increased pain, redness, swelling, irritation or itchiness around the piercing site. thick infected discharge from the piercing site – this may be yellow, green or grey and may have an unusual odour. problems with healing or scarring.
In some cases, the body may consider a new piercing to be a foreign object that needs to be dispelled rather than healed. This is when rejection takes place. If your piercing is being rejected, you'll notice a shift in the location of the jewellery, possible skin flaking or discolouration, as well as irritation.
With a new piercing, some of the signs can be difficult to differentiate from natural healing. For example, redness and swelling aren't outside the ordinary course of healing in the first few days. But if it keeps getting worse, or stays the same for an extended period of time that may be a sign of rejection.
Practicing good hygiene can prevent your piercing from getting infected or from migrating. Piercings rejected due to allergic reactions will usually need to be removed, but infections can heal over time.
Surface piercings are the most common types of piercing to be rejected by the body. Surface piercings travel along an area of skin, rather than going directly through a body part. The jewelry punctures only a small amount of the skin's surface. Examples of surface piercings include eyebrows, neck, hip, and wrist.
Surface piercings such as eyebrows, neck, nipple and wrist tend to be rejected more easily than other piercings. That's because they do not travel directly through the body, but rather along an area of skin because the jewellery is puncturing only a small amount of the skin's surface.
A piercing can start to be rejected within a week of getting it done, but it can also happen months or years after you think the area has healed. If you hit the piercing hard enough the body may register it as a threat and start to push it out.
Treatment for Rejection and Migration
After you've removed the jewelry, you have a few options available. If only migration occurred, you can try re-piercing the area with new jewelry consisting of a different shape, size or made from a different material.
You may notice one or all of the following start to happen: the distance between the entry and exit holes begins to shrink – e.g you can see more of the bar or ring than before – this is the most significant sign. your piercing feels sore, irritated or itchy. it looks dry.
If you have a lot of scar tissue, it may be that your piercer will offer to do the piercing in a slightly different area. This will also be the case if your last piercing was rejected or if you suffered from an allergy. If your initial piercing was rejected, this could happen again with your new piercing.
Of all the body sites commonly pierced, the navel is the most likely to become infected because of its shape. Infections can often be treated with good skin hygiene and antibiotic medications. With this type of infection, jewelry generally does not have to be taken out.
To get a piercing back to where it needs to be, we suggest using a sterile saline compress with gauze pads. This is a very mild way to get irritants out of a piercing, as well as to assist in bringing down inflammation.
The skin around a new piercing might be swollen, red and tender for a few days. It might bleed slightly. If the swelling, redness and bleeding last longer than a few days, contact your doctor. Prompt treatment can help prevent potentially serious complications.
Your piercing might be infected if: the area around it is swollen, painful, hot, very red or dark (depending on your skin colour) there's blood or pus coming out of it – pus can be white, green or yellow.
In most cases, minor ear piercing infections go away within 2 weeks with proper home care. When to call a doctor. In some cases, home care might not be enough. If your earring or the backing is stuck inside your earlobe, you should seek care from a doctor.
The most important thing you can do in this scenario is avoid using force because trying to push an earring in can turn your healed piercing into an open wound and cause swelling, infection and scarring.
Signs of an infection
It is important to note that your piercing may be tender or painful for up to 3-5 days after the procedure was performed. This is normal.
Navel. Navel piercings take the longest to heal, usually taking anywhere between 6 to 12 months. It is important to keep the area clean and dry, and avoid changing jewelry too often. Avoiding tight clothing and swimming pools is important, as these can cause infections and irritation.
The inside hole of a nostril piercing can close quickly. The inside of your nostril has a mucous lining that can close a hole quickly. The inside hole of a new nostril piercing can close within a day. The outside hole, on the other hand, takes significantly longer.