Piercing Aftercare
The information contained within this page is
based upon our experience as piercers. It contains all of our
advice on how best to care for your new piercing.
We are here for you. Should you
need help with the healing process or jewelry issues we are here to
assist and advise, usually at no additional cost to you.
We are not doctors, and our suggestions, whether written or
verbal, stated or implied, are not meant to be medical advice.
In the event of a serious infection or other problem,
consult your physician.
Your Basic Piercing Care Instructions
Liquid Soap and Water
Ear Care Antiseptic (Benzylkonium Chloride)
Warm Salt Water Soak
DO
NOT USE THE FOLLOWING!!!
DO NOT USE RUBBING ALCOHOL!!!
DO NOT USE HYDROGEN PEROXIDE!!!
DO NOT USE ANTIBIOTIC OINTMENTS!!!
DO NOT USE PROVIDON IODINE!!!
Infections and Irritations
Allergic Reactions
Allergic Reactions
Materials That Cause Allergic Reactions
Other Sources Of Allergic Reactions
Your Basic Piercing Care Instructions:
The purpose of cleaning a healing
piercing is to remove any dead cells and discharge excreted by your
body, as well as any external dirt and bacteria picked up during the
day. You will not be treating the wound with medicine or making it
heal, but rather, keeping the area clean while your body is healing
itself. Basic hygiene and common sense, with particular
attention to the specific area, are all that are required. You
will be the best judge of what works for you. Pay attention to
your body. It will let you know if you are doing something
wrong.
New piercings should be cleaned at least twice a day. Also,
clean after fondling, swimming, sweating, etc. Bear in mind
that over-cleaning or using too many products can also irritate your
piercing.
A piercing is considered "healed" when a flesh tunnel has
formed through the skin around the jewelry. It is a
good idea to establish a good cleaning regime to care for your
pierced are for the rest of your life. The oil and sweat that
you secrete, and normally is exposed to your daily cleaning, is also
being secreted into the flesh tunnel around your jewelry. If
you don't clean it routinely, it will cause an unpleasant odor or
irritation long after you are "healed".
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Liquid Soap and Water:
The best thing that you can do is to wash away dirt and
bacteria from your piercing. It is irrelevant whether it be an
antibacterial soap or not. If the piercing is "clean", it
won't require the antibacterial ingredient. (Besides, while
many soaps contain "antibacterial" ingredients, in reality the
contact time required for these to be effective may be greater than
the time it will be on your skin.) Many different brands of
liquid soap are on the market. Choose one you are comfortable
with. You may want to stay away from heavy fragrances and
fancy additives, as they may be irritating.
To clean the piercing, first wash your hands with
soap (clean is 30 seconds worth of washing). Then lather the
piercing and surrounding area, taking care to remove any hardened
discharge (crusties) on the jewelry. Once the jewelry is
clean, soap it up and work it through the skin so the lather is
pulled all the way through the piercing. After a few seconds,
rinse well, again moving the jewelry through the piercing while
rinsing. We have found cleaning with soap twice a day to be
most effective.
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Ear Care Antiseptic:
Benzylkonium Chloride is the active ingredient in most pierced ear
solutions such as Ear Care and Sensitive Ears. While not as
effective a cleanser as soap, these solutions serve as a quick and
soothing way to chemically clean and sanitize piercings when
you are away from home.
First, wash your hands. Next, saturate a cotton swab, cotton pad or
tissue with solution. Gently swab away any discharge until the
jewelry is free of foreign matter. Now, saturate th swab again
and begin working jewelry up, down, or around through the piercing
while swabbing the section of jewelry under the skin.
Repeat this procedure four times a day for best results.
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Warm Salt Water Soak:
Warm salt-water soaks can work wonders
in assisting th body to heal piercings. Salt is not an antibacterial or sanitizing
agent. It should not be used as such. The salt is soothing and
hydrating to the skin during the soaking process described
below. The prime benefit of this process comes from the gentle
draw exerted by the cooling of the water. When properly done
it helps draw out discharge, flush out cellular contaminates and
prevent infection. It also stimulates circulation and
encourages speedy healing. You can use soaks both for general
healing and to treat minor infections and irritations. We highly recommend soaking your piercings several times a
week, once a day when infected.
