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Is my ear piercing infected or just irritated?

I pierced my second holes 3 days ago (I used the starter earrings from when I got my first holes pierced… I sterilized them with saltwater, cleaned the area on my ear lobe, washed my hands really good, disenfected the area I did it in and it went well/didn’t hurt or bleed or anything) but now they’re starting to get red and swollen. I have been cleaning them 1-2 a day with saltwater and rotate them once. I try to avoid playing with my earring but I am slightly guilty of that. I also slept on my side and that is really when I started to notice how tender they were. I’m assuming that they are just irritated, not infected and that if I avoid touching them, continue to clean and rotate them, and try to sleep on my back that everything will be fine (my friend who was with me when I pierced them has pierced her own ears multiple times and never had issues and said that everything would be ok too). I also took some advil to try to help calm the swelling. Has anyone experienced something like this or have an advice?

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Answer #1

Swelling after a new piercing is normal and it can also be a sign of infection. Is it leaking colored pus? Is it giving off heat? How bad is the pain? Fevers? Nausea? It’s never really a good idea to pierce yourself, and even less using anything other than a sterilized hollow piercing needle. Anyways, it sounds like it’s just irritated, but keep an eye on it. If the pain gets worst, or the swelling does not go down or it starts leaking pus, then likely it is.

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