Ironworks Gaming Forum - View Single Post

05-31-2003, 03:01 AM

I've seen and taken part in many ear peircings in my life and this is the best advice you could follow in order to take care of them.

#1) Make sure that the studs you are wearing are gold (EDIT: Not Gold-plated, GOLD...gold plating wears down to the cheaper metal eventually)...other metals flake and cause infections (and in more serious cases cancerous tumors).
(I can't wear anything BUT gold in my ear peircings now without swelling and irritation even though I used to be able to wear silver and lower-grade metal earrings) and if you ever see microscopic images of the flakes that silver and low-metal grade metals leave behind/the infections that they cause when they are put into peircings, you would never use them to begin with!

#2) Turn and clean the studs every day...it is best to clean them with Isopropyl (Rubbing) Alcohol (70% or better) every day.

If you don't feel like you can remove them yet, soak a cotton ball in alcohol and squeeze drops of it onto the stud as you turn it back and forth so that you can get the sterilization as far through the peircing as possible. Don't think, Oh alcohol is going to huirt! It only hurts where bacteria in an open wound is present, if there is no infection to get rid of, you won't feel a thing and it is usually just a stinging sensation, not a burning sensation, OK? [img]smile.gif[/img]

If you remove the studs and clean them with cotton balls or swabs, dip them in rubbing alcohol first and only use them to carefully remove any foreign substance (dead skin/crust or pus) from the post before putting it back in your ear and make sure that they leave no fibers on the post before putting it back in your ear.

The best way to make sure the studs are absolutely sterile is to remove them, make sure they are free of any debris and drop them into a lid-ful of alcohol, taking them out by the front of the earring (so you don't have to touch the post) when you put them back in...this way, the post is doused with the alcohol that will be needed for inner sterilization.
Pour the remaining alcohol out of the lid into the sink and not back into the bottle.

Removing them gets you used to taking them out/putting them in and if you douse the post in alcohol prior to putting the earring back in, (without touching the post prior to putting it back in) you also clean the inside of the piercing where it is most vulnerable to infection/call mutation

#3#) Pain thresholds vary from person to person, so what you may think is very painful, someone else might not even notice...yes it hurts at first but it isn't going to last forever, especially if you take care of them properly while they heal. The good thing with ear (and nose) peircings it that you are piercing skin and cartilage, not skin and muscle like you would in an eyebrow, naval or other body peircing so the peircing will (with the proper care) heal completely.

#4) If you experience prolonged pain remove the earring and let the peircing heal completely (about 6 weeks), then have it done again either just above or just below the original peircing because the original peircing is going to create a spot of scar tissue inside once it heals that you can't peirce through again without difficulty (like a crooked-through-the-inside-piercing) or without repeating your present problem if the peircing happened to go through a blood vessel that thinks it needed to be left alone.

I've had my ears peirced for amlost thirty years and unless I change earrings (not often, and most-times not even likely) I wear the same tiny gold hoops 24-7. I remove them once a month and clean them with rubbing alcohol and unless you count the non-gold earrings I have worn and have problems with, I have never experienced any problems or infections but let me tell you, leaving an infection alone or wearing cheap metals is asking for trouble...I had a friend who ignored good advise and he ended up having a tumor that was half the size of his fist grow on his earlobe before having it removed through very expensive surgery...don't let that happen to you. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Good Luck & Congratulations.

[ 05-31-2003, 03:10 AM: Message edited by: Lil Lil ]

05-31-2003, 03:01 AM	#17
Lil Lil Guest Posts: n/a	I've seen and taken part in many ear peircings in my life and this is the best advice you could follow in order to take care of them. #1) Make sure that the studs you are wearing are gold (EDIT: Not Gold-plated, GOLD...gold plating wears down to the cheaper metal eventually)...other metals flake and cause infections (and in more serious cases cancerous tumors). (I can't wear anything BUT gold in my ear peircings now without swelling and irritation even though I used to be able to wear silver and lower-grade metal earrings) and if you ever see microscopic images of the flakes that silver and low-metal grade metals leave behind/the infections that they cause when they are put into peircings, you would never use them to begin with! #2) Turn and clean the studs every day...it is best to clean them with Isopropyl (Rubbing) Alcohol (70% or better) every day. If you don't feel like you can remove them yet, soak a cotton ball in alcohol and squeeze drops of it onto the stud as you turn it back and forth so that you can get the sterilization as far through the peircing as possible. Don't think, Oh alcohol is going to huirt! It only hurts where bacteria in an open wound is present, if there is no infection to get rid of, you won't feel a thing and it is usually just a stinging sensation, not a burning sensation, OK? [img]smile.gif[/img] If you remove the studs and clean them with cotton balls or swabs, dip them in rubbing alcohol first and only use them to carefully remove any foreign substance (dead skin/crust or pus) from the post before putting it back in your ear and make sure that they leave no fibers on the post before putting it back in your ear. The best way to make sure the studs are absolutely sterile is to remove them, make sure they are free of any debris and drop them into a lid-ful of alcohol, taking them out by the front of the earring (so you don't have to touch the post) when you put them back in...this way, the post is doused with the alcohol that will be needed for inner sterilization. Pour the remaining alcohol out of the lid into the sink and not back into the bottle. Removing them gets you used to taking them out/putting them in and if you douse the post in alcohol prior to putting the earring back in, (without touching the post prior to putting it back in) you also clean the inside of the piercing where it is most vulnerable to infection/call mutation #3#) Pain thresholds vary from person to person, so what you may think is very painful, someone else might not even notice...yes it hurts at first but it isn't going to last forever, especially if you take care of them properly while they heal. The good thing with ear (and nose) peircings it that you are piercing skin and cartilage, not skin and muscle like you would in an eyebrow, naval or other body peircing so the peircing will (with the proper care) heal completely. #4) If you experience prolonged pain remove the earring and let the peircing heal completely (about 6 weeks), then have it done again either just above or just below the original peircing because the original peircing is going to create a spot of scar tissue inside once it heals that you can't peirce through again without difficulty (like a crooked-through-the-inside-piercing) or without repeating your present problem if the peircing happened to go through a blood vessel that thinks it needed to be left alone. I've had my ears peirced for amlost thirty years and unless I change earrings (not often, and most-times not even likely) I wear the same tiny gold hoops 24-7. I remove them once a month and clean them with rubbing alcohol and unless you count the non-gold earrings I have worn and have problems with, I have never experienced any problems or infections but let me tell you, leaving an infection alone or wearing cheap metals is asking for trouble...I had a friend who ignored good advise and he ended up having a tumor that was half the size of his fist grow on his earlobe before having it removed through very expensive surgery...don't let that happen to you. [img]smile.gif[/img] Good Luck & Congratulations. [ 05-31-2003, 03:10 AM: Message edited by: Lil Lil ]