Sea Salt (non-iodized; available from health food
stores and some grocery stores) works best. as it
is most pure. Most table salts contain extra chemicals
(aluminum, magnesium, iodide, etc.), which can irritate and sting,
and dextrose (sugar), which can cause yeast infections. Many
non-iodized salts and kosher salts are natural sea salt. Read
the label: if it contains only sodium chloride (salt) and maybe form
of calcium (phosphate or silicate to minimize clumping), it's good.
Also, stronger than recommended concentrations of sea salt WILL
irritate the skin. More is not better! Epsom
salts are really too strong and are not meant for surface wound
soaking. Don't use them.
The Soak: Put 1/4 teaspoon (3-4 pinches) of sea
salt in an
8 ounce glass of water as hot as you can stand (distilled if
possible). Leave about 1 inch of air space at the top.
Tip the glass and hold it over your piercing until the water
cools, pressing the opening against the skin to form a seal.
This process does not work on piercings where you can't get the
glass over the piercing to form a seal. From our experiance,
those piercings usually do fine using soap, water and earcare.
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Do not use Rubbing Alcohol:
Alcohol
is great to remove oils from the skin,
however the
contact time required to actually disinfect is substantially longer
than you will get by wiping down your piercing. It is
irritating and dries out the skin, and can delay healing.
It also burns and stings. In short, while common belief says
alcohol is a good disinfectant, it's simply not true. Witch
hazel solutions also contain alcohol and should be avoided.
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Do not use Hydrogen
Peroxide:
Peroxide does kill many bacteria, but it also destroys the healthy skin around the piercing.
Used long enough, it can eat away at the skin and actually keep your
piercing from healing. Stay away from it.
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Do not use Antibiotic Ointments:
These include such products as Neosporin, Bacitracin and
Triple Antibiotic Ointment. You have a puncture wound
and not a skin or surface wound. While they work on a
surface wound, they will clog a puncture and create the perfect warm,
moist environment for bacteria to breed. This makes them
worthless for healing piercings. Read the label:
"DO NOT USE ON PUNCTURE WOUNDS".
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Do not use Iodine Products:
These solutions may be used for first
aid or surgical wound care, but for long-term care, they are
actually too strong and may delay healing. Betadine
may be useful to clear up an infection, but when used too often it
can actually kill healthy skin cells. It will also discolor
gold jewelry. Some people will develop a sensitivity to these
solutions over time. For everyday cleaning, try one of the
milder solutions under Basic Care.
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Infections
These come from exposure to bacteria
and other contaminates (by contact
with dirty hands, other people's body fluids, dust, unclean
clothing, unclean jewelry, swimming in dirty water, etc.).
They are often easily avoided by common sense and good hygiene.
You will usually know your piercing is infected if the surrounding
are becomes red, swollen, hot to the touch or itchy. There
will be a discharge which is dark yellow, and/ or bloody, and it may
have an unpleasant odor. A facial piercing infection is often
accompanied by a small fluid-filled pimple in the hole.
Note: Normal piercings secrete a white/pale yellow
liquid during healing. This is not a sign of infection.
It contains dead cells, lymph and blood plasma and is a sign of
healing. Healed piercings may secrete a stinky white substance
(sebum) from the oil glands. It is also normal and comes off
easily in cleaning. If discharge is light in color and
not accompanied by pain, swelling, itching or redness, it is
probably healthy. Step up your soaks and cleaning and
it should come off.
If an infection occurs, do not remove
the jewelry! In our experience, infections are
more easily treated if an opening exists for antiseptics to enter
the wound and for discharge to exit. Without jewelry, the
surface closes over, trapping the infection inside and turning it
from a local surface infection into a generalized body infection.
In addition, you lose your piercing unnecessarily.
Warm salt-water soaks are the best way to calm a minor
infection. They help draw out discharge and
contaminates, soothe raw tissue and stimulate the body's natural
healing mechanisms. Follow directions under "Warm Salt Water"
and repeat as needed. However, even if the infection clears
up, it will return if you do not eliminate the original cause of
contamination. Pay close attention to how you treat your
piercing and try to find the problem.
Of course, In the event of a serious infection, see your
doctor. Bear in mind that s/he may not be familiar
with healing patterns and problems specific to body piercings.
If you wish to keep your piercing, firmly and clearly explain this.
