Helix piercing advice?

I got my cartilage pierced at a local jewelry shop about six months ago, but I’m still feeling this slight ache whenever I touch the earring. There's no bleeding, no swelling, and nothing else looks wrong, but the pain is definitely there when I press on it. 😢

Has anyone dealt with this before? What was your experience like?

From what I understand regarding a meniscus tear, it typically takes about six months to fully heal, so the discomfort you're feeling might still be perfectly normal at this stage. 😕

Personally, I haven't had any direct experience when it comes to cartilage piercing, though I do have my ears pierced, but honestly... I mean, why on earth would someone even think about piercing their cartilage? It just seems so unnecessary to me! I guess there could be all sorts of complications that might arise from something like that... I suppose one has to wonder, what was actually missing from a perfectly standard earlobe piercing that made this seem like a good idea?

I actually ended up at my doctor's office because of a cyst—it finally caught my attention. It had been bothering me for maybe two or three months, just a little tender and draining a bit, which I figured was totally normal at the time. Now? It’s been a full year since then and I haven't had a single issue.🙂

feralnomad99 said:I haven't personally dealt with cartilage piercing, but I've had my ears pierced. Honestly, why on earth would anyone try to pierce cartilage? It’s asking for trouble. There are way too many potential complications there. What was wrong with a standard earlobe piercing?

... I filled the space! ... 🤣

I only lasted two weeks before I ripped them off. I couldn't take it any longer—it was absolutely wrecking my ears. I couldn't even take a normal shower because the water hitting my head felt like a pile of hammers.

Larry Grant10 said:I only lasted two weeks before I ripped it out—I just couldn't take it anymore, my ear was absolutely killing me. I couldn't even take a decent shower because the water hitting my ear felt like being pelted by a handful of gravel.

Honestly, who knows if the equipment they used to shove that thing in there was even sterile to begin with?

It wasn't like my ear or anything looked flared up—everything seemed totally fine, no redness or whatever—but man, the pain was just brutal.

Well, looks like I hit a nerve there—totally understandable...

I had a nasty experience with my cartilage piercing; it kept getting infected and hurting like hell. I ended up taking it out after about three months.
It’s just not worth the hassle.

Drew Kim3 said:I had a nightmare experience with a cartilage piercing—it got all infected and painful as hell. I ended up wearing it for maybe three months before just taking it out.
it’s just not worth the headache

Shit happens😬

I'm certainly not the only one. Honestly, every single person I know who’s had their cartilage pierced has dealt with issues from that piercing for a long time.

Yeah, I tried piercing my septum twice (?!) and failed both times: first attempt, I only managed to puncture the skin, which obviously couldn't hold anything after two weeks and just fell out... hm. It didn't even hurt then, but the second time (yeah, I'm that stubborn), it got so infected about a month later that I almost ended up in surgery. My advice? Just don't do it.

Rebecca Cox4 said:My advice: just download it...

I don't have any major issues—no swelling, no pus, no bleeding. Just some mild pain when touched. I think I'll wait a bit longer before giving up on this... 🥳

Perhaps that discomfort serves as an early warning sign of upcoming inflammation🙄? I personally dealt with some quite significant health complications because of similar symptoms, and it can actually be rather dangerous if left unaddressed.........

Richard Hall74 said:maybe that pain is just a sign of some upcoming inflammation🙄?

I hope not... but at the rate I'm cranking out these posts, my ear might actually fall off! 😈

I am speaking from my own firsthand experience here. It was incredibly painful, and I honestly thought the issue had cleared up, only to have it flare back up eight months later. It became inflamed, abscessed, and was frankly quite a nasty situation to deal with... It is simply not wise to let anyone pierce anything at a jewelry store, let alone attempt to pierce cartilage using one of those piercing guns.👎

It feels like it's just irritating me because I picked out this zirconia earring that’s a bit heavier and has some sharp edges... I don't think it's an infection or anything. ☕

That is likely just a reaction to the jewelry, but I would still suggest being cautious 😉

I personally have a few small holes in my cartilage, and I’ve dealt with all the usual headaches from them—just some minor inflammation and swelling that eventually settled down...
but I will say this: you absolutely should stick to seeing a doctor or going to an authorized studio, even though, let’s be honest, nobody can truly guarantee you won't hit a nerve—I just happened to get incredibly lucky.

Or perhaps you previously had a ring with a much narrower gauge, and now that this new one is wider, the skin simply needs a bit of time to stretch out and adjust...