Infected Ear Piercing: Symptoms and How to Treat It
22.02.2023 - 20:17
/ glamour.com
By Piercings are an easy way to change up your look, but there's nothing worse than an infected ear piercing. With trendy styles like more popular than ever, it's tempting go under the gun or needle multiple times. While piercings are fun to collect, you may run the risk of an infected ear piercing with each new one you get. Of course, it goes without saying that you should research your piercer and go to someone you trust.
But, even if you do go to a sanitary, skilled piercer and are diligent about cleaning your ear piercing, there's always a chance that it can become infected. It's an open wound, after all. If you're experiencing prolonged tenderness, swelling, discharge, warmth or redness, these are all signs that you may have an infection, says , MD, a dermatologist in Dallas, Texas and founder of skincare. To help decipher between the regular side effects of a new piercing, an infected ear piercing, and an allergic reaction, we tapped a derm and a piercing expert.
Read on for their advice and treatment tips.First thing's first, if you just got a piercing, it's going to be a little red, painful, and swollen. After all, you did just put a new hole in your body. So, even if you're seeing some clear drainage, it could just be part of the new piercing process, explains Sarah Lacy, BSN RN, senior manager of piercing research and innovation at , a piercing studio led by nurses. “Everybody heals differently, but generally, you can expect these symptoms to subside on their own within one to three days,” Lacy adds. If the drainage is yellow or green in color, or if the other symptoms don't resolve quickly, there's cause for concern.