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.
Moreover, 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.
- 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.
Also, should I take my piercing out if it’s infected?
When to remove a piercing
If a new piercing is infected, it is best not to remove the earring. Removing the piercing can allow the wound to close, trapping the infection within the skin. For this reason, it is advisable not to remove an earring from an infected ear unless advised by a doctor or professional piercer.
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.
How do you know if your body is rejecting a piercing?
Symptoms of piercing rejection
- more of the jewelry becoming visible on the outside of the piercing.
- the piercing remaining sore, red, irritated, or dry after the first few days.
- the jewelry becoming visible under the skin.
- the piercing hole appearing to be getting larger.
- the jewelry looking like it is hanging differently.
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.
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.
Is Tea Tree Oil Good for piercings?
Tea tree oil has anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antiseptic properties that make it a triple threat in piercing aftercare. Not only can it be used to care for certain piercings during their initial healing process, it can also be used long-term to minimize irritation and prevent infection.
Is my piercing infected or just healing?
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.
What to clean a piercing with?
TO CLEAN YOUR PIERCING, USE ONE OF THESE METHODS:
- Warm Sea Salt Soaks. …
- Morton Fine Grind Mediterranean Sea Salt, 4.4 oz. …
- Sterile Saline Sprays. …
- Mild Liquid Soap. …
- DO NOT USE Rubbing Alcohol or Hydrogen Peroxide. …
- DO NOT USE Antibiotic Ointments. …
- DO NOT USE Bactine® and Ear Piercing Solutions with BZK (Benzalkonium chloride)
Can you put Neosporin on a 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. These products are too strong and will irritate your skin and piercing.
What happens if an infected piercing closes?
If your piercing is actually infected, and you remove the jewelry on your own, the bacteria and pus can get locked inside if the hole closes up. Instead, see a dermatologist, who will likely swab the area for a culture and start a course of topical and/or oral antibiotics to treat the infected skin piercing.
How do you sleep with a newly pierced ear?
If you have a new ear piercing, a thinner travel pillow works great to keep pressure off while you’re sleeping. If you don’t have a travel pillow you can roll a clean cotton T-shirt or sheet up and place it around the ear so that when you lay on your side, there’s no direct pressure on your ear.
