Symptoms and Care of Cartilage Piercing Infection

Symptoms:

• You may experience severe pain, redness and swelling in and around the piercing site.
• Often, very often, a white fluid drains out of piercing. This must not be mistaken with pus, because it is lymphatic fluid that acts like a cleanser for dirt and bacteria.
• After a few days, yellowish crust forms, indicating that the piercing has started healing. However, it cannot be with every piercing.
• If proper care is not taken while piercing, it can lead to infections or if you do not take proper aftercare instructions, infections may develop.
• Infections are characterized with pus formation, bleeding, throbbing pain and bumps on piercing. Sometimes, piercing may produce foul smell.

Care:
A professional piercer must advise a person about proper piercing care. He must execute some precautionary steps while piercing. He must use sterilized instruments and wear clean gloves while piercing. Apart from these, a person who gets his ear pierced must follow the following steps to avoid cartilage infection.

• Do not touch cartilage piercing with the naked hands. Dirty hands is the access point for bacteria to enter the piercing.
• Use a disinfectant soap to wash the hands properly.
• Never play with piercing jewelry. Fingering the piercing jewelry with dirty hands cause infection.
• While putting on clothes, take proper care of piercing.
• Use an antiseptic lotion to clean the piercing twice a day, till it heals completely. You can soak jewelry in alcohol solution for disinfecting it.
• Never apply hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil or alcohol directly on piercing.
• Don’t change the jewelry frequently in the initial months.
• Always keep your hair clean and do not keep the public telephone receiver on the ear directly.

Cartilage Piercing Guides

Procedure of Cartilage Piercing

• Wash your hands with anti-bacterial soap
• Wet the piercing with water
• After putting few drops of anti-bacterial soap on the piercing, work them into a lather using a cotton bud.
• Loosen any crusted discharge and remove it from the jewelry and skin using a cotton bud.
• Leave the antibacterial soap on the piercing for 2 minutes while rotating the jewelry back and forth. This helps the disinfectant penetrate the piercing.
• Rinse the piercing with water, and air dry it. Do not try to dry with a towel, because it may carry bacteria and cause infection.

Cartilage Piercing Healing

• Generally it takes 3-12 months of time for healing, depending on the extent of piercing
• Don’t touch your cartilage piercings with unwashed hands. Also, don’t let others touch till it is completely healed.
• Clean your piercing only once daily, till the piercing is completely healed.
• Using antibacterial soap, which contains chloroxylenol or triclosan, to clean your cartilage piercing
• Wash and dry you hair before the piercing, and also later after the piercing.
• Don’t use Betadine, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol swabs or tea tree oil to clean your cartilage piercing.
• Sometimes an infection may cause pain, redness and unusual discharge. In such cases consult your physician for the required treatment.
• Vitamin C and Zinc can help in healing the infections.
• Don’t change the jewelry till the piercing is healed.

Detriments of cartilage piercing
The primary detriments of cartilage piercing are:

• Infection: The infection happens from different sources. The person might get infection from unhygienic earrings and from the environment you choose for piercing.
• Scarring: Scarring happen when tissues in the piercing area are affected. The person might get a ridge or a bump on the area when it is done wrongly.

Risk involved in cartilage gun
The person who is getting a cartilage piercing might not prefer a cartilage gun to pierce the ear. This might take a long time to heal. It might also create prolonged pain and scarring. This happens because the guns are not meant to pierce the cartilage. So it might upset the cartilage and create difficulties.

Facial Piercings List

The following is a list of facial piercings which are commonly seen nowadays. Even you must have seen them on your friends and are longing for the same, but aren't sure of how to get them. This popular facial piercings list will provide you with all the information you need.

Eyebrow Piercing: Eyebrow piercing is on top of the facial piercings list because, it is the most common and popular facial piercing. An eyebrow piercing catches one's attention immediately. This is the latest fashion of attracting attention to your eyes! Eyebrow piercing is said to have been first done by an American tattooist. You can experiment a lot with eyebrow piercing as the position of the stud is not fixed. You can have it anywhere on the brow. There are three types of eyebrow piercings: horizontal eyebrow piercing, vertical eyebrow piercing and anti-eyebrow piercing. Out of these, horizontal eyebrow piercing is most common. Anti-eyebrow is not exactly on the eyebrow, it is positioned around the eyebrow. Eyebrow piercing generally takes six to eight weeks to heal. These have to be done by a sterilized piercing needle only. Barbells, rings, and hoops are common eyebrow piercing jewelry. Hoops are more popular with girls, while guys tend to prefer barbells.

