My new piercing is swollen?

Question

I just got an industrial piercing last Tuesday so that would be 8 days ago. And all is good until yesterday I woke up and it was all red and eventually got rather swollen. Now it's about two times as big as my other ear and it doesn't hurt unless I touch it. I'm trying to keep it clean but I guess my fault is that I've been touching it when people tell me I shouldn't be so I'm trying to leave it alone. However my friends think I should just take it out but it cost a lot to get. So anyways I guess my question is what else can I do to make the swelling go down? I've been icing it and using my Antiseptic on it daily so what now?

Answer 1

Use alcohol and also if it gets worse go to er.  

Answer 2

I think the best thing to do in your situation is to call the person who pierced you in the first place. They would, most likely, know how to deal with your problem and could tell you precisely what you should be doing in order to get the swelling down.

Of course the surest way to stop the swelling would be to take out the piercing all together; however, I understand your reluctance and the problem can easily be solved if you just continue to take care of it.

1.Clean the piercing out 2-3 times a day with warm salt water. It's best to use a Q-Tip so that your not using your hands.

2.Then add a small amount of antiseptic cream (again with a Q-Tip) around the pierced area. Make sure you've rubbed it in well so that the skin around the piercing is able to breathe.

3. Leave it alone! The less you mess with it the faster it will heal. Make sure your hair isn't touching it either; it might irritate it further.

My friend had the same problem with her neck piercing a few months ago; fortunately for us, we're from Greece so all we had to do was go down to the beach and swim in the water for a bit. The salt water cleaned it up and the swelling went down within a couple of hours.

But; if the problem persists: Take the piercing out! You can always get it re pierced in a few months.

Answer 3

ive got loads of piercings and the industrial was the sorest and took the longest to heal. it took about 6 months before it was 100% healed. when youre in the shower  wash it with dial antibacterial soap. is there any puss coming out? if there is you should squeeze out as much of it as you can and then wash it with the dial.

be patient with it.

Answer 4

Just keep icing it and putting alcohol, bactine or antiseptic on it as well as taking some ibuprofen.  Ibuprofen will help allieve the pain and reduce the swelling.  There's no reason to take the earring out as long as you keep it clean.

Answer 5

Firstly dont put alcohol on it like some people suggest- thats terrible for a piercing.

I myself have an industrial, I've had it for nearly a year, and even now it does give me some problems from time to time. Industrial piercings do seem to be rather problematic. The swelling doesnt sound incredibly unusual to me- However if it starts to puss green or yellowish pus- this would indicate an infection. You've probably made your piercing angry but the constant playing with it. For now you should take some Ibufrofen to help swelling and leave it alone. Dont use antiseptic on it- some antiseptic contains harsh chemicals which wont be good for a piercing. You need to get hold of some sea salt. Make up a mixture of warm water and sea salt and soak your ear in it. Then take a qtip, soak this in the solution and get all of the lymph (crust) off of the bar. You should also do hot compresses- these tend to draw out any gunk out of the piercings. Do the things ive mentioned and it should get better- if it doesnt you should seek either a doctor who can give you antibiotics or you can go back to a piercing studio and see what advice they can give you.

I hope i helped and good luck!

Answer 6

You should probably be using like Jergens Antibacterial Soap to wash it and then putting neosporin on it during the day. If that doesnt help you should either think about going to the Dr, or even calling the piercing shop where you got it done and see what they suggest to do. It is hard not to touch, but dont touch it!

Good Luck!