Say Goodbye to Inflammation! Understand Pre/Post Piercing Care in 10 Minutes
Always felt that something is missing after meticulously styling your outfit for the day? The right pair of earrings can help you to achieve that completeness. Nevertheless, we understand that for first-timers, getting your ears pierced can sometimes be intimidating. Worry no more as we have compiled some common Q&A including the types of people that might not be suitable for piercing and post piercing maintenance for your perusal.
Types of People Who Must Think Twice Before Piercing
Unfortunately, piercing might not be for everyone. Before deciding whether to pierce your ears, you must first understand your body. If you have any allergies or immune system diseases, the piercing may cause severe inflammation and pus secretion, which may not be worth the torment.
1. People with Scar Tissue Problems
If you or your family members have a history of scar tissue overgrowth or keloids, you should contemplate if piercing any part of your body is right for you. People with this body type may leave raised scars after piercing or even grow tissue polyps around the wound. In severe cases, surgery is required to remove them. Therefore, assess your acceptance level and any potential problems that could arise.
2. People Who are Allergic to Metals and Plastics
If you have experienced symptoms such as redness, swelling, and itching from wearing necklaces, rings, watches, and other accessories in the past, you may be allergic to metal or plastic materials. People with such allergic reactions need to consider carefully before getting a piercing as they may experience repeated inflammation, redness, pus, and even more severe overall allergies.
3. Those Who Suffer from Diseases Such as Lupus Erythematosus, AIDS, Diabetes, and Those with Low Immunity.
Patients with these types of diseases have poor resistance and poor body self-repair ability, hence the wound from ear piercing is less likely to heal properly, and an increased risk of infection. People with such diseases should be very careful not to cause any wounds on their bodies, needless to say, piercing.
4. People with Smaller Earlobes
People with small earlobes are not suitable for piercing, because the positioning is more difficult, and it is more likely to hurt the ear bone. If you accidentally hit the cartilage, not only the probability of inflammation is higher, but the pain will also be more severe.
After reading the above, are you one of them? If so, we suggest you think twice before making a decision. After all, severe inflammation and pus are no child's play. If you don't belong to any of the above categories, congratulations! You've got your ticket to join the piercing family,
Let's take a look below at what you need to pay attention to before visiting the piercing parlor.
Precautions Before Piercing
1. Choose a Trusted Parlor
Although there are ample piercing parlors, and some even provide piercing services for free, we strongly recommend that you do more research, pay attention to whether the environment in the store is clean, whether the tools are sterilized properly, and whether they are attentive to customers' requests and needs.
2. Avoid Planning Trips that Involves Coming In Contact with Water
The wound will be more likely to be inflamed or infected if it's wet and should be kept as dry as possible after piercing. Therefore, if you have activities planned that will potentially cause you to come in contact with water, such as hot springs or a picnic by the beach 2-3 weeks after the piercing, consider canceling or postponing them.
3. Choose Anti-Allergic Materials
Regardless of having allergies or not, ear piercing will cause wounds that require extra care and attention. Anti-allergic materials such as medical steel, 925 sterling silver, and K gold are the preferred choices to wear upon your pierce as they can effectively reduce the probability of inflammation and allergies.
If you are aware of the above precautions and are mentally prepared for ear piercing, then you ready to visit the parlor!
Nevertheless, post piercing care is just as, if not more important than pre piercing precautions. Below, we will share with you a maintenance guide to ensure a perfect finale.
Post-Piercing Care
1. Do Not Touch the Wound with Unsanitized Hands
The stuff we usually touch daily contains a huge amount of bacteria, be it mobile phones, keyboards, doorknobs, etc., which will increase the chances of infection and inflammation if it comes in contact with your wound. So please make sure to wash your hands regularly before touching the wound or disinfect your hands with alcohol if you are unable to wash your hands at the moment. Regardless, refrain from touching your wounds as much as possible, control your urge!
2. Keep the Wound Dry
The rule of thumb is that humidity encourages bacterial growth which leads to infection and inflammation. Hence, the newly pierced wound should be kept dry as much as possible, not coming in contact with water. Do not engage in water activities such as swimming or hot spring bath until the wound is completely healed. If the wound is wet due to showering, remember to dry it with cold air, or gently wipe it with a clean, sterilized cotton swab. Alternatively, a waterproof band-aid can be used during the shower, or applying a thin layer of Vaseline or any product that contains petroleum jelly to the wound can also isolate the wound from water.
3. Avoid Over Cleaning
Try to avoid using harsh disinfectants such as alcohol and hydrogen peroxide to clean the wound, as they may make your skin dry, become sensitive, or cause redness. We recommend using saline to clean the wound, or washing the area around the piercing with a mild, antibacterial soap during a shower, then quickly dry the wound with cold air followed by applying medication to it.
4. Change Your Sheets and Pillowcases Frequently
Clean sheets and pillowcases are very important for your newly created pierced wounds. There is often a lot of microorganism on the bed that is not visible to the human eye, such as dust, hair, or dead skin that the human body peels off every day, which may interfere with the healing process. Changing the sheets and pillowcases frequently will ensure the cleanliness of the wound.
5. Do Not Take Off the Earrings Too Soon
We know that you can't wait to wear all the beautiful earrings after piercing. However, removing the initial earrings too soon may result in the ear hole closing up. You will experience a great amount of pain if you attempt to change the earrings because the wounds aren't healed properly yet. It is recommended to wait at least one month to ensure the ear holes are formed completely before removal.
6. Wear Earrings As Much As You Can
After the wound is healed and the ear hole is formed, it is still necessary to wear earrings often. According to the metabolism and repairability of each person's body, if you don't wear earrings for a prolonged period of time, the ear hole may close up again, nobody wants to go through that torment again! So for at least a year, feel free to fully utilize your earrings collection!
Final Notes
In conclusion, don't act impulsively, evaluate your body type thoroughly, do ample research on parlors and give your wound adequate care until it is healed completely, and prevent your ear hole from closing up. Last but not least, we wish you the best and rock that outfit!