General Care for Body Piercings
Do not use rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. (Both slow the healing of pierced area by drying and killing new healthy cells.) Do not use bacitracin or other ointments.
Considering this, how do you disinfect an infected ear piercing?
Follow these steps to take care of a minor piercing infection:
- 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.
Simply so, how can I make my 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.
Can I clean my piercing with just water?
To make sure the healing process goes as smoothly as possible, wash your hands before you touch your piercing or jewelry. Don’t soak your piercing in any water (other than saline solution) until it’s fully healed.
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.
What does an infected piercing look like?
Your piercing might be infected if: 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.
What do you do when your ear piercing gets infected?
How are infected ear piercings treated?
- Applying a warm compress to the infected earlobe or cartilage.
- Rinsing the infected earlobe with sterile saline.
- Using antibiotic ointment on the affected area.
- Taking oral antibiotics for more severe infections.
Should you squeeze pus out of an infected wound?
Just make sure you avoid the urge to squeeze the abscess. While it might feel like you‘re getting rid of the pus, you‘re likely pushing some of it deeper into your skin. It also creates a new open wound. This could develop into another infection.
Is my piercing infected or irritated?
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.
How long does it take for an infected piercing to heal?
Minor pierced ear infections can be treated at home. With proper care, most will clear up in 1 to 2 weeks.
