Got navel piercing in Feb, looks really bad now - how much should I clean it?

Question

I got my belly button pierced in early February and it's been doing good till now. I've been cleaning it once a day when I shower with dial antibacterial foamy soap. I thoroughly clean it, moving the piercing around in the soap so it cleans all the way for 30 seconds and then rinse it out. I use h2ocean everytime after i shower and before I go to bed. I just looked at my bellybutton today and it's super red at the bottom and has a hard crust around the side side of the bottom. Am I not cleaning it enough? Should I be doing something different? Any help would so much be appreciated as I know this piercing takes a long time to heal. Thank you.

Answer 1

just get a Q-Tip with rubbing alcohol and clean it at night or in the morning. i got my belly pierced years ago and it took a while for it to heal. 6 months for it to be completly normal. i think ur fine unless it starts to hurt or discharge

Answer 2

I've had my navel pierced for 12 years...it sounds like maybe you caught it on something and it got a bit infected.  Keep cleaning it the way you have been and make sure your hands are always clean before touching it (I'm sure you already know that though ;) ).  Good luck with it and if you keep having problems call your piercer and ask if they have any suggestions!

Answer 3

you should stop with the soap, it sounds like your cleaning it too much, you should only clean it 2-3 times a day with either a sea salt soak or the H2Ocean, your piercing is probably getting irritated

Answer 4

It's infected...Continue cleaning it twice a day with the dial and moving it around like you are, but go to the store and buy "sea salt" sometimes it can be hard to find.

Clean it twice a week with sea salt. When you are in the water, let the warm water drip on your belly button then pour some sea salt right on your navel and then start moving it like you do with the soap...It will probably sting a little, but that's ok because you know it's actually going in the hole...After that, wash it with the dial.

Only use the sea salt twice a week at the most because if you use it to much it can dry out. It won't take long for the infection to clear up.

FYI, you might be able to find the sea salt in like Walgreens and maybe in a food store. The last time I bought mine, I had to go to this whole foods store. Just make sure not to buy regular salt!!! That's muy importante!

Answer 5

I got my navel pierced two years ago and yes it takes a while to heal. Keep up with the ocean spray. I used it for a good six months. The crusting is just your skins way of trying to heal. just clean around the crust and dont peel it off. it will fall off. hope this helps!!