Please help...dd's ear piercing is infected!

[*MomTo2Princesses*]

DD5 got her ears pierced about 3 months ago and everything has been great with them. We clean them every night and she picks out a new pair in the mornings. She fell asleep in them last night, and I didn't think another thing about it. Right before we left for school this morning she told me her ear was a little red. I looked and her stud looks like it is growing into her ear!! The front and back were both stuck to her ear. I tried to twist it and couldn't turn it, and it was painful. She said it was only painful when touched. She has only had them in for TWO days, and she has had no signs of infection prior to today. How does this happen so fast? I didn't see them last night since she fell asleep in them, but they were just fine the day before! It caught me off guard this morning, and I went ahead and sent her to school. But now I am wondering if I need to check her out and take her to the doctor. Is this something that can wait until she gets home this afternoon, or do I need to go get her and take her in now?

 

[amy-momofthree]

Maybe she is allergic to the earrings? Are they good ones? My dd got hers done 2 months ago and has never taken them out (other than to change earrings one time).

They told us when she got them pierced to only wear gold or silver.

 

[ancestry]

I had the same problem with my oldest daughter (who is now 20). Had them pierced repeatedly and they always got infected. Finally a doctor told me to stop doing it. (Yeah I was a first time parent back then).

It is usually recommended that you don't get ears pierced until the child is 12 or 13 as ear lobes grow downward and the piercing becomes off center as the child ages.

 

[squirrel]

I'm guessing they are cheap ones.

Buy gold or silver. I prefer the ones they use when the pierce your ear as they lock in place and don't squish your ear. I've never had problems with the original studs or gold or silver earings.

 

[Hannathy]

Quit panicking!!! for heavens sake you don't need to pull her from school for a sore earring.

Did you take them out? just clean the ear well with your cleaning solution and leave the earring out for a day and then put in good ones you know she can wear and just keep cleaning it. It may not be truly infected unless you see a bunch of pus, it is probably just irritated.

She may have just slept on it wrong and irritated it. She may want to leave a good pair in for a while and quit irritating them changing them every day.

 

[*MomTo2Princesses*]

They are from Claire's, so I doubt it. They say "sensitive solutions". I'm not if that even means anything. She has worn ones from this pack before, so could she still have a sensitivity to them? I went against my gut in getting her some from Claire's.

I may have been a little overzealous with the back. She has had a problem with her backs falling off at school, so I have been making sure they are on really tight. I may have put it on too tight, and now it is infected. It's probably my fault.

 

[*MomTo2Princesses*]

Quit panicking!!! for heavens sake you don't need to pull her from school for a sore earring.

Did you take them out? just clean the ear well with your cleaning solution and leave the earring out for a day and then put in good ones you know she can wear and just keep cleaning it. It may not be truly infected unless you see a bunch of pus, it is probably just irritated.

She may have just slept on it wrong and irritated it. She may want to leave a good pair in for a while and quit irritating them changing them every day.

I didn't take it out. I couldn't even get it to move. My main concern is infection getting worse if it is infected. I just wasn't sure if it would be any better to go ahead and get it removed to keep the infection from spreading if that is the problem.

 

[squirrel]

It's okay, I'm sure her ears will feel better soon.

What I would do is keep the original studs in until it's cleared up. Then only put the new (I'm guessing they are fancier) ones on just for the day or special event, then put the original ones back in.

If she does have an allergy to the new ones, just stop putting them in.

It did drive me crazy that the original studs were rather plain. But they were the only ones that didn't bother my ears and that weren't expensive.

 

[figment3258]

Same thing happened to my dd one morning she woke up and it was swollen and I could not get it out. I sat her down and did mange to get it out and as soon as we did puss and blood came outsource I called the Drs and they told me to clean it out and put another earring back in if we wanted to kep the holes open and just to watch it to make sure it did not happen again.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

My ears do that every time I sleep with earrings in, if I take them out every night I'm fine. If you take a q-tip with some cleaning solution or peroxide on it and clean around it you should be able to get the earring out.

 

[princessmom29]

First, take a deep breath. This is not a major crisis and there is no need to take her to the doctor. Unless it gets really severe the infection is not going to harm her or "spread".

1. You need to get the earring moving, even if it is painful. Leaving it alone to adhere to the tissue will just make it worse in the long run. She is just going to have to grit her teeth and bear it on this one, becuaseit HAS to move.

2. DO NOT let her go without an earring in that ear. If it is sticking to the tissue and not moving, then her ear is not fully healed. The hole will close and it will have to be peirced agian if she goes without an earring. Put a GOOD gold earring in, and clean it several times a day with some sort of antiseptic.

