Anyone have experience with an earring hole that constantly gets infected?

[proud_canadian]

Hi,

My daughter got her ears pierced about 5 years ago. She is 10 now. She had no issues when first getting them pierced, but over the past 3 years or so, one of the earlobes is constantly "infected". It is red, swollen, hot, painful, and has some pus. She has good real gold earrings, and we take both earrings out a few times a week to clean and reinsert. When it gets infected, we do it daily, and also add polysporin to the routine. It usually gets better after a few days, but the infection always comes back, whether it be a week, or month or couple of months later.

The infection this time is currently so bad that we are considering being done with earrings entirely!

We have tried several different good earrings, proper cleanings, but nothing seems to prevent this. And it is always in the one earlobe.

Also! She is on long term antibiotics for another condition, so you'd think that would help prevent infection too.

1) Is there anything we should be doing differently to prevent these infections?
2) Would you just let the earrings close in?
3) Any other suggestions?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Is that the side she sleeps on? Does she take the earrings out at night? Usually when I've seen that happen it's due to irritation from an earring worn while sleeping. Ask her to show you how she sleeps and you will probably have your answer.

 

[proud_canadian]

Nah, she's a squirmer and sleeps in all kinds of positions! Do you think taking the earrings out at night may give her ears a break though? She is terrified to even take them out when she plays soccer as she is worried they will fill in.

 

[mjkacmom]

It sounds like you are messing with it too much. My girls used to get infections when they took out their earrings often. I'd use alcohol, but just try and leave them in. I have diamond studs that stay in for years at a time.

 

[proud_canadian]

Yeah I never take mine out and have no issues, but if we don't take them out and clean them, they seem to get infected even more often!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Nah, she's a squirmer and sleeps in all kinds of positions! Do you think taking the earrings out at night may give her ears a break though? She is terrified to even take them out when she plays soccer as she is worried they will fill in.

Do you have pierced ears yourself? I do, and I know if I wear a certain type of earring to bed I wake up with irritation and worse if I let it continue. So I don't. I take those earrings out and go back to wearing the type of earrings that I know don't cause that type of irritation when I sleep, because I do like to leave them in.

My DD was fine for years when she first got her ears pierced just wearing studs. She never had any irritation. Then she switched them out and only occasionally started wearing earrings and she would get irritation a lot. We learned she had to wear good quality earrings and usually not sleep with them on. She doesn't wear earrings much anymore and doesn't get irritation much unless she has trouble getting earrings in because she hasn't worn them in so long.

I might give her ears a rest for a few days and then re-evaluate. What type of earrings is she wearing? Could she just wear good quality studs for a while, as long as they're not causing irritation? Ask her how it feels when she lays down on a pillow with earrings in. Is it uncomfortable? Teach her it if is to take them out right away if it is. And not to "play with them" unconsciously during the day.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I keep seeing people mention "good quality" earrings, but even 18/24k gold earrings have nickel in them, which is a common irritant.

Try getting her a pair made from surgical steel (not stainless) and see if that makes a difference.

Good luck!

 

[nkereina]

My mom has to buy earrings that specifically state "for sensitive ears" or "nickel free" or "surgical steel" - or something similar in nature. She's allergic to nickel, and that can often be found even in gold earrings. If she tries to wear other earrings, she gets infections as well. Might be something to consider. You can find these earrings anywhere, just look for those words.

When I was young and into piercings, the piercing shop would always have me clean them with warm water and sea salt. The same sea salt you'd find at the grocery store. I'd add the salt to the water and then dip a q-tip or cotton ball in it and rub it around the piercing. It healed it up well and was good for any irritations.

 

[Magpie]

Yep, my daughter had this problem. Then we noticed that she'd get rashes on her wrists and neck when she wore jewelry. It turns out she's very sensitive to metal - mainly nickel, but even surgical steel gets irritating after awhile. I think that might be due to a chromium sensitivity, in addition to the nickel?

We tried all of the advice listed in previous posts. It didn't work. She ultimately just gave up on having pierced ears, and wears necklaces sparingly (or chooses ones that are made with natural materials).

She's studying biochemistry and once explained to me the mechanism behind how her immune system reacts to metals, but I honestly didn't understand it. She's got other immune "quirks" as well... vitiligo, allergies, sun rash, mild Reynaud's, etc. On the plus side, though, her overactive immune system means she rarely gets sick and when she does she recovers quickly.

(Edited to add: A lot of her immune issues first showed up when she began puberty - so, roughly the same age as your young lady.)

 

[1Mouse2RulethemAll]

She might have a cyst in the earlobe.

 

[ahutton]

For my girls, I bought them piercing studs. If other earrings are giving them trouble, they go back to those studs, cleaned really well and leave them along for a few days. Then the irritation is gone. I found that if I change my earrings a lot I "scraped" the hole and that cause trouble for me for most of my pre-teen/teen years. When I settled into wearing a pair for many days at a time it was find. Then as an adult I wear my favorite ones on different days but now I don't tend to scrape the hole as I change them so it has been fine.

 

[morgan98]

I keep seeing people mention "good quality" earrings, but even 18/24k gold earrings have nickel in them, which is a common irritant.

Try getting her a pair made from surgical steel (not stainless) and see if that makes a difference.

Good luck!

Unfortunately, I have stopped wearing earrings because of the constant infections. I got my ears pierced when I was 8 years old, back in 1978. I almost always wore 18k gold earrings as I had many pairs that I received as gifts from relatives in Italy. Wore them for years never had any problems. Then suddenly, about 6-7 years ago ALL earrings started bothering me. Didn't matter if I took them off at nights, tried different pairs, left them out for several weeks and tried again, they would become infected right away.

