Q: I have had my first piercing for 6 years but there is still a gross smell and bits of yellow stuff. How can I get rid of it? -Delilah
A: What you’re describing is perfectly normal stuff even for a healed piercing. The smell comes from a buildup of skin and oil within the fistula and can usually be fixed with more regular cleaning. You don’t mention which piercing it is but it’s ok if you cannot remove the jewelry, just give it a good spray with sterile saline wound wash and then rinse it. You can do this daily if needed. If you are able to remove the jewelry, you can give that a wash with a gentle soap and rinse well before re-inserting. (click here to learn more about cleaning your jewelry) The yellow crusties are normal too, that is called lymph and it’s a normal thing to find on a piercing. If a simple cleaning routine doesn’t solve the problem, it would be a good idea to go see a trusted piercer and simply have your piercing evaluated to make sure that it is healthy and correct and what you are seeing isn’t signs of a bigger problem like a crooked piercing or a piercing that didn’t heal properly. Best of luck!
Q: How do I know if my belly piercing is healing well? Thank You. -Jakayla
A: There are two basic ways to know if you belly piercing is healing alright. The first is to look for things that shouldn’t be there. If you don’t see any irritation bumps, if it’s not showing signs of infection (hot to the touch, oozing green stuff, swollen, dark red skin), if you are not seeing more and more of the barbell as time goes on, if the skin around the jewelry doesn’t look like it is actually pulling away from the jewelry, if the skin is not becoming flaky, if it doesn’t bleed regularly or copiously, you can feel reasonably certain that your piercing is healing properly. Another way to check is simply to make an appointment with a trusted piercer and have them check it. A benefit of this is that if there is a problem in the early stages, they will likely catch it. Another benefit of this is that if it is time to downsize or change the jewelry, you can have that done. And a third benefit is that you can get another piercing while you’re there and who doesn’t love that? Happy piercing!
Disclaimer: Body Candy is only here to give you fun and helpful advice and information when it comes to getting pierced. Always consult a professional piercer to make sure a new piercing is right for you!
