Ear piercing and swimming?

[Spinning]

My DD will be 10 soon. She wants her ears pierced. All of her friends are getting them done.
I am concerned she swims 2-3 times a week for 11/2 and then dives 1 time per week for an hour.
I went to 2 different ear piercing places and got 2 different answers. One said no wait another said fine just make sure she cleans them after swimming and drys them well.
If she gets them done on Wed. she wouldn't be in the water again until Sunday.
Any opinions?

 

[N.Bailey]

Just a guess really, but for the little that it's worth, I'd think the chlorine in the pool would help keep them clean. I would recommend cleaning them afterward, but I really can't see the harm. Remember though, my opinion isn't really based on much of anything.

If you'd feel better though, why not wait and not have to bother with it?

 

[pjlla]

I wouldn't worry so much about the pool water harming the ears.... but I might be afraid that diving would force the earring backs off. Make sure her cap covers her ears well.....................P

 

[golfgal]

Chlorine is a disinfectant so it shouldn't be an issue with keeping her ears clean when swimming. If she was swimming in a lake, then you would need to clean her ears after.

 

[experiment626mom]

As long as she swabs her ears with either the solution they give her, peroxide or alcohol she will be fine. My stepdaughter swam the same night she got her ears pierced and never had a problem.

 

[pattyT]

Hi Spinning...
I agree with J. just make sure the cap is pulled down and it should all be good!
and thats quite the tag you have there!

 

[stinkerbelle]

but I might be afraid that diving would force the earring backs off. Make sure her cap covers her ears well.....................P

I wouldn't even worry about that...the "piercing studs" have a pretty tight backing on them...they don't just "fall off" like normal backings...they click into place.

make sure her coach allows her to have her piercings. I took my 16yo SIL to get her second holes...she said her softball coach said she could just "tape" over them...but she ended up having to take them out for games...which made for a painful "re-insertion" after games.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

My DD has had her ears pierce twice and both times we had to take the earrings out and let them close up. Finally I figured out the correlation between when we got them pierced and her swimming/diving season. The first time we got them pierced in May and the second time (two years later) in late April. Her swim season begins early June. She's in the pool every day in the summer. By mid summer her ears (at the piercing) were totally infected, even bleeding. If, and that's a big if, we ever get them repierced it will be planned to be far from the swim season. I'm thinking they just didn't have time to heal and then all of the daily chlorine just wasn't good for them.

 

[helenabear]

I wouldn't do it. Chlorine does kill things, but swimming in pools is just an infection waiting to happen. There is a reason why there are outbreaks of certain illnesses among pool users in the summer.

Every piercing I've had, I've had to wait until they were healed to get in a pool. The belly button piercing was a PITA (took a LONG time to heal). So I would wait until swim season is done with so you can have at least 6 weeks of healing before going in a pool.

 

[Spinning]

Thanks everyone
I think I will make her wait till March. She will still have diving but that is one time a week. and if we do it near Easter then she will have 2 weeks before going in the pool

 

[TLHB70]

I am so glad that I found this thread!
My DD just turned 10. She has finally decided that she wants her ears pierced. She is so eager and wants to have them done this weekend.
Well, I have a conference that I will be attending this weekend. I have had it paid for and planned since March. My DH will be keeping the girls for Friday and Saturday. Needless to say, DD wants the ears pierced on Friday. My DH told me that he would take her and make it a special Daddy and Daughters weekend. He is kind of excited about being the special one there for the special occasion. I hate to miss it. My main question is about the care. My DH is not a detail kind of person. (From what I hear, most guys aren't.) I am concerned that he may not pay much attention to the cleaning and care instructions given to them at the jewelry store. (I believe she has picked Claire's. Is that ok?) I have warned DD to pay close attention to what the lady tells her about care since I will not be there to listen and daddy might not get it all straight. She said that she would. It has been over 25 years since I had my ears pierced. I cannot remember anything about it. I will not miss any kind of important instructions......will I?

 

[helenabear]

I know people all fight me when I say this, TLHB70, but I cannot stand ear piercings in malls. They are NOT trained and it is not sanitary. I don't care what you say, but you need high heat to sterlize things, and those guns will never be totally clean. The ears technically get ripped open by the earring and they hurt a heck of a lot more than a real place does.

Go through here if you still can
http://www.safepiercing.org/piercerLocator.php

and find yourself a real piercing place with professionals who are trained to do things. Yeah it's a piercing in an ear, but if you don't get it right, you can deal with infections and other blech stuff while the ear is healing

Also what they give out at places like Claires to "clean" the ears is crap. Don't buy it, don't use it! Do not use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide either. Holes will heal up faster if you wash them once or twice daily with anti-microbial or anti-bacterial soap (like dial). Then do a sea salt soak twice a day as well for 10-15 mins. Here is a site with excellent after care instructions

http://www.safepiercing.org/bodyAftercare.html

I've done a lot of piercings in my life, so I am very picky over where and how it is done now. Trust me, a needle is more sterile and less painful!!!!!

 

[TLHB70]

Thanks so much for that information, helenabear. I clicked on the link to locate a safe piercing location, and there are none in our area. I know that this seems silly. However, I was already nervous about her doing it, and now I am more nervous about the clean/health aspect. Since there is no location in our area, what do you recommend?

