Teenagers Ear Piercings: How to Avoid Infections

Ear piercing goes back millions of years. Today we have the benefit of sterile technique and disposable needles. You can go to any number of stores or kiosks in the mall and have your ears pierced in seconds. But, what takes seconds to do can become a nightmare if not taken care of properly.

Teenagers Ear Piercings: How to Avoid InfectionsTips for Piercing Care

Don’t remove your earrings
Just in case they don’t tell you this when you have it done (although they should), we are saying it here. For the first six weeks, do not take out the studs. This is the primary healing time and the hole can easily close over.

Clean the earring hole every day
Before doing anything near the earring, wash your hands with soap and water. Since you can’t remove the stud, take a cotton ball or cotton swab and dip it in alcohol. Swab the stud on both sides of the ear. If you are given a specific cleaning solution to use, try that instead. When participating in sports or other activities that can introduce dirt around the stud, clean it more than once per day.

Turn your earrings daily
As the tissue heals it will try to attach to the studs. Daily turning prevents this so you don’t have earrings that you can’t remove without pain and reopening the wound.

Keep chemicals away from your newly pierced ears
Hair dyes, perfumes, cosmetics and hair oils can all introduce an infection into the ear as it heals.

Protect your ears from injury
This can happen if you play sports. Any blow to the earlobe or tugging on the stud can reopen the healing tissue.

Don’t play with your earring
It’s an unconscious thing to twirl the earring as you talk, but this action can also introduce bacteria and dirt into the healing ear.

An infection is one thing that you want to avoid when you get your ears pierced. Just like anywhere else, an infection here can be painful and can mar your dreams of sporting dangles from your newly pierced earlobes.

Previous Post
Next Post

Related Articles