Ear Piercing: Earlier, ear piercing was popular only with girls. But now, it has also become quite common with guys. You can have a variety of ear piercings as there are more than 10 different types of ear piercings! Here is a list of some of the common ear piercings:

• Ear Lobe Piercing: Ear lobe piercing is extremely common and has been prevalent since centuries. Ear lobe piercing can be done on both ears or one ear. Healing time for ear lobe piercing is six to eight weeks. The latest trend in ear lobe piercing is gauging your piercing. The term gauging refers to stretching of the ear lobe to put heavy earrings. Larger the gauge, smaller the number. For example, a 5 gauge is bigger in size than a 10 gauge.
• Helix Piercing: Helix piercing is done on the outer ridge, on the upper part of the ear (generally the cartilage). Helix piercing can take six to eight months to heal. Helix piercing should be done only with a piercing needle. Twelve to fourteen gauge jewelry is ideal.
• Industrial Piercing: Piercing done on the upper part of the ear, from one cartilage to the other, is called industrial piercing. Four to eight months are required for an industrial piercing to heal. It can be quite painful, so extra care has to be taken. Do not use any cheap industrial piercing jewelry, use good sterilized jewelry so as to avoid ear infections. Fourteen gauge jewelry is recommended. Read more on industrial piercing care.
• Rook Piercing: Rook piercing is done in the inner upper part of the ear, namely the anti-helix. Rook piercing can hurt a lot as the flesh at the anti-helix is thick. Rook piercing takes four to nine months to heal. Sixteen gauge jewelry should be worn in this piercing.
• Daith Piercing: For daith piercing, the inner cartilage, below the rook, is pierced. Daith piercing is uncommon. The healing time for daith piercing may vary from three to eight months. Sixteen gauge jewelry is the ideal jewelry for daith piercing.
• Tragus Piercing: Tragus piercing is placed on the outer ear, below the daith piercing. Tragus piercing is done opposite the ear canal (the place which supports a ear phone!) Jewelry of sixteen gauge is advisable. Tragus piercings take about two months to one year to heal.
• Anti-Tragus Piercing: Anti-tragus piercing is done opposite the tragus, the cartilage inside the ear just above the ear lobe. It is a rare kind of piercing. Anti-tragus piercings can take about a year to heal. Proper care should be taken or like other ear piercing infections, you could have an anti-tragus piercing infection.
• Conch Piercing: Conch piercing got it's name from the conch shell. This piercing is done in two locations, namely, inner conch and outer conch. The outer conch is done on the outer rim of the ear, above the ear lobe. The difference between anti-tragus and outer conch is that conch piercing is done on the cartilage outside the ear, unlike the anti-tragus. Inner conch is above the anti-tragus. It takes a year for conch piercings to heal. Light jewelry should be worn in conch piercings.

Nose Piercing: Nose piercings are one of the most common facial piercings. Especially in some of the Asian countries, nose piercing is regarded as a part of tradition. A nose piercing is located in the middle of the nostril. Both the nostrils can be pierced. Healing time for nose piercings range from about three to six months. Nostril piercing has to be cleaned regularly as there are very high chances of an infection. For nose jewelry, you can try rings or studs.

Lip Piercings: Monroe and Medusa are two different lip piercings. Monroe, as the name suggests, is named after the gorgeous Marilyn Monroe's famous beauty spot! Monroe piercing is done on the the upper lip. It is also called Crawford piercing (after Cindy Crawford). Monroe piercing is less risky compared to other piercings, and also takes less time to heal. Fourteen to eighteen gauge labret can be worn in a Monroe piercing. Monroe piercings take six to eight weeks to heal. Monroe piercing is getting famous with guys as well, with celebrities like Trace Cyrus and Travis McCoy getting Monroe piercings! Medusa piercings are located exactly above the upper lip, below the septum. It takes about six to eleven weeks for a Medusa piercing to heal. The next common facial piercing is labret piercing. Labret piercing is done below the lower lip, mostly in the center, though it can also be off center. Labret piercing is located just opposite the medusa piercing, and so the same amount of care and healing time is required for labret piercing. Labret stud is the most common jewelry used for both these piercings. Lowbret is another lip piercing which is done far below the lip. Generally studs are used for lowbrets.

Face Piercing Informations

Techniques and methods of face piercings

• The following are the most common facial piercing techniques and procedures
• Piercing that are undertaken by experts involve the use of an exceedingly pointed hollow surgical needle similar to the ones employed for giving drips or blood.
• This implies that for the majority of facial piercing the needle is pierced in an instant and the degree of uneasiness is minimal.
• As has been observed people react to different body piercing in different ways.
• Some are often extremely distressed with certain piercing and may lose consciousness in the process.
• Others may throw up and there are others still who might not be affected at all by the seemingly painful procedure.