If infection (rather than allergy or scarring) is indeed the
problem, leaving the jewelry in will not cause complications.
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Irritations:
This happens when you subject your piercing to abnormal
pressure, excessive movement or abuse. Anything that puts
pressure on the jewerly or holds it in an unnatural position will
cause the skin to be irritated. More often than not, what you
think is an infection is really irritation. If your piercing
is red, swollen right around the hole, peeling, excreting white or
yellow fluid or blood, or the skin around it has formed a solid lump
or bubble of discolored skin, it is probably irritated.
Common causes are: wearing restrictive clothing over the piercing;
sleeping on it; cradling your phone against jewelry; sex too soon;
piercing was hit or jewelry was pulled on; rough play.
If your piercing gets irritated, figure out what's causing the
problem. Be particularly aware of automatic actions
(unconsciously playing with it, grinding teeth with tongue
piercings, etc.). Usually the symptoms will go away if you
eliminate the cause. Warm salt-water soaks can help ease
irritation and heal any existing tears, and prevent infection of the
raw tissue. If this does not do the trick, contact us for
other suggestions.
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Allergic Reactions:
It is always possible for living bodies to react to foreign
substances introduced into them. Some people are extremely
sensitive to certain jewelry materials or to cleaning solutions.
Allergic reactions often appear as rashs, excessive clear
fluid discharge, redness, itching, or the skin pulling away from the
jewelry. They usually show up immediately. This
occurs rarely when using implant grade body jewelry and the
recommended cleaning solutions. The jewelry you were
pierced with is implant grade and of the highest workmanship.
If you think you may have such a reaction, stop by the shop
so we can see you in person. Keep in mind that many cases of
irritation and scarring are mistaken for allergic reactions or
infection.
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Materials That May Cause Allergic Reactions:
Most often metals that contain high levels of nickel are
the culprits of allergic reactions. Silver jewelry has the
highest amount of nickel also low quality stainless steel usually
has enough nickel in it to create problems. Other materials
such as carbon, brass, copper and aluminum create reactions as well.
Natural materials such as rose wood and ocasionally coconut
also cause allergic reactions. These materials cause
problems because the oils from the wood are toxic to humans.
You also have to be carefull with plastic products such as
pvc and abs. Both of these plastics contain chemicals
that cause reactions to the skin if left in contact for long periods
of time.
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Other Sources of Allergic Reactions:
Although Tea Tree oil, Lavender, Jojoba and Emu oil are all good
products to reduce scar tissue and help with healing they also are
strong allergens to some people. If you are unsure if
you are allergic to these products, you may want to consult an
allergen specialist before using them. If you want to
try essential oils anyways always test them in a small spot
somewhere else on your body and see if you react to it or not.
Reactions include redness, itchiness, burning and blisters or burns.
If any of these happen discontinue using the product.
If you do not react to essential oils still keep an eye on the area
it is being used on. If you develop any of the above symptoms
over time, discontinue using the product and consult us so we can
find an alternative.
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Healing Times:
Below are approximate healing times for well cared for
piercings for most people. Keep in mind that your piercing may
heal more quickly or take even longer. Since most piercings
have periods of both doing well and "acting up", do not assume that
the disappearance of discharge means you are healed. Continue
suggested aftercare for at least the amount of time listed
below for your piercing. After this amount of time, if your
piercing no longer has discharge or "bad days", and has not done so
for at least a month, it may be healed. If you pay attention
to what your body is doing over time you will know when it is done.
At the end of the healing time, cleaning often is no longer
required, although cleaning once a day is still suggested. At
this point, jewelry can be safely changed, but should not be left
out for any piercing for extended periods of time. Even once
the hole becomes permanent, it can still shrink and make jewelry
reisnertion difficult if not impossible without a taper. If
you need to hide the piercing or need a non-metallic/ flexible
jewelry for surgery, pregnancy, etc, call the shop. As a
general rule, if you like your piercing, keep jewelry in it.
We hope this information proves helpful for you. Remember that
we are neither doctors nor miracle workers. We promise that
you will leave our shop with a clean, beautiful piercing. We
give these suggestions based on our experience and research in our
field. What you do from here is up to you. You must be
responsive to and responsible for your body. We are here to
help. If at any point you have any problems or questions,
please feel free to stop in or give us a call at (775)-883-4434.
Enjoy!
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