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.
Hereof, how do you know if your forward helix piercing is infected?
Cartilage piercings typically take longer to heal and are more prone to
- swelling.
- redness.
- pain.
- tenderness.
- burning.
- itching.
- yellow discharge.
Also know, how do I treat an infected piercing?
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.
When should I see a doctor for an infected cartilage 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.
Is my cartilage 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 forward helix piercings get infected easily?
Because your forward helix piercing is basically an open wound, trying to change the jewelry before it is fully healed will greatly irritate the site and will most likely lead to an infection. … Remember: the longer you leave a piercing alone to heal, the more certain you can be that it’s safe to swap out the jewelry.
How can I make my helix piercing heal faster?
How to Heal a Helix
- GO TO A PROFESSIONAL. …
- SAY NO TO THE GUN. …
- CHOOSE YOUR JEWELLERY WISELY, AND DON’T CHANGE IT. …
- GET ONE DONE AT A TIME. …
- KEEP IT CLEAN. …
- TREAT YOUR PIERCING TO REGULAR SALT BATHS. …
- CONSIDER EMU OIL. …
- AVOID.
Is it normal for a helix piercing to swell?
Swelling is a normal part of the healing process for every piercing. … Some people swell very little, while others need to get even longer jewelry than they were pierced with to allow for excessive swelling of the pierced area. If your jewelry looks or feels uncomfortably tight, come back and talk to a piercer.
What does an infected piercing look like?
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.
How do you remove an embedded piercing?
Can you put Neosporin on a cartilage piercing?
NEVER USE: Bacitracin or Neosporin. Petroleum based ointments CLOG the piercing and make it difficult for your body to heal. NEVER USE Rubbing Alcohol, Hydrogen Peroxide, Claire’s ear care solution.
How long does it take for a piercing infection to clear up?
What You Should Know About Infections in Newly Pierced Ears: Minor pierced ear infections can be treated at home. With proper care, most will clear up in 1 to 2 weeks.
Should I clean the crust off my piercing?
Crusting after body piercing is perfectly normal—this is just the result of your body trying to heal itself. 1? Dead blood cells and plasma make their way to the surface and then dry when exposed to air. While perfectly normal, these crusties do need to be cleaned carefully and thoroughly whenever you notice them.
What antibiotics are used to treat infected piercings?
Treatment / Management
Oral antibiotics such as cephalexin or clindamycin provide coverage for streptococcus and staphylococcus. If concerns for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus exist, then oral trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole confers adequate coverage.
