Ear piercing question again

[shelbean91]

A few months back, I was considering letting dd get her ears pierce and got some great advice. I took her to a piercing place, where they pierced her w/ a gun (? : ?). I didn't think they did that, but it was a different gun than I've seen before. Now, from reading here, that's pretty unusual, right?

Anyway, it's been several weeks- I think we had them done 7/10. We waited the 6 weeks before changing them, but when I changed them, there was a bit of oozing/bleeding but nothing too bad. I was going to wait and not change them for a while, but dd has now started soccer. The girls aren't allowed to wear earrings during practice OR games. About 2 hrs/week.

The first time, I had a hard time getting the earring back in. It's getting easier, and now we have hoops, but the hoops were really hard to get in.

Any suggestions on how to deal w/the 'earrings must be out' and/or the bleeding/oozing issues?

[travelinmom]

I think that it's pretty normal for them to use a gun. When I had my ears pierced and my dd pierced they used a gun. As for oozing, my ears still sometimes have alittle oozing. As long as the lobes aren't red, inflamed, hot to the touch, or swollen I wouldn't worry too much about infection.

You might be able to talk to the soccer coach about leaving them in during practice, maybe putting tape over them and just wearing small studs. The fear is that they will rip out. If they say you have to have them out then just limit the time they are out as much as possible. At least for the first 6 months after that you shouldn't have any problems leaving them out for a day or more.

[shelbean91]

Thanks. It's AYSO and no one is allowed to wear them. The most they're out is an hour. I take them out of her ears, put them in mine for safe keeping (mine have been pierced for almost 30 years, so I think as far as bacteria is concerned, they're safer in my ears than my hands) and put them back in as soon as practice is over.

[mothragirl]

are you cleaning them with anything? oozing and blood shouldn't be happening at this point. use just hot water or a tiny amount of sea salt mixed with water (no saltier than your tears) and then rinsed off.
a reputable piercing place would NOT use a gun.
to keep the holes open during practice you can take a piece of fishing line and put it in there. tie it in a loop.

[shelbean91]

The piercing place is in my hometown and is owned by a friend of my mom's- that's why we went there. She said he's had really good reviews, etc., so I though it was ok. He had given us a cleaner but we ran out.

So, if I just rinse them with water a few times a day, they'll heal? Right now, we're just getting them cleaned as she washes her hair.

Any guesses why we're oozing if that doesn't usually happen this long out? They don't appear to be infected.

[mothragirl]

they're either being over cleaned which destroys the cells the body is building, or the jewelry has too high of a nickel content which is creating a nickel allergy.

[shelbean91]

he told us to clean them 3x a day for the first 3 weeks and 2x a day for the next 3 weeks. We (ok, I) never kept up that schedule beyond the first week or so. They were the surgical steel (I think) posts and the ones I've gotten her since have been 14k gold.

My mom has nickel allergy and I'm really sensitive and can't wear the cheap earrings, so I've only been getting her the 'good' ones. I thought 14k gold were good to wear.

[mothragirl]

go for a higher quality gold.

[alsoSarah]

Originally Posted by shelbean91

he told us to clean them 3x a day for the first 3 weeks and 2x a day for the next 3 weeks. We (ok, I) never kept up that schedule beyond the first week or so. They were the surgical steel (I think) posts and the ones I've gotten her since have been 14k gold.

My mom has nickel allergy and I'm really sensitive and can't wear the cheap earrings, so I've only been getting her the 'good' ones. I thought 14k gold were good to wear.

The best thing for it would be salt water. You can either mix sea salt with comfortably hot water (no stronger salinity than that of tears, to avoid irritation), or you can buy plain, preservative-free saline solution premixed (like for rinsing contact lenses) and heat it. Either way, apply it as a compress, using fresh cotton each time it cools. Do this as often as you have time.
Plain, non-antibacterial liquid soap is usually all that a piercing wants for cleaning. When she's showering, just lather the soap well and work it through the piercing (much easier to do with a captive bead ring than a butterfly-backed style stud). Follow by working *lots* of plain water through. Once or twice a day is fine.

For jewelry, you should look for medical implant grade steel. "Surgical steel" isn't a standardized, regulated thing... could be pure, could be dreadful, so it's not a meaningful term.
Titanium is also good.
Gold is more allergenic than either of those, but that's not an issue for everyone.

During the initial healing process, please consider captive bead rings. Captive bead rings allow for greater air flow to the healing area, as well as easier, more effective cleaning/rinsing of the new piercings. They also allow tissue to swell without being restricting or irritating to the edges of the wound (which could cause further swelling). A butterfly-back type post can tend to trap bacteria next to the piercing, and the edges of those 'butterfly' backs can be sharp-edged enough to annoy an already swollen lobe.

