How to Treat Body Piercing Rejection and Infection
With the rise in popularity of unconventional piercings, such as the anti-eyebrow piercing and even corset piercings, there has been a rise in the amount of piercing rejection. These atypical body piercings are also more prone to becoming infected and, often, the treatment for the infection can raise the risk of rejection. So how do you treat these two problems?
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
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1
Stop using bandages over the body piercing after it is more than a day old. It may seem like a good idea to keep bacteria and germs out, but the friction between your skin and the bandage can irritate the body piercing jewelry and promote rejection.
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2
Leave body jewelry in if it's infected. This is vital to your own health. If you remove it while the skin is still infected the exit holes will close up and force the infection deeper into the skin. If you still want to remove the piercing do so after the infection is cleared.
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3
Use salt soaks to clear infections and to promote healing. This is also good for rejecting piercings.
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4
Visit the body piercing shop you were pierced at and ask the professional to take a look. If it's a rejecting piercing the piercing artist will replace it with a smaller gauge to promote healing.
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5
Visit a doctor if an infection is not clearing with regular salt soaks and vinegar compresses. Antibiotics can promote rejection in body piercings, but it's better to lose the piercing than get a blood infection from improper treatment.
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6
Follow the LITHA code. Leave It The Heck Alone. Dirty hands are the most common cause of piercing problems. Just stop touching.
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Tips & Warnings
Stop using Bactine. Bactine is often recommended as an appropriate cleanser for body piercings by various Internet sources. No professional body piercer will recommend this. Even the packaging for Bactine states it is not for use in body piercings and puncture wounds. This increases the chances of infection and eventually rejection.
Never use Neosporin on a body piercing to prevent infection. Like Bactine, Neosporin is promoted all over the Internet as a way to protect your body piercing. In actuality, Neosporin will clog up the exit holes stopping the drainage of both lymph and possible infections. This will lead to infections working deeper into the skin and possibly causing sepsis.
Do not use alcohol or peroxide to treat an infected piercing. These products are much too harsh for the sensitive, newly forming flesh of your body piercing. Not only do they kill bad bacteria, but they also kill the good bacteria which can open your body up to further infection. These products also destroy the freshly formed skin which can promote piercing rejection.
