These days ear piercing means a very popular fashion among people. Though this fashion was initially highlighted in older days, now it has become very popular and widely spread fashion, especially among youth. But the sad situation that these people who love this fashion face a massive problem and that is an ear infection. It is a greater problem for your skin health too.
These infections may occur naturally due to micro-organisms or because of the unawareness of the people. Before piercing your ears, you all should be aware of the safety precautions that to be follow after piercing, from where and from whom the piercing is done and even about the infections. So this article will help you all who love this fashion to be more aware of ear infection and to get a proper understanding on how do infections occur, symptoms of an infection and safety precautions to get rid of these troublesome ear infections.
Picture by Freepik
We all know that piercing makes a wound, and it is an open wound. Since the piercing is done in cartilage, it takes somewhat longer time like 6-8 weeks to heal the wound, because blood vessels are absent in cartilage. Therefore there is a tendency for infections. There are two ways of getting an infection, as I mentioned above. One way is a natural occurrence. Because it is an open wound and there is a higher tendency of getting infected due to micro-organisms like bacteria. So you must take advice from a dermatologist to get rid of those bacterial infections.
Except the natural way, infections in ear can be due to other reasons like handling the piercing too much, using unsterile tools to pierce, touching the piercing with dirty hands etc. If there is an infection we can simply identify if;
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Yellow pus like discharge
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Swelling
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Redness
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Continuous paining or tenderness
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Burning and itching
Since infections in cartilage are more critical, you should meet a good dermatologist, and you may have to take oral antibiotics or to hospitalize if the condition is more critical. So you should be very much aware of safety precautions when piercing, especially when piercing cartilage.
Except for the natural reason for infections, you and the one who pierces your ear should take the responsibility to prevent infections. So for that, both of you should have good hygienic practices, and the vendor must assure you that he or she uses most protective and sterile tools for piercing and follow good hygienic practices. However, you have the greatest responsibility to take care of yourself to get rid of ear infections. For that you must follow the following precautions and those steps will clear out if there is any minor infection.
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Do not touch the piercing if your hands are dirty.
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Clean the piercing with sterile saline 3 times a day.(prepare sterile saline using ¼ of salt and 8 oz of distilled water.)
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Do not apply alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or antibiotic ointments, because it irritates and slowing down the healing process.
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Do not remove the piercing because if there is any infection, it will trap.
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Clean both sides of your earlobes and always keep in mind to keep your ears dry after cleaning. Use paper towels to dry them up.
Make sure to continue this cleaning process at least for three months because wounds in cartilage take 6-8 weeks to heal as I mentioned before. Though minor infections can heal by the above steps, you must give special attention for the below and if you identify such symptoms immediately take necessary medical actions if;
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Jewellery does not move
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Ear ring clasp embedded in skin
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Fever develops
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There is no improvement in healing though the above mentioned home remedies are done.
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Redness or inflammation around the piercing.
And it is better to find a professional in these fields to pierce your ears because it will reduce the risk. So when you meet them for your purpose do not forget to ask for a list of precautions that you should follow after piercing, and on the other hand, it will reduce the risk of getting an infection if you can pierce your ears by a professional. And make sure that they are using sterile tools as well as the earring packages, are also sterile. After you did piercing keep remember to clean your ears using sterile saline three times a day. Finally, you must make sure not to turn or play with your jewellery because it is the most common way of getting infected.
Stay healthy!
