How do you tell if your ear piercings are infected?

I jsut gauged my ears to A 00G for the 2nd time.( have them before but they came out in a pool =p)and my face is super hot and number my ears are throbbing and I could passout what should I do?

well hey.,im having close to the same problems,I just got my second ear holes re-pierced at wal-mart 2 days ago,they did give me this anti soulution stuff to clean my piercings in a little white bottle.so heres what I do,I wash my hands with mild soap and then get a q tip and get the soulution stuff and put it on the q tip and rub it around the ear holes,and twist them like they said to do and I do those both 3 times a day as told,but they are not really red they are just alittle sore when I touch them,is that normal?.!and should I just leave them alone and not touch them?

okay.!well I have been having close to the same problems,I got my second ear holes re-pierced at wal-mart and they did give me this anti soulution stuff in a little white bottle and told me to twist them around alittle bit three times a day.so heres what I do I wash my hands with mild soap and then I get a q tip and put some stuff on there and rub it around the holes and I got em done 2 days ago and they are not really red just alittle sore when I touch them.is that normal?please let me know asap thanks.!

i had my cartlidge pierced about a month ago.i still can’t sleep on it or touch it a lot.i was told it was gonna hurt a lot after. just keep cleaning it and if the problem gets any worse,go see a doctor. xoxo

Doesnt sound like they are infected, just irritated probably. Keep them clean using Hydrogen Peroxide and keep rotating the earring posts. Watch for any discharge from the hole. You’ll prob be fine in a few days.

hey I just got my ears pireced at the exact same places as yours( wierd huh). Anyways don’t worry they are not infected. When I got mine about a week ago I had the exact same symptoms as you do. I went 2 the doctor and he said there was nothing wrong with them. So you have nothin 2 worry about. If they hurt 2 bad just take a pain killer. If the pain continues, you might want 2 see you doctor, you might be having a rection 2 something.

I agree, It is probably irritated. Peroxide should to fine.

Well, I don’t have any piercings myself (I used to) but I think a few key things to look for are: abnormal discharge, swelling, redness, and fever. If you have some or all of those symptoms I’d check with a health care provider. I’m sure, however, there will be pain and it all depends on your tolerance level of pain. Keeping the area cleaned, as it appears you’re doing, can help prevent infection but if there’s already an infection in place that alone may not help things. Good luck! -S

Why dont people ask questions on there Own thing? then its easier for people to answer the questions instead of answering 30 of them. FIRST OF ALL, when you first get your ear pierced its gonna be a little red and swollen. You just stuck something through your ear and it could be red and swollen and kind of painful for 1-7 days. After 7 days if its still infected I would make sure that your cleaning it properly and if it still hurts and stuff after two weeks go see a doctor. Also If there is puss you probably have an infection. If its small you can probably get rid of it with peroxide and alchol or something. But once it gets worse go to the doctor. I dont recommend peroxide or alchol (use sea salt mixed with warm water instead) but if its all you have its way better than nothing.

OKay, I just got my second hole pierced about two weeks ago, it was completely fine until I woke up and the ball of the earring was actually INSIDE my ear !(it was waaay to small) So, I had to take it out after a huge struggle to get the backs off and changed them for some others that I had. silver. they were fine at first, I cleaned them and was very sanitary and everything but then they became very itchy, I think im getting a little rash behind my ear because I keep scratching and its crusty around the hole and my first hole and pretty much EVERYWHERE on my lope part. It doesnt hurt to touch or anything im completely fine with that. but its a little bit warm and swollen. HELP. WHAT DO I DO?

Redness, swelling, burning feeling, and discharge (green, blood, orange, smelly) are all signs of infection. NEVER EVER USE ALCOHOL OR PEROXIDE on your piercings. NEVER. These can irritate the heck out of your piercings and because it kills all the bacteria (including the good ones), it can leave a new breeding ground for some of the worst and strongest bacteria. If your ear is infected, add 1/4 tsp. of sea salt or non-iodized salt in 8 oz. of water and soak your piercings in them 2-4 times a day until the infection is clear. Then you can go back to cleaning your piercings to NO MORE THAN TWICE A DAY. Over cleaning can irritate and do the same things alcohol and peroxide do.

