Irritation, keloid, rejection or infection?
Shown above are a couple examples we found online of irritation bumps. These are a fairly common issue people with piercings experience. Particularly for cartilage piercings on the ear or nose. While they can be frustrating and sometimes a bit painful, there are steps you can take to aid in their healing. Here's what you should do if you have one of these bumps:
1. Hands off
One of the primary rules when dealing with piercing bumps is to avoid excessive touching, rubbing, or playing with the jewelry. Excessive meaning… anything outside of routine cleaning. Continuously touching your piercing can worsen the bump or even lead to infection. Therefore, it's best to leave it alone, allowing it time to heal. We never recommend twisting or turning the jewelry even while cleaning your piercing.
2. Use Sterile Saline
Per our normal aftercare instruction, continue applying a sterile saline to your piercing bump. This helps to promote healing and reduce inflammation. Be sure to use it after bathing/skincare because these products left on or around your piercing can cause irritation. Additionally, saline compresses may help. We recommend soaking a single-use paper towel in the solution, then gently pressing it against the bump for several minutes, one to two times per day.
We have sterile saline available at the shop, however it may also be found in the first-aid aisle of most stores as a ‘wound wash’. Be sure not to buy contact or nasal saline solutions.
3. Use a Travel Pillow
Is the bump on an ear piercing? You may benefit greatly from using a travel pillow instead of a traditional pillow overnight. Pressure on your piercings is a very common culprit for bumps, which is a problem many side-sleepers run into. Travel pillows can allow you to sleep more comfortably and aid the piercing bump to heal.
Just place your ear inside the hole-portion of the travel pillow!
4. Keep Your Piercing Dry
Sometimes too much moisture can cause irritation. Be sure you are drying off your piercing after cleaning with sterile saline. Use a hair dryer on the cool setting or pat it dry with a folded paper towel. You should also make a conscious effort to keep wet hair off of your piercing in this case!
5. Downsize
If an appropriate amount of time has passed, visit us for a downsize. When you were pierced, we will have used a longer post to accommodate for swelling. After a few weeks, you no longer need the extra room and it can cause problems for your piercing if you keep the longer jewelry length. Downsizing helps to avoid snagging/pulling on the jewelry which is notorious for causing a piercing bump. Additionally, downsizing helps avoid migration that may occur from pressure or bumping the jewelry repeatedly.
6. Be Patient
We understand piercing bumps are never fun and can be incredibly annoying to deal with. However, the vast majority of piercing bumps will go away on their own following proper aftercare and being extra careful. You just need to give your piercing a bit of time and love! As always, never hesitate to stop by and speak with us directly if you need any guidance or reassurance.
Additional Tip:
If your piercing was doing fine but you recently changed the jewelry to another style or material, this could have caused the irritation and led to one of these bumps. Particularly when switching to lower quality material or if you swapped to a hoop too early in the healing process. If this sounds like it could be the cause for you, it may be worth switching back to your original jewelry or purchasing a higher quality. It may cost a bit more but your body will thank you!
Shown above are a couple examples we found online of keloids. Keloids are rare unlike the previously mentioned irritation bumps. They are an overproduction of scar tissue in response to trauma, and unfortunately, we cannot help in this case. If you should develop a keloid, please visit your primary care physician to discuss treatment or get a referral to a dermatologist.
Shown above are a couple of examples we found online of piercings rejecting. There seems to be a lot of confusion about rejection and what it really is, so we’d love to help make it a little more clear! Rejection is when your body is forcing the jewelry out of your piercing.
Signs your piercing may be rejecting:
You are able to see more of the barbell portion of the jewelry than you could before.
Not always a sure sign. This could be due to migration that has stopped (and the piercing will not reject) or it could be that your piercing is in need of a downsize depending on location. Your safest bet is to get it checked by a professional piercer if you notice a difference.
The piercing hole is looking larger or abnormal
The skin between the entry and exit of your piercing is excessively dry, flaky and/or red.
Any piercing can reject, but piercings such as microdermals, surface piercings, eyebrows, bridges and navels are more likely to do so.
Microdermals and surface piercings are often referred to as “long term temporary” and can be expected to have a shorter lifespan than other piercings. Of course, there are outliers in this. Some people have dermals and surface piercings for many years without any issue. However, it is common for these piercings to begin to reject when they’re ready to come out.
Rejection can happen due to multiple factors. Incorrect jewelry type, such as a curved barbell in a surface piercing, or poor jewelry quality are often the culprit. Sometimes it can happen due to your piercing catching a bad snag or even because of pregnancy. It is not uncommon for well healed piercings that have been happy for years to reject during pregnancy for no apparent reason outside of simply being pregnant. Other times, the cause isn’t quite known.
When your piercing is truly rejecting, there is no saving it. And the longer the jewelry is kept in, the worse it will scar. We know it sucks to remove a piercing you love, but unfortunately, it is for the best in this case. If you wait too long to remove the piercing and the scarring is significant - it is less likely you will be able to get it pierced again.
We recommend taking the jewelry out as soon as it is determined the piercing is rejecting.
Shown above are a couple of examples we found online of what a piercing infection may look like.
Believe it or not, piercing infections are quite rare. Especially when the piercing is performed by a professional in a sanitary environment and the piercing is being taken care of appropriately during healing. Many people who believe they have an infection are actually dealing with irritation. That being said, piercing infections do happen and you should know the signs!
An infection needs antibiotics to improve. Your piercing may be infected if:
There is excessive swelling
Not always a sure sign. Some piercings and people swell much more than others. If your piercing site is so swollen that the jewelry is tight and uncomfortable, you may just need to return for a longer barbell and this symptom will quickly improve.
Your piercing feels very warm and tender to the touch
There is a yellowish-green discharge like shown in the pictures above
Do not mistake normal healing discharge for this! Normal secretions in a healing piercing will be a whitish-yellow fluid which turn into the “crusties” that you’re likely familiar with if you’ve had piercings in the past.
You feel generally unwell or feverish
If you believe your piercing is infected, seek medical assistance.
If you’re unsure if you’re dealing with an infection or simply an irritation, do not hesitate to reach out or stop by the studio. We are not medical professionals and can not diagnose an infection but we can help determine if what you’re dealing with is out of the norm of the typical healing process.