When you should see a doctor
The earring clasp becomes embedded in your skin. The infection doesn't improve with home treatment within two days. You develop a fever. The infection, or redness and inflammation, spreads beyond the piercing site.If a new piercing is infected, it is best not to remove the earring. Removing the piercing can allow the wound to close, trapping the infection within the skin. For this reason, it is advisable not to remove an earring from an infected ear unless advised by a doctor or professional piercer.
If you notice such issues as extreme swelling, pain, redness, a greenish or yellow discharge with an odor, itching, and/or the piercing is hot to the touch, you may actually have an infection and not a reaction.
If you just had your body pierced and you start to notice a crusty material around the piercing site, don't worry. Crusting after body piercing is perfectly normal—this is just the result of your body trying to heal itself. Dead blood cells and plasma make their way to the surface and then dry when exposed to air.
Most infected ear piercings are caused by a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and so you need an antibiotic that covers this bacteria, such as ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin. Amoxcillin, Augmentin, and Keflex do not cover pseudomonas infections and are not the right drug to treat infected ear piercings.
Blowouts. Blowouts are complete buzzkills (trust us, you don't want to get one), and happen when you stretch your ears too fast. This causes great pressure on the inside of your piercing and the hole to twist inside out. If you experience a blowout, it is advisable to downsize immediately in order to let your skin rest
This is the most common cause of a swollen earlobe for most people. A certain amount of pain and swelling is normal at the time of piercing, which should go away in a matter of days. For people who use gauges, going up a gauge can cause similar symptoms.
With proper care, most mild earlobe infections will clear up in 1 to 2 weeks.
An earlobe cyst is also known as an epidermoid cyst. These cells form the walls of the cyst and secrete keratin, which fills up the cyst. Damaged hair follicles or oil glands can cause them. Cysts also often tend to run in families, or can form for no reason.
An ear infection is often a viral or bacterial infection affecting your middle ear. The accumulation of fluid inside your ear canal can damage your ear canal's protective layer. This is known as swollen ear canal and is a condition of the ear associated with redness and inflammation inside the canal.
Can I use coconut oil when I stretch my ears? You can but its better to either use jojoba oil or vitamin E oil. Or you could just wait till your ears are stretched out enough to where it is easy for you to stretch them. Your jewelry will do that for you but you gotta wait at least 2 months.
Silicone is bacteria friendly
Ear stretching with silicone can lead to blowouts, bacterial issues including intrusions and infections. Don't get us wrong! Silicone plugs are great for healed stretched piercings and other large piercings because they're so comfy and lightweight.In its simplest form, a blowout is the art of drying hair after a wash to achieve a smooth and sleek look, style and feel -- no curling or flat iron involved!
The Lahu and Karen-Padaung Tribes stretch their lobes and wear intricate jewelry in their multiple ear piercings because they believe that the ears are the most sacred part of the body. In present day, ear stretching is reserved for married women and seen as a sign of beauty.
As a general rule of thumb, you should wait a minimum of 3-4 months before stretching a fresh soft tissue piercing, and healed ear lobe piercings can often be stretched at the rate of one size (about 1mm to 1.5mm or 1/16") each 30 to 45 days, minimum.
Because of the fact that everyone's body reacts differently, this answer varies. It is recommended that you wait at least 6 weeks in between stretches. This will give your earlobes time to heal up and become a little loose. However, we recommend that you wait 2-6 months between each stretch.
Most professional piercers will suggest around 6mm (2g) to 8mm (0g) for a safe size although even at this size there is a chance they won't shrink back down at all. When stretching your ears you must be certain of your choice and understand that there is a risk they may never go back to normal without surgery.
As a general rule of thumb, you should wait a minimum of 3-4 months before stretching a fresh soft tissue piercing, and healed ear lobe piercings can often be stretched at the rate of one size (about 1mm to 1.5mm or 1/16") each 30 to 45 days, minimum.
