Earrings come in all shapes, sizes, types, and colors. They range from cute and quirky to elegant and fashionable. However, many people take their ability to wear earrings without problems for granted which is why we have put together a blog article to discuss what causes sensitive pierced ears, how to prevent infection, and what to do if you suspect there is an infection.
What Causes Sensitive Pierced Ears?
Allergies are the most common cause of sensitivity to pierced ears. Nickel is the most common metal allergy that people have. Depending on their sensitivity, even the tiniest amount of metal causes a reaction. However, people with metal allergies can still wear earrings for a short amount of time.
Even if earrings are hypoallergenic, they can still cause allergies as the nickel is underneath another material coating. For sensitive ears, the best earrings to wear are those made from gold, platinum, or silver. Have in mind that to avoid nickel mixed in with either gold or silver, the gold must be 14k or above and sterling silver 925. Other good material for sensitive ears might be acrylic or plastic as they do not have any nickel material.
How To Prevent An Infection In Pierced Ears
There are several steps you can take to prevent infection in pierced ears. Here is what we recommend:
Always wash your hands before handling the earring or touching your ears. You don't want to transfer bacteria or other foreign material to your ears.
If you have new piercings: Leave your earrings in for up to eight weeks to prevent the bacterial transfer and prevent the hole from closing.
Regularly wash your ears with soap and warm water. Do this once per day, preferably with unscented soap, to prevent infections.
Twist your earrings a few times per day. Twisting your earrings may feel a little strange when you do it, but it helps keep pierced holes open.
Use rubbing alcohol. Use a cotton ball or Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol and clean the skin around the piercings twice a day to prevent scabbing and remove germs.
What To Do If There Is An Infection?
If you have an infection, you're likely to have redness, swelling, pain or tenderness, and a yellow or green pus-like discharge. If that is the case we recommend you going to see your local doctor as it may need to be treated with antibiotics.
You may also experience itching or burning at the site of the piercing. This may indicate that the infection is minor, which means that you might be able to take care of it at home. If this is the case we recommend you leaving the piercing on so the hole does not close and traps the infection inside.
Firstly, wash your hands before cleaning your piercing and don't use alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or any antibiotic ointments. While it may sound counter-intuitive, these slow the healing process and further irritate the skin.
Instead, we recommend you to use ¼ tsp of salt with 8 oz. of distilled water (boiled water) to create saltwater and clean around the piercing with that three times per day on both sides of your earlobe. Then pat dry with paper towels. Please ensure you do not use your personal towel or toilet paper to do so as those may leave behind fibers that irritate the piercing.
If the itchiness persists we recommend you going to see the doctor immediately.