Throbbing pain or tenderness it's totally normal for your nose to feel a little tender for several after you get it pierced. But if that tenderness deepens into a more persistent pain that lasts more than a week, that's an indication that your piercing might be infected.
Pain and Discomfort: Infected nose piercings can cause localized pain, tenderness, and a throbbing sensation around the piercing. Discharge: Pus-like discharge with a yellow or greenish color and an unpleasant odor is a common sign of infection.
One exception here is when a piercing experiences short-term soreness when you had thought your piercing had healed. Instead of an infected nose piercing, it's more likely that your nose ring is sore because you're allergic to one of the metals you're using in your body jewelry.
The redness and irritation around your nose piercing could be due to an allergy. In fact, allergic reactions to metal piercings are more common than infections, says Dr. Krajcik. An allergic reaction is usually itchy and rash-like, with small, raised, red dots around the area.
An infected ear piercing can also develop years after a person got the original piercing. Usually, the infections are minor, and people can treat them at home without complications. Touching the piercing too often with dirty hands or not cleaning the area can lead to infections.
Pain and Healing Time
It may be sore, tender, and red for up to 3 weeks. Pierced nostrils heal completely in about 2 to 4 months. A pierced septum heals in about 3 to 4 months.
Pierced areas, especially sensitive areas like the navel, can get infected months and even years after they were pierced, though infections most often occur very shortly after the time of piercing, as that is when the portal door is wide open.
If the skin is looking thinner or tighter around the piercing, or above the jewellery, it's a possible sign of rejection. As well, the colour of your skin changing around the hole is another potential sign. Transparent/near-transparent skin is a very likely sign of rejection.
Why does one side of my nose hurt when I touch it? Pain when touching one side of the nose could be due to an infection, such as sinusitis, or an allergic reaction. It could also be due to a deviated septum, trauma, or a tumor. You may need to see a doctor to examine the issue if there's not an obvious cause.
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. you feel hot or shivery or generally unwell.
Piercing pain in healed piercings is not uncommon, but it's also not something that should be ignored.
Reasons a nose piercing may get infected include: Poor hygiene after piercing, such as not cleaning the site with water. Poor hygiene while getting pierced, such as infected instruments. Wrong products or techniques used while cleaning.
Things You Should Know
Dab aloe vera gel around the piercing for immediate relief from pain, swelling, and inflammation. See your doctor if you have severe pain or a fever so they can prescribe an antibiotic to clear the infection.
Although minor redness, swelling and soreness can be expected after getting a nose piercing, more serious signs of infection can include intense pain or throbbing, burning sensations around the piercing, green or yellow discharge, or a bad odor coming from the piercing site.
Signs Your Piercing Might Be Infected
The area is highly inflamed and red. The area is throbbing with pain even when you are not touching it.
Symptoms of piercing rejection
Signs that a piercing is migrating and possibly being rejected include: more of the jewelry becoming visible on the outside of the piercing. the piercing remaining sore, red, irritated, or dry after the first few days.
Pus or blood around the piercing Clear discharge is normal for a new piercing, but green, yellow, or brown pus oozing from the opening means bacteria have gotten inside. Alternatively, if you notice blood, it may mean your piercing isn't healing properly and needs medical attention.
There are some very easy, gentle ways to get irritated piercings back on track. 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.
Causes of Infections
Most commonly, an infected ear piercing is caused by bacteria entering the wound, which can happen in several ways. Handling with unclean hands. If you clean your ears without washing your hands first, you run the risk of exposing your piercings to bacteria. Not cleaning the piercing enough.
Usually 4 months is a long time for a nostril piercings to be sore but everyone does heal differently. There aren't any signs of infection are there? (Redness, warm to touch, pus) now if you bump it often, have infection, or change the jewelry too soon or often there can be some pain.
"Clean the area of the piercing twice a day with saline or salt water, which prevents infection by preventing the growth of bacteria and is a gentle way to clean a new piercing," advises Nazarian. Avoid using a cotton swab or round as the fibers can get caught in the piercing.
Some people find that getting their piercings re-done is more painful than when they had the initial piercing, though others report a virtually painless experience.