I just gave up. I figure you can't see my ears much anyway, but I still miss them.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I'd think if it were an allergy issue, you'd see problems in both ears.

OP describes the problem as in one ear.

 

[melanielll]

My youngest daughter is 21. Her ears have been pierced since she was 11. The holes have never completely closed. By that I mean that the skin hasn't formed inside of the holes - they are just they way they are shortly after getting them pierced. If she sleeps without one, it has to be repierced the next morning. They are periodically infected and bleed from time to time. I wish she would stop wearing earrings and let them close and heal permanently (if they would). We have spoken to a few doctors about it. They recommend letting them close and buying a bunch of bracelets. I firmly believe that not everything is for everyone.

If giving up isn't appealing, get a prescription for mupirocin. That has helped her the most.

 

[FairestOfThemAll37]

I'd think if it were an allergy issue, you'd see problems in both ears.

OP describes the problem as in one ear.

Not necessarily. I tend to have one ear much more affected than the other. It starts with itching then redness/soreness and then into full blown nastiness.

They can also become more sensitive over time and not necessarily in tandem.

 

[weeniecat2442]

I went my whole childhood with pierced ears and wearing earrings of all kinds- mostly cheap ones. My last years of high school my lobes started to swell up and I'd take the earrings out. I started to only wear them on special occasions and only good ones. It got to the point I couldn't even do that anymore, so I stopped wearing them all together.

I got my ears re-pierced within the past 10 years and they were fine for awhile but the same issues popped up again.
I no longer bother with earrings of any kind.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Not necessarily. I tend to have one ear much more affected than the other. It starts with itching then redness/soreness and then into full blown nastiness.

They can also become more sensitive over time and not necessarily in tandem.

I'm not saying it's impossible, as stranger things have happened.

But the OP is clearly talking about one ear, not both.

I still think that chances are much higher it's a functional irritation, meaning from sleeping on that side with the earring in.

There's one way to find out, and that's to take the earrings out at night and see what happens.

 

[dosekies]

How did she get her ears pierced? With a gun or with a needle?

I've had mine pierced 5 times - singles done twice, doubles done twice, and my cartilage once. When I first got my singles I was in 1st grade I think and they constantly got infected. No matter what type of earrings we tried, nothing worked. They were done with a gun.

Around 5th-6th grade I wanted to try again and got them done again with a gun, but they didn't go thru the same holes. I was able to wear them well for a few years, but around college they started to get really red, itchy, and hot no matter what kinds of earrings I wore. I am now 24 and the holes have never closed, but I never wear earrings in them.

In middle school when I thought my ears were fine, I got my doubles done with a gun. After the recommended 'healing time' I tried to change them to small studs for sports and they were disgusting. I was crying because they were so gross. Needless to say I let those close.

In high school, I got my cartilage pierced with a gun. It was fine for a few months, but eventually also got infected and the earring ended up falling out somehow without me noticing so I just let it close up.

Finally, I decided when I got to college to get my doubles done again, but this time went to a tattoo parlor and got them done with a needle. I have NEVER had any issues. These are now the only earrings I wear and never have any problems. I can even wear the cheap jewelry without issue.

Based on my experiences, I will never get a piercing done with a gun again, only a needle. I have bumps still where my gun piercings were and gunk still comes out of them all the time. If hers were done with a gun, I would recommend letting them close and possibly having them redone with a needle.

 

[kaspurr]

Hi,

My daughter got her ears pierced about 5 years ago. She is 10 now. She had no issues when first getting them pierced, but over the past 3 years or so, one of the earlobes is constantly "infected". It is red, swollen, hot, painful, and has some pus. She has good real gold earrings, and we take both earrings out a few times a week to clean and reinsert. When it gets infected, we do it daily, and also add polysporin to the routine. It usually gets better after a few days, but the infection always comes back, whether it be a week, or month or couple of months later.

The infection this time is currently so bad that we are considering being done with earrings entirely!

We have tried several different good earrings, proper cleanings, but nothing seems to prevent this. And it is always in the one earlobe.

Also! She is on long term antibiotics for another condition, so you'd think that would help prevent infection too.

1) Is there anything we should be doing differently to prevent these infections?
2) Would you just let the earrings close in?
3) Any other suggestions?

As someone who has/had many piercings and has gone through hell with some of them, infections are a normal part of a piercing because your body naturally wants to reject anything "foreign".

Although proper care and understanding what works for your body specifically can prevent infection sometimes your body will never stop fighting the piercing and you will need to keep it out. My recommendation is hypoallergenic studs only. It also depends on what you are cleaning them with as rubbing alcohol or other disinfectants can actually cause further irritation. I would also suggest never using polysporin on piercings because it can add to your body's "need to heal" which can cause further rejection. Sometimes gold earrings are not hypoallergenic and will still cause irritation. Hypo earrings can come in many different materials so I would keep an eye out specifically for the words hypoallergenic. In addition, use tea tree oil. It sounds weird but it's FANTASTIC for healing and is natural so you don't end up with any additional irritation. It will take a week of continually applying tea tree oil to see any changes though so you have to be patient.

Good luck, I really hope she can keep her piercings

 

[nkereina]

In addition, use tea tree oil. It sounds weird but it's FANTASTIC for healing and is natural so you don't end up with any additional irritation.

I stand by my recommendation of warm water and sea salt, but I'd consider this option too. Tea tree oil is often recommended for acne treatment, which is essentially an infection of a pore. It makes pimples go away pretty quickly. I will say though that if there's anything open, like a cut, it can sting when applying but hasn't caused any further irritation on me at least.