Pierced ear is swollen!

Greetings,

I made a complete fool of myself by going to a local jeweler to get my cartilage pierced.
For the first three or four days, everything seemed fine—just a little bit of swelling, but nothing major.
However, last night my ear swelled up so badly that I could barely even get that damn earring out this morning.
My question is this: now that I've removed the foreign object, will the swelling subside on its own without any lasting issues, or should I head to the doctor? Also, is there any way to save the piercing hole, or am I stuck waiting for it to heal before finding a professional to redo it properly?
Thanks,
Roger Smith6

Seriously, go see a doctor—don't mess around. You don't want to end up with some nasty infection or poisoning.
Anyway, my local jeweler actually told me straight up that they won't touch it because it’s way too risky. Most jewelers here just stick to earlobes and won't even dream of touching cartilage.
Then you've got those alternative medicine crowds—you know, the Reiki types—who'll tell you not to pierce your ears at all! They claim there are vital energy points right there—kind of like how nerve endings work in your palms or feet—and that messing with them ruins your whole body's energy flow...
(I actually have a couple of piercings in my ears myself, just waiting for them to heal up.🙂 )

Roger Smith6 said:hey

I pulled a total idiot move and went to a jeweler to get my cartilage pierced.
For the first three or four days, everything seemed fine—just a little swelling, nothing major.
But last night, my ear swelled up so badly that this morning I could barely even pull that damn earring out.
My question is: now that the foreign object is out, will the swelling just go down on its own without any permanent damage, or should I head straight to a doctor? Also, is there any way to save the piercing hole, or am I stuck waiting for it to heal before finding a pro to redo it?
thanks
Roger Smith6

It’s infected. You’ll be lucky if a round of antibiotics clears it up. Obviously, get yourself to a doctor right now.

What a mess
thanks everyone

So, did you lose an ear?