3. Keep the earring moving. Turn it at least twice a day. it will be uncomfortable for a while, but has to be done.

 

[mjkacmom]

BTDT with them all. Solid gold hoops.

 

[dzorn]

They are from Claire's, so I doubt it. They say "sensitive solutions". I'm not if that even means anything. She has worn ones from this pack before, so could she still have a sensitivity to them? I went against my gut in getting her some from Claire's.

I may have been a little overzealous with the back. She has had a problem with her backs falling off at school, so I have been making sure they are on really tight. I may have put it on too tight, and now it is infected. It's probably my fault.

Yes putting them on two tight can irritate them. Get her a pair of small endless hoops. Clean them a few times a day.

Make sure she knows she is not to touch them for any reason. If she is touching them with dirty hands they will get infected.

Denise in MI

 

[*MomTo2Princesses*]

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions. I didn't know if she would need an antibiotic and started to panic because we leave for Disney in 2 days! I did try to loosen it with some of the cleaning solution on a Qtip this morning but couldn't get it to budge. I will work on it some more whenever she gets home form school, and I'll make sure to put the piercing stud back in. I let her pick out of couple of fun packs at Claire's, and I think that was the problem. The little plastic ones haven't given her any trouble, but these are little pink pearls from a different pack. Hopefully I can work it out this afternoon. Lesson well learned...the fun packs aren't always so much fun.

 

[dzorn]

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions. I didn't know if she would need an antibiotic and started to panic because we leave for Disney in 2 days! I did try to loosen it with some of the cleaning solution on a Qtip this morning but couldn't get it to budge. I will work on it some more whenever she gets home form school, and I'll make sure to put the piercing stud back in. I let her pick out of couple of fun packs at Claire's, and I think that was the problem. The little plastic ones haven't given her any trouble, but these are little pink pearls from a different pack. Hopefully I can work it out this afternoon. Lesson well learned...the fun packs aren't always so much fun.

You can put neosporin on it before bed.

Denise in MI

 

[indimom]

One more suggestion. You might try putting alcohol or your cleaning solution in a small container and lifting it up to the earlobe and letting the earring and skin soak in it for a bit to loosen the part that has adhered. This may make it easier to remove the earring and less painful for your daughter.

I second the neosporin. A friend's daughter just had an issue with an earring and this is what her doctor recommended (over the phone ). After cleaning, apply neosporin to the stem of the earring. It will help it slide in easier, help heal any infection, and speed up healing time.

Hope this helps.

 

[proud_canadian]

People take their earrings out every night??

I never take mine out unless I am changing them...

DD7 got her ears pierced about 9 months ago, and we only take them out to clean them and then put them right back in. Once the back fell off and we couldn't put a new pair on for almost a day and the hole almost closed and was painful to reinsert!

Other than that both her and I wear them 24/7

 

[fairestoneofall]

DD can only wear gold or sterling silver. anything else gives her an infection.

in the past, i've used bacitracin on her ears (our ped recommended it instead of neosporin). and i always clean her earrings and ears with alcohol if we're changing her earrings.

 

[*MomTo2Princesses*]

People take their earrings out every night??

I never take mine out unless I am changing them...

DD7 got her ears pierced about 9 months ago, and we only take them out to clean them and then put them right back in. Once the back fell off and we couldn't put a new pair on for almost a day and the hole almost closed and was painful to reinsert!

Other than that both her and I wear them 24/7

We don't take them out every night. We still clean them nightly and she picks out a new pair in the morning, but she still has her previous day earrings in. She loves to match them with what she is wearing that day! I meant that I didn't notice anything last night because she fell asleep in them before I cleaned them. She always has a pair in so the holes don't close up.

Thank you all again! I am a little embarassed that I flipped out thinking I needed to take her in to the doctor about it.

 

[indimom]

We don't take them out every night. We still clean them nightly and she picks out a new pair in the morning, but she still has her previous day earrings in. She loves to match them with what she is wearing that day! I meant that I didn't notice anything last night because she fell asleep in them before I cleaned them. She always has a pair in so the holes don't close up.

Thank you all again! I am a little embarassed that I flipped out thinking I needed to take her in to the doctor about it.

Don't be. I can't count the number of times I've hemmed and hawed over whether I should run my kids into the doctor. Sometimes I took them in and practically got laughed at. Other times I waited, they got worse, and I got a lecture for not bringing them in sooner. Sometimes you just can't win.