To care for a fresh piercing, wash with soap and water or saline solution—not rubbing alcohol—twice a day. “I find alcohol dries the piercing out,” Smith explains, “If it gets too dry, it cracks and bleeds, causing the wound to remain open. I prefer oil-based soaps for this reason.
Also to know is, how do I get the crust off my cartilage piercing?
Use saline
Keep the piercing submerged for about 5 minutes. Use a clean cloth, gauze, or a cotton swab dipped in saline to remove any crust that loosened around the piercing while soaking. Finally, rinse the piercing with clean water and dry it off.
Thereof, how long should I soak my piercing in salt water?
What should I clean my 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 I use saline solution to clean my piercing?
Saline solutions are best for cleaning your piercing. It’s a simple ph-balanced solution mixture of water and salt-containing 0.9% salt. Saline solution use in medicine and for cleaning wounds. So, clean your piercing with a saline solution rather than a contact solution.
Should I pick the crust off my piercing?
After the first few days your body will excrete lymph as it begins to form the fistula inside your piercing. This lymph ‘crust‘ will likely collect on the jewelry or around the piercing. Do not pick at it. Piercings do tend to swell slightly — some more than others — during healing.
How can I make my cartilage piercing heal faster?
USE WARM SEA SALT WATER (SALINE) SOAKS – MORNING AND EVENING
Soaking your piercing with a warm, mild sea salt water solution will not only feel good, it will also help prevent infection, reduce the risk of scarring, and speed the healing of your piercing.
How long will cartilage piercing be sore?
How long does the pain last? It is normal for your ear to hurt immediately after getting a cartilage piercing, pain that commonly lasts for two weeks to a month. Be careful to not sleep on the side that was pierced: Doing so will cause healing complications and unnecessary discomfort.
Will an infected piercing heal on its own?
Minor pierced ear infections can be treated at home. With proper care, most will clear up in 1 to 2 weeks.
How do you heal an irritated 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.
What can I use to clean my piercing if I don’t have sea salt?
It is best to use table non-iodized salt instead of sea, rock or coarse types of salt as those do not dissolve well and have other minerals and impurities that might interfere with wound healing.
Is salt water good for a piercing?
After having a piercing, it is important to keep the area clean and dry. You may be advised to gently clean the area with a warm saline or salt water solution. However, the piercing should be cleaned no more than is necessary to keep it clean, as over-cleaning can irritate the skin and delay healing.
How do you shower with a new cartilage piercing?
How long should I use saline on my piercing?
On saline soaks
You conduct a saline soak in a few easy steps: Fill a small cup with saline solution. The cup should be big enough to accommodate your piercing, and it should be filled with enough solution to completely submerge the jewelry. Let the piercing soak for 2 – 3 minutes.