How to take care of an irritated naval ring?

Well I got my belly button pierced around April. It was fine up until the middle of July when I went to Italy. Then it started getting red and sore a bit. After a little while a bubble started to form beside it. I went to the beach because the salt water would help and it did. But now it's back to the way it used to be before and im worried. How should I take care of it so it doesn't get any worse?

Hi,

The 'little bubble' could be a keloid...a special type of scar which results in an overgrowth of tissue at the site of a healed skin injury.

If it's a keloid, it's a sign that the tissue isn't happy in the area (duh hehe). It can grow and become pretty unattractive...

If you're intent on keeping the ring in, this is what I've done for all my body piercings (which included 2 eyebrow rings, a lip ring and tragus ring in the past, and currently a tongue ring and ear-stretching):

- Wash 1-2X a day with DIAL antibacterial soap. Don't move the ring around...just put some Dial around it with a q-tip, and rinse it off with water.
- Don't touch it. Not at all, for any reason, or move the ring around.
- If it gets clear crust, gently wash with warm water. If the crust is green or yellow, it's a sign of infection.

My boyfriend swears by sea salt for his piercings (and he has loads), but I've never found it to work for me.

Good luck.