I got my cartilage ear pierced on a sunday its been 3 days already and my ear is still swollen?

Question

Its swollen and red.It also hurts to touch around my ear and its hard for me to sleep cause it also still hurts.Well i didnt get a stud i got a half circle earing and it was a little thick too but i didnt think it would take this long.The guy that pierced it said it would take about a week for the swollenes to go down but im still not convinced.Can some one help me out

Answer 1

Swelling can last a couple weeks for some people, and the redness should go down with the swelling as well, but you need to have more patience.

Its going to hurt for a while and chances are you wont' be able to sleep on it for a few months. You shouldn't really sleep on it anyway because it can effect healing and cause unnecessary discomfort. Keep in mind there is not good blood flow to the area so its going to take a while to clean it.

You probably do not have an infection, so don't panic

Furthermore: clean it twice daily with Dial soap and water, rinsing well and use sea salt soaks.
http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Salt_soaks

Edit: Do not use rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, Epsom or table salt soaks, no Neosporin and no Bactine. While these products work for some people, for others they tend to just dry out and irritate piercings slowing healing and causing discomfort.

Cartilage takes an average of 6 months to heal, but can take up to a year for some people. If you have problems or questions, consult your piercer and if you have doubts that he/she knows what they are doing, get a second opinion.

Answer 2

It's entirely normal. It will remain swollen for up to 2 weeks. Do sea salt soaks 2-3 times daily, other than that LITHA (leave it the hell alone). Don't touch it, don't use rubbing alcohol, dial soap, any soap, bactine or anything other than the sea salt soaks. Try to sleep on the other side, as the pressure will irritate the piercing and prolong healing.

Answer 3

You have about 6 months to a year to deal with discomfort. I pierce and have 5 inner cartilage piercings. I have had them for 7 years now and when its cold out they still ache. Should have thought it out before you did it, if you can't handle it have them removed. Think twice before you do such a thing I tell my clients that all the time, the trend will come and go the pains going to last longer.

Answer 4

I did mine on friday, I got 2 holes there and it stil hurts, It hurts when i touch it, I dont think its an infection or that u need to see a doctor, the cartilage just takes longer to heal than the lobe. Just ensure that u cleanse it everyday, 3 days isnt sufficient time to give it to heal, as the person who did it says that after a week, it should b better..... he's the professional, wat makes u think that some ordinary ppl on the internet would kno better?

Answer 5

Try soking your ear in salt water for about 2 to 3 minutes or how ever long you want.

Answer 6

make sure you clean it regularly. There is not much blood flow through that part of your ear so it will take a while for it to heal, and if you don't take care of it it will get infected. If you let that go on or happen you can get knobbs on the back of your ear (one of my friends didn't take care of their's and this happened) and also i have heard of people having to get part of their ear amputated. Our Doctor friend says taht is the worst place to get pierced.....so take really good care of it.

Answer 7

When I got my cartilage pierced it tooks months to heal, just be sure you clean it very good everyday!! It will get better!!

Answer 8

i went through the same when i got it pierced, but with a stud...put alcohol around it or maybe its regular swelling..and i recommend u NOT wait 2weeks to removed the earring, been there done that...it got infected! wait atleast a month.

Answer 9

Are you putting on the medication that they give you? It could probably be infected. Go to the doctor just in case.

Answer 10

See a Doctor ...........NOW