Answering Your Piercing Questions (Part 2)
Q: I'm planning out a full ear project for next year. Can you get too many piercings together in one area or do they have to be spaced far enough apart? -Caleb H.
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A: The human body can only heal so many wounds at one time and, at the end of the day, a piercing is a wound. One should only be healing 3 (although some say 3 to 5) piercings at any one time. On top of that, each piercing will go through its own period of swelling after piercing. So, if you are getting multiple piercings in one ear at one time, they shouldn’t all be directly next to each other in order to accommodate the swelling and healing process. For example, a daith, tragus, and conch piercing would all be ok to heal at one time but a triple helix with all three piercings next to each other will not heal properly if done at once. In that situation, you’d be best off getting two of them and then getting the third after the first two have healed. Make sure you have a chat with your piercer about your plans for your ear project. They can tell you what the best order is for the piercings you want to get.
Q: I accidentally knocked my piercing and now it's bleeding. Should I take it out, leave it in, seek medical attention? Will it be fine? -Jaclyn O.
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A: First of all, you can leave the piercing in. It’s injured, but there’s no reason to remove it at this point. You’ll want to baby it as much as possible while it’s healing. Even if it’s an older piercing, you’ll want to clean it with sterile saline spray twice a day, rinse with water, and dry with either a hair dryer or a clean paper towel. (And make sure your hands are clean!) Make sure you don’t sleep on it, play with it, or let hair or clothing snag it. And you may get an irritation bump, so don’t be surprised by that. Just continue to care for your piercing as if it were new and the bump should go away over time. Don’t try to remove any dried blood manually, just let the saline rinse it away. If the situation worsens or the piercing starts to show signs of rejection, you’ll want to take a trip to your trusted piercer for an evaluation.
Q: My new medusa piercing looked fine when I left my piercer but I got home and looked in the mirror and it seems to be off-center. Should I remove it and start over, or can it be fixed? -Crystal
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A: This advice is especially true for philtrum/medusa piercings – let it heal. For one thing, the philtrum (that little divot under your nose) is notorious for swelling like crazy after it is pierced. You undoubtedly got a good look at it after it was pierced and you were satisfied with the results. It was straight and properly located and looked good, right? (This is why it’s SO important to check well!) But by the time you got home…. It’s funky looking. That is clearly a result of swelling making it look a tad off. (After all, migration would take far longer and an improper pierce you would have noticed. So let it heal, let the swelling come down for a week, two weeks, and then decide. If it’s still not where you want it, go have it removed if you feel the need. But just giving it a chance to settle and for the swelling to go down can make the difference between a piercing you love and having to repeat the entire experience.
