First off, I have to say based on your pictures, I really do not see a keloid. Have you had a dermatologist specifically identify that it is a keloid. A keloid is a build up of scar tissue. It is actually not an infection. It is calsified tissue resulting from the actual piercing. My keloid was on the back of my ear lobe and was so large that I could not wear earrings with backings on them. I could only do hook style and self closing varieties. It was probably at least 1/8 to 1/4 inch big. My keloid peeled for a while and sometimes still itches me 20 years later. I had one shortly after I had my ears done. I went to my dermatologist and they injected it with a cortisone shot. That was the only thing that fixed it. Web MD offers the following advice and recommendations for removal:

Keloid scars. These scars are the result of an overly aggressive healing process. These scars extend beyond the original injury. Over time, a keloid scar may affect mobility. Possible treatments include surgical removal, or injections with steroids. Smaller keloids can be treated using cryotherapy (freezing therapy using liquid nitrogen). You can also prevent keloid formation by using pressure treatment or gel pads with silicone when you sustain an injury. Keloid scars most often occur in Blacks.

Answer 3

Just keep doing sea salt soaks. You should do about 3-4 a week (any more and you'll just dry it out too much). I wouldn't worry too much--all my cartilage piercings did that. I got really frustrated with my single cartilage piercing and finally took it out. I had that bump on the back of the piercing for about 6 months before it started going down. Now, you can't even see it.

I just took out my orbital in June and same thing, the bumps are gone now. I know that some people recommend doing sea salt soaks even after you take the piercing out to help it heal better, but I didn't and it went away on its own.

My one recommendation is to make sure that you're careful around sprays. If you're around hairspray or use a spray deodorant, it can get on your piercing which is no good. Other than that, the usual: change your pillowcases, use anti-bacterial soap, sea salt soaks, don't touch unless it is with clean hands, etc.

Answer 4

That doesn't look bad at all compared to what my tragus piercinglookws likw for a long time! I got mine done 3 years ago, it's only been the last year or so that it has looked normal.... it had a huge red bump forever, I had/have a tiny little stud sparkle... it was to small for the piercing, and it went INSIDE my ear, and it was soooo gross!! My best friend also got hers done at the same time, and hers also took about two years to heal completly and not have the red bump. I don't know if any advice I can offer would do any good - but what I learned from mine was to not mess with it. The more I'd try to clean it and fix i, the worse it got! I hope yours gets better!

Answer 5

Maybe it's migrating. From what you've said, it sounds like you've been touching the piercing a lot; a possible cause.
A professional would know best so I recommend going back to your piercer.

Good luck!

Answer 6

It most likely will not go away completely. I've heard of alot of people getting these and after time they reduce but sometimes never go away entirely, especially in cartilage piercings.

Answer 7

that is the same thing that happened to mine but all of a sudden one day the bump was totally gone and it wasn't red i used sea salt on mine and it worked wonders im positive

Answer 8

Take that out. It is not going to heal. It looks awful. You are so desperately trying to look cool and are failing. It is so grotesque that we can only pity your poor face. If you continue to self-heal that area without taking out the (main)source of the problem/infection, you are ding yourself a grave disservice. All for the sake of trying to be and look cool.

Answer 9

it doesnt look infected if you were worrying about that, the best i can say is use some oxide or something clean with alcho... u know clean the wound i guess sorry if that didnt help you....

Answer 10

The body is not made to be pierced. Stop this ridiculous behavior and your problems will magically disappear. What a revelation!