Don’t you just hate it? You get a brand-new, sparkly fresh piercing and you fall in love. You spend several hours just looking at it in the mirror, admiring your new addition. You post pics on social media so everyone else can admire it too. You plan all the sweet new jewelry you’re going to put in it. And then one morning you wake up, rush to the mirror, and discover that- to your horror- you’ve got a piercing situation. Maybe it’s some strange colored crusty stuff, or the dreaded piercing bump, but your lovely new piercing isn’t looking so lovely. Perhaps this just happened, perhaps you’ve been unsuccessfully trying to treat it at home and it’s not working. You’re starting to consider taking your beloved new piercing out. Well, before you give up…. give this a read. You may be able to spot the cause of your woes.
Wrong Cleaning
New piercings need to be cleaned with sterile saline wound wash. That means there should be nothing in the ingredients other than sterile saline. This stuff comes in a can and is available at most pharmacies. (Neilmed makes a good one, but store brand is okay too, just check the ingredients) You should not be cleaning your piercing with any homemade sea salt wash, with antibacterial soap, with alcohol, or anything containing benzalkonium chloride. Oral piercings should be cleaned with a mouthwash that doesn’t contain alcohol. Use warm salt water or an alcohol-free, antibacterial mouthwash
Wrong Treatment
If you ask online about piercing bumps, you’re liable to get a whole slew of suggestions about what to put on them. Most of these should not get anywhere near your piercing. Do not apply tea tree oil, crushed aspirin, crushed acetaminophen, a wet tea bag, antibacterial ointment, or soak your piercing in sea salt. These range from the merely unhelpful to the downright detrimental. They can make irritation worse and slow the healing process.
Wrong Jewelry
You should make sure that, prior to getting pierced, you know what style of jewelry that piercing requires. A vast majority of jewelry (the main exceptions being daith, belly button, rook, and eyebrow) require straight jewelry. Piercings such as conch, helix, or nostril (along with most other standard piercings) require straight jewelry to heal properly. Circular jewelry moves around too much in these piercings to allow for proper healing. The jewelry style can be changed after the piercing is healed. If you’re having issues with a new piercing and it was pierced with curved or circular jewelry, you may need to see a piercer for a jewelry swap.
Wrong Angle
Is your bump only on one side of the jewelry, while the opposite side of the same end is untouched? This may be a pressure bump. It indicates that the angle of the piercing was incorrect, causing the jewelry to put pressure on one side of the end and not the other. This requires a piercer to take a look, as the piercing may not be viable and require removal and re-piercing at a later date.
Wrong Materials
Standard piercing jewelry should be made of ASTM F-136 titanium. If your piercing jewelry is not up to spec, it could definitely be the culprit.
New piercings are always so exciting. One of the worst feelings is when you discover that your beloved new addition is struggling. If you don’t think that any of the above are causing your issues – heck, even if you think they might be – it’s always okay to go see a trusted piercer and find out what’s going on. And if your piercing looks like it needs medical attention, PLEASE do not hesitate to see a doctor. Better to lose the piercing than your life. Just don’t let anyone put tea tree oil on it, ok? Happy piercing.