 

[helenabear]

Do you have a place like Sally's beauty supply near by? They do sell the guns you can do it yourself. At least you know that one time it will be clean (from other people's ears at least). The other thing is to check with your ped... I know some will do peircings for you. Just make sure you get a good surgical steel post to put in (usually the most hypoallergenic out there). Size of the post doesn't matter all that much, as long as it doesn't look a lot thinner than a normal earring.

I've done one set myself with a needle that we sterilized. That one healed up better than the gun ones I had as a kid. Of course that isn't for the squeamish either.

You could also check tattoo parlors. Yep another weird place to go. While they may not be APP affiliated, most practice good sterlization procedures so it would be another option. Probably hard to want to take a small girl there though, but I'd sooner go there than Claire's.

Fortunately I have a place that does piercing only here. They were amazing. So just check your phone book for piercings and tattoos also. They usally have good service there.

As a last resort, go to Claire's. But I would make sure you follow the care instructions on that site I gave, and definitely NOT listen to anything they say anyway

Oh and in case you or your DD is wondering, sea salt soaks don't hurt at all, so it isn't like putting salt into a wound that people tease about saying that hurts. I hope that made sense.

Good luck

 

[TLHB70]

I do have a Sally's near me. I just don't know if I am up to piercing her ears myself with the gun. If she jumps it may make me jump. Now DH may be able to do it...................
I will definitely check the yellow pages for a place that does piercings only. I didn't think to do that. I guess I just thought it had to be a jewelry store. I guess you can tell that I am not that informed on the subject.
I did print out all of those care instructions from your link. I will go over them thoroughly with DD. Thanks for the information!

 

[helenabear]

Glad to help! And good luck with everything! I think I only started finding out more about piercing as I got older and did some myself (so I totally know what you mean about not being able to do it yourself). I have 5 in each ear (stopping since I don't like cartilage piercings) and of course my belly button pierced. So I've learned as I went along! I do hope you can find a local place to do it. They can be a bit more expensive than Claire's but the quality is top notch usually!

I hope she enjoys her new earrings though

 

[BibbidiBobbidiBOO]

DD got hers done this year at age 10. Her Pediatrician did them! He had the earrings etc. and was only about $35? He talked to DD about care of them. If your Ped/Dr. does not do them, they may be able to recommend a Dr./place that does.

To the OP-I bet a nurse at her Dr.'s office could advise you about swimming.

 

[motherhen17404]

I know people all fight me when I say this, TLHB70, but I cannot stand ear piercings in malls. They are NOT trained and it is not sanitary. I don't care what you say, but you need high heat to sterlize things, and those guns will never be totally clean. The ears technically get ripped open by the earring and they hurt a heck of a lot more than a real place does.

Go through here if you still can
http://www.safepiercing.org/piercerLocator.php

and find yourself a real piercing place with professionals who are trained to do things. Yeah it's a piercing in an ear, but if you don't get it right, you can deal with infections and other blech stuff while the ear is healing

Also what they give out at places like Claires to "clean" the ears is crap. Don't buy it, don't use it! Do not use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide either. Holes will heal up faster if you wash them once or twice daily with anti-microbial or anti-bacterial soap (like dial). Then do a sea salt soak twice a day as well for 10-15 mins. Here is a site with excellent after care instructions

http://www.safepiercing.org/bodyAftercare.html

I've done a lot of piercings in my life, so I am very picky over where and how it is done now. Trust me, a needle is more sterile and less painful!!!!!

I am so glad someone brought this up. I cringe when I see someone having a piercing done at a place like Claire's. I have several piercings and after talking with the pros and doing my own research, those piercing guns scare me. They will tell you that they clean them after every person, however there is a part on the gun that can never get clean due to how it is made. And the fact that the gun "tears" a hole instead of making a hole using a real piercing needle also bothers me.

I also agree if you can not find a APP shop then the next best choice is a tattoo shop that does piercings. All tattoo shops have a autoclave to clean their equipment and most tattoo artists have been trained to some degree. Think about it, do you want some teenager with no training to put holes into you child? Or a tattoo artist who understands the importance of keeping their equipment clean.

 

[TLHB70]

OK, after reading these replies yesterday I got pretty nervous about DD going to the mall to get her ears pierced!!!! I just called our pediatrician's office this morning when they opened to talk to them about it. They do pierce ears. I set up an appointment for DD to do it there. Do you feel that they are safe compared to places in malls? I think I feel better about it being done there rather than the mall somewhere. Plus, the earliest appointment is on Monday at noon so I get to go with her to do it instead of DH. Before I get flamed for that, I have to say that I called DH before I confirmed that appointment to make sure it was ok with him. He said it is fine.
Now I think I feel much better.

 

[motherhen17404]

I would trust your Dr.'s office more than a place in the mall. Just make sure they use a needle and not a gun. And remember, do not use alcohol or hydrogen peroxide to clean the holes. This will only slow the healing process. Just use anti-bacterial soap, and do not let anyone touch the new piercing without washing your hands first.