Earring issues

Walter Smith8 said:Personally, I don't think white gold should be an issue.🤔

Hey, Walter Smith8.👋

Lately, everything just gets on my nerves: white gold, standard gold, silver, cheap costume jewelry... it's all the same to me.
My ear piercings just randomly turned into an infection zone. The weirdest part? It happened while I was wearing these white gold earrings that I hadn't even taken out for a full year until the irritation forced my hand.

I’ve been wearing earrings—piercings and all—for twelve years now, ever since I was a kid, and I’ve never had a single issue. But this last three months? It's a nightmare. My ears are constantly bleeding when I try to take them out, and sliding the studs back in feels like trying to force a grapefruit through a keyhole. Between the inflamed earlobes and the dried-up discharge, it’s honestly disgusting.🤮

Everything was fine once I finally gave my ears a break from earrings, but the second I put them back in—bam, right back to square one. I sanitize everything religiously, obviously.

Someone actually suggested I just let my piercings heal up and wait a year to redo them, but honestly? I’m just not feeling it. First off, I’m practically addicted to wearing earrings. Second, I’ve already been through this cycle three or four times before—re-piercing the exact same spots because they closed up. It feels like a broken record at this point.

Anyone got any advice? Or maybe some actual experience to share?

You might want to look into surgical steel or titanium. From what I know, you get next to zero reaction from those materials.

Using an antiseptic spray like Hibiclens helps too. It cleans things up and speeds up the healing process.

Does anyone know where I can pick up some Geokorton? I'm starting to deal with the same issues Ryan Johnson7 is going through.

Personally, I find that costume jewelry, gold, and even platinum can be quite bothersome—I can usually only tolerate wearing them for a few hours at a time before it gets irritating—but I would absolutely never dream of sleeping in any of them.

Silver, however, is the one exception where I feel perfectly comfortable (yesssssss!).

And regarding that question about whether piercing holes close up (someone was asking earlier)—well, it seems to vary from person to person, some faster than others; if you’re worried about them closing while you aren't wearing anything, perhaps you could just occasionally slide something through the hole? As for my own experience, I went without earrings for at least six or seven years, and when I finally decided to wear them again, they went in without a single issue—the holes hadn't closed up at all, even though I hadn't done any maintenance during that long gap.

So I’ve got a tiny little problem... I pierced my ears just a month ago, and after waiting two weeks, I swapped out the medical studs for some gold earrings. Ugh, putting them in actually hurt so much! I took them out after four days because it felt better, then tried wearing some costume jewelry again after just one day. It hurts every single time I put them in, even though it doesn't hurt when I take them out. I'm definitely not allergic to cheap jewelry, though. Is it just because they're still fresh and sensitive? Has anyone else dealt with this?

Arthur Ramirez7 said:Honestly, Geokorton is a lifesaver; my mom has such bad allergies to costume jewelry, and it’s really the only thing that helps her feel better.

I have to admit, though, I can be pretty irresponsible when it comes to keeping my piercings hygienic, and I tend to just shove whatever earrings I want into my ears without much thought. You guys actually gave me a little food for thought, so I just headed straight to the bathroom to go dab some alcohol on my ears.

My biggest struggle is definitely those big, heavy statement earrings—I absolutely love them, but they end up making my ears ache so much afterward. I can't even go for a quick jog in them because I'm always worried they'll pull on my lobes, and since I have long hair, they occasionally get tangled up too...

I'm the exact same way.😬 My poor ears have been through the ringer. Even when they're red and irritated—or bleeding a little bit—I'm still not giving up my earrings. What can you do? 🤣 I've just gotten used to it. No major issues otherwise. Been doing this for 7 or 8 years now...😍

Arthur Ramirez7 said:I heard there’s some specific component in costume jewelry—I can't quite remember the name—that seems to trigger allergies for people way more often than usual, especially smokers!?? Maybe it's nickel???

Anyway, one little trick you could try is dipping the earring post, just that part that actually goes through your ear, into some Geokorton before putting it in; it might give you a few hours of relief without any irritation.

But honestly, the best piece of advice I’ve ever come across for allergy sufferers is to just coat the earring in a layer of clear nail polish, which basically creates a barrier so it never actually touches your skin, effectively preventing any reaction at all.

Yeah, that's a nickel allergy. I "suffer" from that too. Clear polish helps for maybe one day, but if I wear them again the next, my skin reacts regardless. Instead, I just wipe my piercing holes with alcohol in circles.😁

I first got my nostrils pierced when I was just eight years old—yeah, I know, a bit young, but kids are impulsive. I kept them for maybe two years before I decided to take them out, and eventually, the holes just closed up on their own 😠 so it’s been a while since I’ve dealt with this. Well, until recently, anyway, when I went back to get them done again. Now I'm running into a weird issue and I'm wondering if anyone else has dealt with this: everything feels totally normal on the right side, but the left one is constantly throbbing and giving me grief. When I actually went in to have the piercing removed last time, it started bleeding like crazy 😲 which was a mess. Honestly, I can't even sleep on my left side anymore, and even pulling a t-shirt over my head feels like a chore. 😢

Looks like an infection in the early stages. I’ve been there myself—one side was a total nightmare, the other wasn't quite as bad. You need to thoroughly clean both ears and use Geokorton. Also, try loosening up that piercing on the left ear—maybe run an earring through the hole to keep it open. Ugh, just thinking about it gives me flashbacks.😠

Hey, so I pierced my third lobe about a week ago. I'm still using the medication they gave me, but I just noticed a lymph node swelling up right under the ear on that same side. Any idea what I should do?

