What to expect and how to promote healing
- Initially you may experience some bleeding, swelling, and tenderness.
- You may have a whitish/yellowish secretion that creates crust on your jewelry.
- Jewelry may feel tight or like it's not moving. Don't force it. It will move around on it's own as it heals.
- Piercing may feel healed before the healing process is complete. Be patient and keep it clean for the entire healing process.
- To avoid the piercing closing, always keep jewelry in your piercing.
- Get your post downsized at the appropriate time.
- Stay hydrated, nourished, and get the right amount of rest.
- Keep your piercing clean
- Keep your piercing dry
- Protect your piercing from accidental snags and direct exposure to bacteria
Wound healing
There are 4 stages to wound healing - hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. The first stage happens at the time of the piercing, and stages 2 - 4 can have different durations and can even overlap with each other. Stage 2 can include redness, swelling, secretions, and tenderness. Stage 3 is when cells work together to partially recover the structure and function of the wounded skin. Stage 4 is the final stage, where the tissue matures into scar tissue, restores most of its tensile strength and the wound is considered to be healed.
What to avoid
The following can help mitigate the risk of irritation or contracting an infection via your piercing site:
- Avoid touching / picking at your piercing and playing with the jewelry.
- Avoid all oral contact and rough play
- Excessively tight, restrictive clothing or friction from clothing should be avoided when possible.
- It's vital that you avoid submerging your piercing in bodies of water such as the ocean, lakes, pools, hot tubs, etc during healing. You can protect some piercings with a waterproof bandage if necessary.
- Don't hang charms or chains from your piercing until it's fully healed.
How to clean your piercing
- Always wash your hands before handling your piercing.
- Only use clean running water and/or sterile saline to flush your piercing.
-Always dry your piercing thoroughly after cleaning it with a clean disposable product, small fan, or hair dryer.
- Do not overclean your piercing. Once or twice a day is enough for most people.
Benefits of sterile saline
- It's an isotonic solution, meaning it has the same concentration of salt as your body fluids. This similarity in concentration helps prevent irritation or damage to the tissue when healing a piercing.
- It's sterile. It has undergone a process to eliminate any potential contaminants, making it safe for medical use without risk of introducing harmful microbes to your healing piercing.
- It is easy to use! Just point and spray, and then use a clean disposable product to dry your piercing.
- It is a gentle solution that's safe to use on cuts, scrapes, or wounds to help wash away dirt and bacteria without causing irritation.
What products not to use on your piercing
- Using alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, iodine, soaps with triclosan, bactine, ear care solutions, or any other harsh products can damage healing cells and potentially create dryness and irritation and are not meant for long term use.
- Ointments can prevent much needed airflow to the piercing.
- Direct contact with makeup, lotions, hair spray, and other beauty and personal care products should be avoided.
- If you are having a problem with your piercing, visit your piercer!