Hey there Guys. Today I saw a patient who has a very sore and infected piercing in his nipple. Today I have created a video to help cover the main points on how to care for a piercing infection.
Check out the video below. If you are not a fan of medical images, listen out as I let you know when to close your eyes 😉 .
How To Heal An Infected Piercing
As noted in the video the key signs and symptoms that identify an infected piercing are:
- Pain
- Swelling
- Redness
- Puss discharge as well as bleeding
- Heat coming off the piercing
If you have any of the above signs of an infected piercing it’s important to seek medical help. In many cases antibiotics are needed to help reduce the level of inflammation and infection.
Other important tips to help heal an infected piercing are:
- Always wash your hand with antibacterial soap before touching your piercing.
- Don’t remove the jewelery . Having the jewelery in place allows the pus and blood to come out. If removed there is the risk of a walled cyst forming that will scar and take a long time to heal
- Soak the piercing in warm salty water 2-3 times a day. To make the soak, mix some rock salt in boiling water and allow to cool. Soaking the area for 5-10 minutes 2 to 3 times a day will help increase healing speed.
- Avoid clothing that is too tight or that rubs against the piercing. This will greatly reduce irritation.
- With nipple piercings, straight barbell jewelery is much easier to heal then round barbells. They irritate less and allow the piercing to heal in a straight line.
Of course if you have any concerns be sure to talk to your piercer or family doctor.
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below. I will do my best to answer you as soon as possible.
Yours in great health.
Dr George
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