Infections, Irritations, & Allergic Reactions

Infections

You will usually know if your piercing becomes infected. If the surrounding tissue becomes red, painful, swollen and warm to the touch, or if the discharge is dark yellow, greenish, bloody, or has a bad odour.

If you do suspect an infection, do not remove your jewelry. Infections are more easily treated if there is still an opening for antiseptics to enter the wound and for discharge to exit. Without jewelry, the surface of the wound closes over and traps the infection inside. (Plus, you lose your piercing unnecessarily.)

In the event of a serious infection please consult a doctor. They will be able to advise you / prescribe antibiotics for the best course of treatment.

 

Irritations

If your piercing is red, swollen right around the hole, peeling, excreting white or yellow fluid, bleeding , or seems to have a solid (not fluid-filled) bump around the jewelry, it is probably irritated. These are all signs that the piercing is being subjected to excessive trauma.

Some common causes of irritation that are easily avoided are - touching or playing with your piercing, cleaning it too much, wearing restrictive clothing (navels and nipples), applying pressure during sleep or phone use on the ears , chewing gum, grinding teeth, or playing with the jewelry (tongue piercings), engaging in sexual activities too soon (genitals), or other actions and activities that rubs, twist, pull or put pressure on your piercing.

 

Allergic Reactions

It is possible for your body to react adversely to foreign substances introduced to it, including metals or cleaning solutions. Allergic reactions will often appear as rashes, excessive clear fluid discharge, redness, itchiness, or (with some metal allergies) the skin pulling away from the jewelry.

When using quality, implant-grade jewelry and appropriate cleaning solutions, allergic reactions are rare. If you suspect a metal allergy, stop by and let us have a look. Often simple irritations are mistaken for allergic reactions.