Cartilage Horror Story + Advice?

I got my cartilage done at merle normans (I know, my friends mom insisted we go there...) about a year and half ago. Of course, they used a gun, but claimed the earring (it was a stud) acted as a needle. I was hesitant but eventually agreed.

They never told me how tight I should wear my stud so I wore it too tightly and it stretched out my cartilage and of course it got BADLY infected. I went back to merle normans and they gave me a ring with a higher gauge and told me to soak it twice a day in almost boiling sea salt water. I probably did that for about six months.

I went back to merle normans to see what they thought of the healing and the woman working there told me to go to the ER and get tested for hearing loss. Yeah. Instead, I went to a very old and reputable tattoo and piercing shop downtown and they looked at my ear. They replaced my ring (it was sterling silver...) with a safe one and told me to wash it twice a day with a bit of antibacterial soap.

It has healed up quite a bit but somedays it is still a bit sore and stiff. I went back to see if I could return to using studs but the girl working there told me that it still needs to heal a bit because its still a bit grey, she told me to only wash it once a day so I don't irritate the cartilage. She also recommended bactine?

Can anyone give me some advice? Should I do that? What are some signs it is healing? Can someone please just help me!?

 

Don't use anything they tell you to use at Merle Norman.

Sea salt dissolved in water is good, but just warm water, NOT almost boiling. That sounds awful. It should be warm though, to penetrate the skin. Use filtered water, or boil it to sanitize it, but wait until it's cooled down to what you consider warm before applying it to the skin.

Sometimes cartilage can take years to heal fully. Some people just can't handle cartilage piercings. Guns are bad, but I have one I got done as a teenager in my cartilage (with a gun) and have switched it to a 14g hoop. The hoop helps with swelling (less pressure), but you need to be careful about touching it. Never touch it without washing your hands. Do not use alcohol or peroxide on it. Wash it 2-3 times a day with Johnson & Johnson baby soap and water (use a q-tip), and do at least one 20 minute sea-salt soak per day.

Since its infected you might be at risk for abnormal scarring. If you notice scar tissue protruding from the entrance or exit of the piercing as it heals (hypertrophic scarring or keloids) you can usually get rid of it by crushing up Asprin and mixing it with water to make a paste (again, filtered water), and applying the paste to your piercing before bed every night until it's healed properly.


I hope this helped!

 

Thanks, that was very helpful. Do you think softsoap would work, that is what I have been using. My city has hard water so maybe thats why the sea salt wasn't working very well. As for unusual scarring, I have a keloid and the girls who looked at my earring at the reputable store told me to use vitamin e and just rub it on? But they said to wait until it was fully healed.

 

I'd also like to know what are some signs its healing?

 

Itching, and when it's healed there will be no more "crusties".

 

after the piercing heals up, and if u have a bump or the ear just doesnt look like the other one, try using tea tree oil to get it back to "normal"

 

^or crushed aspirin mixed with water applied as a paste until it goes away