I pierced my cartilage at home with a sewing needle(yes I know, but my mom wouldn’t let me get it done…) and now its like warm and red and it hurts A LOT…Is it infected?

I got my pearcing like on oct. and its red sometime it hurt and sometime it dosent I dont know what to do I got them pearce 3 time becuase 2 got inected I dont know if to take it off or not sometimes it red and sometimes ir just hurts should I tell doctor or keep on cleaning it with Hydrogen Peroxide I have it for a very long time know is it infected??? please tell me I need to know if I should take it off or not>?or is their a way 4 it to cure??

First off, if the piercing is infected, you should NOT take the jewelry out. That can actually spread the infection inside your bloodstream. Common symptoms are redness, sensitivity to touch, and unusual leakage or seepage, especially yellow pus. Some clear leakage can be ok, but make sure you clean it at least 3 times daily, and wash your hands before. And as it has been said before, I’ll still say it again. NEVER clean a piercing with hydrogen peroxide. It will majorly dry out the piercing, and it will not heal correctly, or really at all. Depending on where you got it pierced in the first place determines the heal time. Don’t be amazed if your cartiledge piercing takes a year to heal, all 3 of mine did. (I have a total of 16 piercings) Hope this helped a little.

hey, ya just asking questions not answering da question, ok, so if it swell, redness, its infected. Da earing cant be too tight because the stud is already blocking the air to get to your ear, so it cant heal. Thats called embedded. Well, anyways, mine got infected like 5-6 times, and its embedded once. Even though its infected dont take it out because by the time it heals you take it out and your piercing will close. Well, hows your piercing?

HELP!! I had my 2nd hole pirced about 8 weeks ago and they are still hurtin.. this mornin I woke up and it was rely swolen and when I toke my earing out it burst out wiv this pusy blooy stuff.. discusting..and my hole has gone like purple and yucky.. what shall I do??? X

I pierced my left lobe by myself a week ago and it was good just a little sore and red but my mom said it could be like that for a few days to 3 weeks. but then today I took it out because it felt weird and when I turned the post it felt like liquid was on it. so I took it out and there was like some puss on it but I thought nothing of it. so I kept taking it out every few hours to make sure and none so I thought it was ok. I cleaned my ear and earring with alcohol and it was fine but after about 5 hours of not checking it there was a little more puss stuff on it? is my ear getting infected, should I go see a doctor?

OMG DO NOT USE PEROXIDE OR ALCOHOL. IT KEEPS THE PIERCING FROM HEALING. USE SOME SEASALT AND WARM WATER. YOU CAN GET SEASALT FROM THE STORE.

I just got my second and third peircing and my third one hurts kinda how do I know it is ok bec its a lil warm and it hurts to lay down on it !!! what do I do?

Ok…I went to a tattoo parlor that does piercing and I was told everything I was told was wrong. I was told DON’T twist it because that will cause irritation. Also, not to use alcohol because that drys it out, and that most of the solutions Claire’s and places give you are alcohol based so they are bad. I was given a bag of salt and told to mix it with warm water and clean my ear 2-4 times a day until it heals. I was also told it could take up to 3 months or so before they are completely healed. SO…it’s been a week exactly now and they hurt a tad bit, like if I press on it, but other than that they are fine. I think the hurting is normal…?

discharge? I was at school today and this dried up stuff was on my piercing, my ears have been pierced for a few days, and there still hurting, and I’m use to pain, I’m a running back for my football team.

First off, It sounds like you might have an irritation/reaction. And really when they tell you clean your ears 4 times a day every day, its not necessary. I got my ears pierced a month ago, the first week I had them done I was on top of cleaning them 4 times a day, after that I stopped to maybe once a week, my ears are NOT red, the don’t puss, they aren’t swollen, nothing out of the ordinary and they NEVER hurt. And actually have healed much quicker. -…K.

Yes u should go see a doctor and i dont think its infected cause I had a similar problem