Just go get yourself checked out...

So, I went to see the doctor yesterday and apparently, it’s either my teeth or something with my temple—that's the diagnosis, anyway. I guess I'm wondering what I can actually do about it, since I noticed a few people here mentioned having similar issues?

Look, I can't really give you any solid medical advice without seeing the situation for myself, but if your doctor thinks you don't need antibiotics, then they probably don't... though, if you start dealing with intense ear pain, redness or swelling around the ear, a high fever, or any kind of discharge, then yeah, you're definitely going to need an antibiotic prescription...

As far as the boil itself goes, there isn't much you can actually do besides just sitting tight and waiting for it to clear up on its own...

Kevin Garcia12 said:Look, I can't really give you any solid medical advice without seeing the situation for myself, but if your doctor thinks you don't need antibiotics, then they probably don't... though, if you start dealing with intense ear pain, redness or swelling around the ear, a high fever, or any kind of discharge, then yeah, you're definitely going to need an antibiotic prescription...

As far as the boil itself goes, there isn't much you can actually do besides just sitting tight and waiting for it to clear up on its own...

No, no other issues here—no pus, no pain, no redness or swelling—just that one lump, I guess. Thanks.

;It’s not going down—now I can actually feel it if I touch it. It doesn’t exactly hurt, but there's definitely a sensation when I press on it. What am I supposed to do... just wait for it to subside? I went back to my doctor, but honestly, he didn't really do anything or give me any actual direction.

Look, it could take a few days for things to settle down, maybe even longer... you can't just jump to conclusions after a single day. I've told you before why there's no need to panic; the knot itself isn't really the main issue here, at least not given how this whole situation is laid out...

Of course, if it turns out later on that the root cause is something else entirely (like a tooth problem, for instance), then obviously you'll have to go deal with that...

Hey there🙂

I’ve had my ears pierced for years now... back when I first got them done, I didn't bother cleaning anything and things got totally clogged—classic mistake XD. I ended up getting them re-pierced later and haven't had any issues since🙂 but now I'm dealing with something else entirely...

I just stretched one of my holes up to 2mm. Before doing it, I sanitized the piercing, the taper, and the plug with some rubbing alcohol🙂 and used some cream to help everything slide in smoothly. It worked, but... now the area is looking a little red and it's stinging just a tiny bit. Is this normal? Any advice on how to treat it so I don't end up with an actual infection or something?

Thanks🙂

Rachel Reed8 said:Hey there🙂

I’ve had my ears pierced for years now... back when I first got them done, I didn't bother cleaning anything and things got totally clogged—classic mistake XD. I ended up getting them re-pierced later and haven't had any issues since🙂 but now I'm dealing with something else entirely...

I just stretched one of my holes up to 2mm. Before doing it, I sanitized the piercing, the taper, and the plug with some rubbing alcohol🙂 and used some cream to help everything slide in smoothly. It worked, but... now the area is looking a little red and it's stinging just a tiny bit. Is this normal? Any advice on how to treat it so I don't end up with an actual infection or something?

Thanks🙂

You probably just introduced some bacteria into the piercing with that cream... honestly, just take the earrings out, clean everything—the jewelry and your ear—with some rubbing alcohol, and then use an antibiotic ointment like Betrion to keep things lubricated. You should probably dab that stuff on the outside of your ear twice a day for at least three days, too, until all that redness and soreness completely clears up...

My piercing holes aren't red or even sore.
My issue is this constant little bit of clear fluid leaking out that smells totally gross... kind of like infection. I've had my ears pierced for 43 years, so I don't think I ever noticed this before. Sometimes my ears react like this after wearing earrings—I've worn all kinds, but usually just for a few hours before taking them out.
Has anyone dealt with something similar? Any tips on how to fix it?...

So, I’ve been wearing earrings for like fifteen years now, and honestly, I’ve tried pretty much every style imaginable without ever having an issue. But lately, over the last couple of years, things have just... shifted.🤷Now, I can barely stand them; my ears get all red and irritated out of nowhere. Is it actually possible for this kind of sensitivity to just show up out of thin air, and if so, why would that happen?
I also had some pretty heavy health issues right before this started, and even though I'm past that stage, I feel like my whole system has stayed somewhat "altered," if that makes sense. Could this earring thing be some kind of lingering side effect from everything my body went through?🤷