Infection

While infection is likely every piercing enthusiasts greatest fear, it is actually very rare. What I will try to do in this blog entry is help you work out whether you have an infection, and whether you need to visit your piercer or a physician. At the end of the day, infection needs medical assistance, as only a doctor can diagnose and prescribe the necessary medication.

I will be posting some disgusting photos, so please be aware before you proceed!

First of all, if you have a little bump directly on the piercing, please read my blog post Lumps and Bumps. It’s very rare that a piercing bump is a symptom of an infection, and they are dealt with in different ways.

Symptoms of an infected piercing

• Redness at the piercing site and spreading outwards

• Swelling

• Pain, usually at the site, but can spread outwards

• Excessive discharge

• Tenderness

• Burning

• Itching

You might experience all of these, or just a selection. They can be symptoms of other issues, which we will look at next.

Excessive discharge, swelling and redness.

Work out if you actually have an infection

First of all, is your piercing too tight? While an infection might cause the area to swell and the jewellery to pull in, the natural swelling from a fresh piercings with a piece of jewellery that is too tight can give infection-like symptoms. Visit your piercer for a longer piece of jewellery if the ends are being pulled in. Be warned, this will be very uncomfortable. If this corrects the issue, you will notice a very swift improvement in how it feels. If nothing changes, visit a physician.

Body jewellery pulling into a fistula with discharge

Have you a piece of detritus or hair that has entered the piercing? A few times I have removed jewellery from people that have had hair wrapped around the post so much that I have had to remove the hair before I could remove the jewellery. If you think that something has gotten stuck in the fistula, visit your piercer for an inspection and cleaning. Once again, if that doesn’t improve the situation quickly, visit a physician.

If you have a few of the symptoms mentioned above, the jewellery is clean and not being pulled in, get yourself to your doctor.

How to prevent an infection

This is pretty simple.

• Follow all aftercare from your piercer

• Use a sterile saline solution to keep it clean

• Don’t touch or play with your piercings

• Don’t go into a pool or open water until the fistula has had chance to seal

• Keep chemicals away from your piercings

Poor quality aftercare

A few years ago, in the UK, an unscrupulous company sold a salt based aftercare that they made themselves, which was then distributed around the country. Unfortunately, they released a bad batch, containing a nasty pseudomonas bacteria variant. When this was sprayed on fresh cartilage piercings, it pretty much guaranteed an infection that often required hospitalisation to recover from. Plenty of people lost ear tissue fighting off this infection.

The few months that it took to get this under control, I saw more infections than across the rest of my career. I’m telling you this to help you understand that you need to be careful with what you put onto your piercings. I only recommend high end sterile saline sprays such as Neilmed or Stericlens as I know that they are made to a suitable quality to remove the risk of this happening again.

If you are in any doubt whether you have an infection

First of all, your piercer should be willing to help. They may ask you questions, but they are not trying to put blame onto you. They are just trying to work out what is going on. If they have any doubt, they will send you to your physician. Go as soon as possible. Your doctor is the only person who can diagnose and provide the necessary pharmaceuticals to get you better!

Your doctor might tell you to take your piercing out. This might be difficult for you, but at the end of the day, you can get re-pierced. I highly recommend following the advice of your doctor as they have experience and qualifications in keeping you well!

Please be aware, that if you have an infection, you will not be able to cure it with salt baths, tea tree oil, or a myriad of other home remedies. You will very likely need antibiotic medication that you can only receive with a prescription.

And at the risk of receiving some disgusting images in my messages folder, I will always try to advise if you are not sure. Let me know if you need help!