An answer to my piercings?

[Guest]

Hi.

 

so I need to see if anyone is in a similar position or has advice. 

 

I got got my ears pierced around April, it was my first time ever. I left them in for twelve weeks and I still go infections even with hypoallergenic ones. So after a while I got gold earrings and the infections stopped but my ears refuse to even stay open for 12 hours. I can take them out at night and then the next morning they closing already. I’ve had to take my earrings out since my finals doesn’t allow jewelry and I have to re pierce them everyday.

 

I opened them yesterday afternoon and then this morning they had closed at the back. 

 

Its making my my life impossible. I enjoy my earrings but it has been almost six months and they still closing. 

 

I don’t know what to do and I can’t find anyone with a similar situation.

 

Any advice or ideas why this is happening to me? 

[Alejandrogynous]

How soon after getting them pierced are you taking them out? Lobe piercings heal faster than other types, but you generally want to keep them in for at least a month (longer to be safe) for them to heal before removing them. That means no taking them out at night or changing jewelry, etc. Don't even take them out to clean them, clean them while they're in your ears. If you don't give your ears long enough to fully heal and acclimate around the jewelry (which can take up to six months even if it looks healed already from the outside), they will keep trying to heal themselves naturally when you take them out. 

 

Also, be very careful about forcing or repiercing them yourself, especially if you're prone to infections. I'd recommend stopping entirely, letting your ears fully close/heal and trying again with a professional. 

[Guest]

42 minutes ago, Alejandrogynous said:

How soon after getting them pierced are you taking them out? Lobe piercings heal faster than other types, but you generally want to keep them in for at least a month (longer to be safe) for them to heal before removing them. That means no taking them out at night or changing jewelry, etc. Don't even take them out to clean them, clean them while they're in your ears. If you don't give your ears long enough to fully heal and acclimate around the jewelry (which can take up to six months even if it looks healed already from the outside), they will keep trying to heal themselves naturally when you take them out. 

 

Also, be very careful about forcing or repiercing them yourself, especially if you're prone to infections. I'd recommend stopping entirely, letting your ears fully close/heal and trying again with a professional. 

I only took them out after twelve weeks because of the infections when I got them and the length they were supposed to in passed but they still heal. I got my golds around July and left them in till last week. 

[Alejandrogynous]

10 minutes ago, AwkwardSquid said:

I only took them out after twelve weeks because of the infections when I got them and the length they were supposed to in passed but they still heal. I got my golds around July and left them in till last week. 

Ah, I see. In that case, my guess is that even your gold jewelry is irritating your ears enough that they're not healing properly, or your body is just stubborn and there's not much you can do other than not leaving your earrings out for any length of time. I'd still go talk to your piercer about it, they'll be able to give you the best advice. 

 

For what it's worth, I have a friend whose body rejects any sort of metal so they wear only organic material jewelry - bone, horn, etc. and they seem to have better luck that way. 

[Guest]

On 11/2/2018 at 7:24 PM, Alejandrogynous said:

Ah, I see. In that case, my guess is that even your gold jewelry is irritating your ears enough that they're not healing properly, or your body is just stubborn and there's not much you can do other than not leaving your earrings out for any length of time. I'd still go talk to your piercer about it, they'll be able to give you the best advice. 

 

For what it's worth, I have a friend whose body rejects any sort of metal so they wear only organic material jewelry - bone, horn, etc. and they seem to have better luck that way. 

Went to the pharmacist today to discuss the issue. They do piercings there as well. Lady tells me to just re-pierce my holes as they can't have started closing after three days  and that I need to clean them with surgical spirits and use studex.... She told me this after I told her the studex causes a reaction. Decided to just let them close. 

[MollyDMA]

I would wait for a few months and try again if you want. Where did you get your ears pierced? That can make a difference. If it was at Claire's/Icing or at a kiosk in the middle of the mall, it might explain your infection even with hypoallergenic jewelry. Try going to a tattoo shop that also does piercings. 

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, MollyDMA said:

I would wait for a few months and try again if you want. Where did you get your ears pierced? That can make a difference. If it was at Claire's/Icing or at a kiosk in the middle of the mall, it might explain your infection even with hypoallergenic jewelry. Try going to a tattoo shop that also does piercings. 

It was at American Swiss. We don't have a lot of tattoo shops that do piercing, the closest one is about 50km. The worst is my friend got her ears pierced there as well and a classmate of mine and they were all fine. Sucks. 

[Hermit Advocate]

Realistically you shouldn't take them out for a year. 2 months is the standard time to switch to different earrings after piercing, keep cleaning them for 4-6 months, then you can take them out and leave them out for a few days after a year. At least that's what I was taught. Not that I take them out, I'm constantly leaving mine in. Granted 7 of mine are cartilage and I never take them out. 

[Dark Heart]

I had a lot of issues with my first set of piercings. My body didin't like the different metals that I tried (even hypoallergenic). I needed to change the earrings during the healing process due to said rejection. I still saw blood after the recommended healing time.

 

My issues were caused by my metal sensitivity and where I went to get them pierced.

 

If you do decide to try again:

 

My first recommendation - if you din't want to go the natural material route for your earring material - would be to get piercing/regular earrings made from titanium, stainless steel, or nickle-free sterling silver. That is what I have been using and I've had no issues with my ears since. 

 

My second recommendation would be - and this one has already said but I think it should be said again - leaving a pair of earrings in your piercings. They could be something small/ inconspicuous. Even after the hole has healed, it can take a year or more before the piercings set properly. My sibling has a tendency to leave their earrings out, and their piercings have repeated tried to close up. Like you, they then have had to force the holes back open - which isn't the best route to take.

[Rchlgreen]

On 11/7/2018 at 9:08 AM, MollyDMA said:

I would wait for a few months and try again if you want. Where did you get your ears pierced? That can make a difference. If it was at Claire's/Icing or at a kiosk in the middle of the mall, it might explain your infection even with hypoallergenic jewelry. Try going to a tattoo shop that also does piercings. 

^^^^ I second this! I got my ears pierced at a mall kiosk when I was like 10 and they kept getting infected, and now I can't wear earrings at all without them getting infected again. I got my industrial done at a tattoo shop and have never had any problems with it.

If you're going to put holes in your body, get it done professionally at a shop. It saves trouble in the long run.I Iwish I had known that when I was a kid.

Also, there's this website called Painful Pleasures (which sounds filthy, I know) that sells quality jewelry at a good price. I bought a barbell from them about 5 years ago and I still wear it everyday, it cost like $5 and they ship international. They have different materials to choose from in case you're having reactions to metal.

[J. van Deijck]

from what I know, it's required to keep the earlobe piercings untouched for at least six weeks so they can heal properly.

mine took 9 years (!!!) to completely heal, but finally I can wear whatever I want in my ears and they're not closing at all, so I can take them out at night. before that, I had to get them pierced more than once and they were getting infected a lot.

[GoneForGood]

I have four holes in each ear. Cheap earrings cause me major problems even after decades of healing. I need surgical stainless steel or sterling silver. To get my higher ones to heal took several years of keeping them in and I had to keep putting peroxide on them to keep the infection away.