Piercing trouble!?

Question

I wondered if anyone knows why this is happening. My mum has had the top of her ear pierced 3 times but it has swolen each time and became sore. She has had her ear pierced with gold the 3 times as the piercers we have went to don't pierce with silver. Does anyone know what's causing the swelling?

Answer 1

I had the top of my ear done about 9 years ago and went to a place that uses a piercing gun (like when you have your ear lobes done) and mine swelled, was infected and oozed all time time. I was in tremendus pain all the time so I finally took it out. I did a little research and found out that when you have your ear pierced with that gun you have a post going through cartelage and the cartelage wants to go back into position so it pushes against the post trying to force it out of your ear. I decided that I wanted to have it done again and went to a Piercing Salon (the place where they will pierce any body part like belly buttons, tongues... they are usually in a tattoo shop). and had it done there. At the piercing salon they use a hollow needle and actually remove a piece of the cartelage then put the earing in place of the missing part so the ear does not try to force it out but heals around the hole. With my first piercing I delt with the pain for about a year before I gave up. With my second piercing it took about 3 months to heal and still acts up once in a while but keeping it clean helps and most days I forget I have it. I would tell your mom to go to someone who specializes in piercings to have it done. It did not hurt any more than the first one and I can have the piercing I want without the ugly swelling and pain. Your mom may hurt a bit more though having it done again because of the scar tissue but she can talk to the piercing people about going around it. I hope this helps. P.S. the piercing salon will use surgical stainless steel (the same thing they make surgery tools with) in her ear it is mostly hypoalergenic.

Answer 2

piercings are usually sore at first, she needs to make sure that she is cleaning it well with an antiseptic solution. if she has had it done with a gun rather than a needle, that can sometimes cause swelling as rather than removing the cartilidge to make the hole it simply pushes it out of the way, causing a slight lump to form in the back of the piercing. if there is fluid there then it could be that your mum is allergic or sensitive to gold. she should try getting it done in a place where they use silver and clean it well.

Answer 3

I have a few piercings and i know from experience that parts of your body that you get peirced can reject the piercing on a number of occasions. I hope this helps.One thing that i find hard to understand is that, i have never heard of any body piercer's that won't pierce with silver.

Answer 4

9ct gold is an alloy. One of the metals used in the alloying process is nickel. I would guess that your mum is having an allergic reaction to the nickel in the gold alloy. Purer forms of gold (18 & 22ct) contain little or no nickel (certainly, 22ct doesn't). Silver earrings are unlikely to alleviate the symptoms, because sterling silver also contains nickel.

For confirmation, she should visit her GP, who may order tests to determine what the problem actually is.

Answer 5

Sometimes people are allergic to the earrings make sure if she gets it done again 8 carrot gold earrings the next time and use antiseptic wipes morning and night to keep it clean

Answer 6

The problem with your Mums ear could be that although she has been keeping it clean, ie healing and cleaning it up with surgical spirit; she could actually be having problems because of hair products( shampoos conditioners sprays etc) that are getting under the jewellery and into the piercing.

Answer 7

im now 14 and have had a lot pierced by my m8s the cause of the swelling must be some sort of allergic reaction im gueesing an allergy to gold ideally get it cheked out by a doctor.good luck!

Answer 8

When you get anything pierced, it always swells up for a time, but the fact that its happening time and again, just means it ain't meant to be, and time to stop..besides that part of the ear is quite thin gristle, it just may be to thin to take hold..

Answer 9

if your mum has long hair or uses alot of hair products perhaps it is coming into contact with the piercing. i have had trouble with me sleeping on my new ear piercing and that often makes my ear piercing swell. clean with either a Savlon type product or warm slaty water

Answer 10

you need to be peirced with surgical steel not silver or gold and the top part of your ear is gisle so this is why it takes months to heal. you need to go to a tattoo studio who will do it properly for you. i had my ear pierced at the top for years.