This is the time of year when we get a lot of ear piercing clients.  The first wave is the before school starts crowd and the second is the “I just saw my friend got their ears pierced” crowd.  I figured I’d do a little piece on ear piercing and after care.

It is important to use a professional with an ear piercing kit.  The earrings will be in sealed cartridges to ensure that they are sterile.  Gold or surgical steel are the best metals for piercing earrings, since they are hypoallergenic for most people.  I have come across a rare few people who are allergic to gold, but not during ear piercing.  

Earrings need to stay in for at least six weeks and cannot be taken out.  The holes will close in about 15 minutes.  During the six weeks the earrings need to be cleaned and turned twice daily, morning and night.  Ear care solution works best for this.  The front and back of the earring should be turned during this time to keep the skin from sticking to the earring.  It is also important to only touch the earrings when your hands are clean and to not fiddle with them too much.  Always rinse the ears thoroughly with clean water after showering or swimming.

If the ear gets sore or red it may be an infection.  If an infection occurs, treat the ear with antibiotic ointment.  Use a Neosporin or Bacitracin gel and put some behind the head of the earring and work it into the ear after cleaning and while turning the earring.  Leave it on until the next cleaning, clean the old ointment off and repeat.  When the infection is gone, leave the earrings in for six more weeks; it is just like starting over anytime you get an infection.  If an infection is severe or persistent, it may be a good idea to remove the earring or seek a medical professional’s help.

It is not a bad idea to keep something in the holes after six weeks, as some people take longer to heal than others, but you should be able to switch them out to some other earrings.

You should probably stick to gold or platinum earrings, as some costume and silver earrings may cause an allergic reaction.  If you get a reaction to a pair of earrings, put some clean earrings sterilized with a little rubbing alcohol into the ears and treat them as if they were infected, leaving them in for the six weeks after the infection or reaction is gone.

Lastly, if you have a lot of trouble putting in a pair of earrings, it is possible that you may reopen the skin in the hole and you may need to treat the ears as you would a new piercing for six weeks.