Risks of face piercings

There are certain risks associated with facial piercing and these shouldn’t be taken lightly. The common facial piercing risks are:

• Infection: In the absence of adequate care, infection can result in scarring and even blood poisoning.
• Allergic Reaction: Some people are allergic to particular metals and only realize this during piercing and have a serious reaction to the jewellery. The inflammation, coupled with problems in breathing can result in hospitalization.
• Nerve Damage: If a piercing isn’t positioned cautiously, it can penetrate a nerve, detaching it and making the adjoining area devoid of any sensation.

Face piercing after care

• You must at all times make it a point to keep your hands clean prior to touching your piercing.
• You need to do this to ensure that your hands are not the source of contamination for the area that has been ierced.

The use of sterile cotton, cotton gauze or other disinfected material should be used for cleaning from the second night onwards. You should exercise caution while removing any trickle from the skin in the vicinity of the pierced area. If the piercing has become loose and can be twisted with relative ease, clean the different sections at a time, while rotating it through the pierced area. This has to be done to ensure that the entire surface of the piercing has been properly cleaned.

Healing after face piercing

• The curing of an ordinary wound and the healing of a facial piercing is significantly dissimilar.
• For a normal wound the body simply has to restore and rejoin the injured tissue, but with facial piercing, this process is made difficult by the presence of an unfamiliar substance, the jewellery.
• A facial piercing can take a number of weeks or even months to heal. The healing process commences soon after the piercing is done, with the cells moving from the border of the wound together until they join.

Areas of Face Piercing:
Face piercing can be done at the ear, chin, cheek, brow, lip, nostril, septum, tongue, and mandible. Some of the styles of face piercings available are madonna, monroe, labret, medusa, bridge and jungle.

Selecting the Right Piercing Studio:
Before going for face piercing, selecting the right piercing studio is important. Select the studio only if you are completely satisfied. Following are the tips to find the best piercing studio:

• If your friends who had a safe piercing, enquire about the piercing studio where they had the piercing. Make the list of studios available.
• Visit the studios personally to get a good idea about them
• The studio should have a clean appearance and should have up-to date health certificate
• The needles used for face piercing should be disposable to minimize the risk of infection
• Other equipment should be sterilized using an autoclave – which is a heat sterilization machine
• The employees should be trained. They should be willing to answer your doubts.

Certain jewelry such as nickel and brass can trigger allergies. Signs of allergies are redness, hives, itching and blistering. If you have allergies to any metal, choose hypoallergenic jewelry or metals such as stainless steel to have a safe piercing.

Facial Piercing Meanings

Face piercings are generally related to noses and lips. However there are several types of facial piercings that are popular at present Facial piercings tend to have greater possibilities of rejection or developing scar tissue since a number of them affect areas of flat skin, in what is known as “surface” piercings.

Surface piercings are marked by extremely high rate of rejection as the skin doesn’t have adequate slack and the piercing jewelry exerts pressure on the tissue. Additionally, any infection to these face piercings is likely to affect vital parts and can easily spread to the blood; hence proper healing care after face piercing is needed.

Facial piercings can be done on the various areas like forehead, temple, bridge of nose, nostril, septum, cheeks, labrets/lips, lowbrets, scrumper, and mandible.

Procedure and Aftercare Eyebrow Piercings

Procedure:
A needle is sterilized with by rubbing alcohol initially. It is held with the clean rubber gloves and allowed it to dry. The piercing area is wiped off with rubbing alcohol and any hair strand which might there must be pulled back or removed. Now, the skin is shifted and is maneuvered with fingers such that the needle may be pushed straight into the skin on other side. If the person is ready, then needle is pushed firmly and quickly to the other side. Needle is removed by the piercer and jewelry is pushed into the piercing. Finally, the area around the piercing is cleaned thoroughly with soap and water.

Aftercare:
Fortunately, this piercing does not get irritated easily and thus, it is one of the safest piercings. Unfortunately, this piercing hurts while it is being pierced. But it is not that important, the important part is its aftercare. Following things must be kept in mind regarding the piercing on eyebrow:

• The healing time of eyebrow piercing is about 6 – 8 weeks.
• The most important thing about the piercing is it must be cleaned every day.
• Make a salt solution and soak a cotton ball in it. Apply this cotton ball on the piercing to dissolve any crust.
• Make sure that you clean your hands with antibacterial soap before touching.
• Do not use anything that contains alcohol, betadine or hydrogen peroxide to the piercing.
• Do not wear any makeup on or near the piercing until it heals completely.
• If you have a barbell, use a soft toothbrush to remove any crusting.
• When your piercing is new, do not handle, twist or swim the piercing to avoid irritation.
• Remember to sleep on other side of the piercing. This avoids infection and snagging of ring.
• If you have any infection, consult the piercer immediately.
• The aftercare regime must be followed until the piercing heals fully.