Treating the infection at home
- Wash your hands before touching or cleaning your piercing.
- Clean around the piercing with a saltwater rinse three times a day. …
- Don’t use alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or antibiotic ointments. …
- Don’t remove the piercing. …
- Clean the piercing on both sides of your earlobe.
Consequently, should I squeeze the pus out of my piercing?
You should never try to drain pus or fluid from the infected area. This can make the infection worse. If your symptoms are severe, see your doctor. They may prescribe antibiotics to help clear the infection.
- Don’t take out the earring! Clean the infected area 3 times a day.
- Wash hands with soap and water before touching the ear or earring.
- Use cotton swab (“Q-Tip”) dipped in pierced ear solution (see #3 below).
- Clean exposed earring (both sides).
Keeping this in consideration, when should I go to the doctor for an ear piercing infection?
If you get an infection that’s spreading up beyond just the site of the piercing, where the full ear appears red and swollen or just even the lower half of it, then I would be a lot more concerned about an infection in the cartilage itself, and that would definitely be a reason to go to the ER.
Why is pus coming out of my ear piercing?
Ear Piercing Infection Signs
To identify an infected ear piercing, its fairly easy to notice the symptoms that include yellow, pus-like discharge; swelling; redness; ongoing pain or tenderness; and itching and burning.
Does pus in a piercing mean infection?
Your piercing might be infected if: the area around it is swollen, painful, hot, very red or dark (depending on your skin colour) there’s blood or pus coming out of it – pus can be white, green or yellow. you feel hot or shivery or generally unwell.
Is a little pus normal after ear piercing?
An ear piercing is a hole through your earlobe or the cartilage in your middle or upper ear. An infected ear piercing may be red, swollen, sore, warm, itchy or tender. Sometimes the piercing oozes blood or white, yellow or greenish pus. A new piercing is an open wound that can take several weeks to fully heal.
Will an infected piercing heal itself?
Most infected ear piercings can be treated at home and will improve within a few days, although, in some cases, antibiotics may be necessary. If symptoms do not improve, the infection spreads, or there are other symptoms, a person should speak to a doctor.
Can you treat an infected piercing at home?
Gently pat dry the affected area with clean gauze or a tissue. Then apply a small amount of an over-the-counter antibiotic cream (Neosporin, bacitracin, others), as directed on the product label. Turn the piercing jewelry a few times to prevent it from sticking to the skin.
Is my piercing infected or irritated?
According to Thompson, the telltale signs of an infection are simple: “The area around the piercing is warm to the touch, you notice extreme redness or red streaks protruding from it, and it has discolored pus, normally with a green or brown tint,” Thompson says.
Do you need antibiotics for infected ear piercing?
Most infected ear piercings are caused by a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and so you need an antibiotic that covers this bacteria, such as ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin.
Is chlorine bad for infected piercings?
Chlorine does not kill the germs and bacteria immediately. Germs can survive in a chlorinated pool for days and contaminated water can enter the body causing infection.
What happens if you don’t treat an ear piercing infection?
Without proper treatment, ear piercing infections can spread to the rest of your body. This is called a systemic infection. The infection can also get worse or form an abscess. An abscess is an area of the skin that is swollen and filled with pus.
How do you know when an infection is serious?
More
- the wound is large, deep, or has jagged edges.
- the edges of the wound do not stay together.
- symptoms of infection occur, such as fever, increasing pain or redness, or discharge from the wound.
Should I go to the doctor for infected piercing?
Call your doctor if you experience any of these infection symptoms: Fever. Red, swollen skin around the pierced area. Pain when touching the pierced area.
