You will want to spray just enough that the crust is moist and loosens up. When you get a new piercing whether its in your ears, nose, bellybutton, or a cartilage piercing you want to enjoy it, take pics, and show your friends. Place a few drops of antimicrobial cleanser or Castile soap on either side of the jewelry. It is unnecessary to use a cotton swab or a Q-tip to rub the crust away because this will only irritate your ear. Would You Get Plastic Surgery to Fix an Extreme Ear Piercing? Last summer I got two cartilage piercings in the upper part of my left ear. The flaking could be a result of Weve rounded up 18 of the best sea salt sprays around to help you find the perfect product. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. To maintain their own beauty and health, people who . In some cases, home care might not be enough. If you do not soften them and the jewelry rotates through the piercing, these crusties may scratch and irritate the inside of the piercing, delaying healing and possibly opening a channel for infection. Look Better Naked: Solutions for Your Top 9 Body-Skin Issues. I NEVER had this issue with my conch or tragus or nostril piercings. My new jewellery (BVLA end on a NeoMetal post, so it's quality stuff) makes cleaning a bit tricky due to the shape. Piercing is done through the skin tissues which is the main shield against . The first, an intermittent low-grade infection, was causing the bleeding, scabbing, oozing, and redness. Unless your piercing professional tells you otherwise, youll want to keep up the daily saline cleanings for 4 to 8 weeks. Non-sterile equipment. Adrienne Santos-Longhurst is a Canada-based freelance writer and author who has written extensively on all things health and lifestyle for more than a decade. A few months ago I got, "I have ear piercings that are 6 years old. Crusting after body piercing is perfectly normal this is just the result of your body trying to heal itself. Crusties need to be cleaned carefully and thoroughly whenever you notice them. 2023 Cond Nast. This article received 24 testimonials and 93% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. Gently pat dry the affected area with clean gauze or a tissue. (Hint: Thats why you should avoid going out for drinks before heading to a piercing studio.). Dr. Wexler agrees that it's easy to identify an infection by the above symptoms, adding that you might also experience some swelling, pain, tenderness of the area, burning, or itching. Look Better Naked: Solutions for Your Top 9 Body-Skin Issues. Learning how to clean your new piercing properly can help you keep it healthy and prevent painful (and very visible) complications. Sterling silver aren't an ideal material for healing (or rehealing) piercings, if you can switch to one of the other 3 materials mentioned above. retailers. Gently move or twist the jewelry while cleaning it to get the solution inside the piercing and coat the jewelry. Cleaning your newly pierced ears is pain-free and straightforward. There are several things you can do to prevent bleeding and speed up the healing process. A pro tip to prevent it from catching: Protect it with a skin care product. They can appear in healed piercings for a few reasons. One of the most common symptoms of an infected bellybutton piercing is pain. 18 Things to Consider Before Taking the Plunge, How to Use Tea Tree Oil for Piercing Aftercare, Dominique Fontaine, BSN, RN, HNB-BC, HWNC-BC, Why Your New Piercing Needs a Sea Salt Soak, The No BS Guide to Discovering Your Real Skin Type, The No BS Guide to Vitamin C (L-Ascorbic Acid) Serums for Brighter Skin, How to Remove Hair from Your Upper Lip Naturally, The 17 Best Sea Salt Sprays for Every Hair Type & Budget, table salt or fine sea salt (iodine-free), baking soda (optional, but it can help keep saline from irritating your skin), clean airtight jar or container with a lid. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. If you've had problems with it taking ages for say, a cut on your hand from cooking, to heal then you might have a problem with wound healing in general (there are a number of medical conditions that can cause this). Common Piercing Complications, 4 Common Piercing Aftercare Myths and the Truth Behind Them , CCPA Privacy Notice for California Residents. If you just had your body pierced and you start to notice a crusty material around the piercing site, dont worry. They typically take around 2 months to heal. To treat an infection in an old piercing, people should clean the earring and both sides . "I just got my second ear piercing last Wednesday, and lately my ear has been giving off the brownish crusty, "This article helped me because I pierced my own ears, and I'm pretty sure they are infected. All you need is a .09% saline spray solution. Then prepare a saltwater solution of 1 cup (0.24 liters) water with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Eyebrow Piercing Scars: Treatment and Prevention, Using Tea Tree Oil on Piercings: Risks and Benefits, Cheek and Dimple Piercings: A Complete Guide. To clean your septum piercing with saline, you can: Some people also dip their nose into a shallow bowl of solution. Many piercings tend to get a little bit of a smell after a while, especially piercings like the septum or stretched lobes. Yes, youll want to clean your piercing every day, at least while its healing. Disgusting, I know. We asked experts if your flare-ups and your breakouts could be linked. If this happens, you are only exaggerating the healing process because the point of removing the scab is to allow air to hit the tissue and dry it out. A new piercing is an open wound that can take several weeks to fully heal. This is called a granuloma and is also fairly normal. This article is provided with the understanding that it does not constitute medical or professional advice or services. U.S. STD Cases Increased During COVIDs 2nd Year, Have IBD and Insomnia? While initial piercings should be done with jewelry that is truly biocompatible, healed ear piercings often allow for more exotic materials: horn, bone, wood, stone, amber, bamboo, etc. The best way to clean them is to soak the piercing in warm saline solution, softening the crusties which then come off easily. ", my right nostril pierced, and I obviously did not take proper care of it, because it was always red around it and there was a bit of pus. This should slow down the bleeding.. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/8\/83\/Tell-if-a-Piercing-Is-Infected-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/v4-460px-Tell-if-a-Piercing-Is-Infected-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/8\/83\/Tell-if-a-Piercing-Is-Infected-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/aid804942-v4-728px-Tell-if-a-Piercing-Is-Infected-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"