It's tough on a healing piercing to have jewelry removed and reintroduced often. She'd be better off waiting until she can wear her jewelry consistently.... but with good jewelry and care, it will probably heal eventually.

alsoSarah

[alsoSarah]

Originally Posted by travelinmom

I think that it's pretty normal for them to use a gun.

Piercing guns carry a risk of hepatitis transmission. Hence, it's important to find a piercer who uses only single-use, disposable needles, implant-grade steel (or gold, if allergy is less of a worry) jewelry, and who can show you their current autoclave spore-test certificate.

The issue of hep. risk with piercing guns is this: by forcing a relatively blunt piercing stud through the skin at high speed, they cause "microsplatter", which contaminates the gun itself, which is not autoclaved (Most of them can't be 'claved, even if people who use them cared enough to 'clave, due to the makeup of their plastic-y bits). So, the jewelry starts out sterile, until it comes into contact with the gun, but....

Also, the relative sharpness of the hollow piercing needle leads to less tissue trauma and swelling.

Just a PSA,
alsoSarah

[shelbean91]

That's what I found strange. I saw all the piercing 'materials' like the autoclave, etc., but he said on the little ones, he uses the single use, preloaded guns.

The earrings we just bought are captive bead earrings, so that's a good thing.

As far as better gold, do you mean 18k?

He said after 6 weeks we could change, but to be sure there was always something in for 6 mos or so, so I'm surprised we're having this issue.

So, is there anywhere good to find the right jewelry, other than a piercing shop? Anywhere online?

I thought I was being a conscious consumer for dd, but I guess I was wrong.

Thanks everyone.

[kangamom]

so do you take your 6 yo to a tatoo/piercing parlor for that? I dont think I'd have too much of a problem with that, it just sounds like a big adventure for a kid that small. We pierced A's ears this summer and they ended up getting really infected despite my best efforts to keep them clean. She wants to have them done again eventually but I don't want to go to Claire's and drop another $40 on it just to have it infected again. How big is a piercing needle anyway, and would they do both ears at the same time? I'd never EVER force her to get her ears pierced, but its one of those things that she wants as much as she doesn't want. As she gets older she keeps seeing more of the other girls with earrings. I keep saying she can get them done when she gets her first menses, like a rite of passage celebration. I figure she will be old enough to care for them then and she'll know for sure if she really wants them.

[alsoSarah]

Originally Posted by shelbean91

he said on the little ones, he uses the single use, preloaded guns.

That is a very good thing, from a hep-risk perspective!

Originally Posted by shelbean91

So, is there anywhere good to find the right jewelry, other than a piercing shop? Anywhere online?

My favorite supplier from my old shop is wholesale only, but you could run searches for "implant grade 316 LVM ASTM F-138 steel" or "implant grade titanium" and terms like captive bead ring or body jewelry, and I'm sure you'll find some good sources.
Anatometal and Industrial Strength are reputable.

alsoSarah
ps: The "piercing studs" that most places use are roughly equivalent to 16 gauge body jewelry.

[alsoSarah]

Originally Posted by kangamom

so do you take your 6 yo to a tatoo/piercing parlor for that?

Yup.
You could try looking up an index of piercers/studios who are members of the APP (Association of Professional Piercers-- their FAQ is good), to see if any are near you... Any APP member *should* be a good bet, as far as training, sanitation and jewelry quality are concerned.

If no APP shops are available, at a minimum, I would look for the following:

~No reusable piercing guns, for anything.
~The studio uses only implant-grade steel (or titanium, or niobium--- higher-grade gold can be used, but carries a greater risk of reaction) jewelry. Steel is the most common, and is often easier to heal with than gold. Ask them what grade their jewelry is, without volunteering the answer you're looking for-- I have heard of studios lying, as in: "Yup, what you just said- that's the kind we use!" (OT: Barbell-type jewelry should be internally, rather than externally threaded.)
~The studio uses only single-use, disposable piercing needles.
~The studio autoclaves ALL tools (forceps, etc.) between clients. (They should remove them from the sealed paper autoclave packaging in front of you.
~The studio should be willing to show you their current autoclave spore-test certificate. (Once a month, you run a special test strip through a cycle in the 'clave, then mail the strip in to be checked-- a certificate is mailed back, verifying that your autoclave is actually working-- without these, a 'clave may do nothing more helpful than look snazzy, and lend a false sense of security!)

(Regarding the hypothetical 6 year old: )
All of that said, I've never met a body piercer who would meet my standards who would pierce a younger child.

Most body mod pros worth their salt are against piercing young children, as a right-to-bodily-integrity issue, and are hoping that the parents will reconsider the issue altogether, rather than settle for having it done in unsafe circumstances.

That is my stance, as well.
But I'm posting info to try to keep people safe and healthy, whether I dig their choices, or not.

If someone is going to pierce anyway, do-it-yourself piercing with good hardware is still much safer than a reusable gun.
You (non-specific "you")risk wonky jewelry placement, but that's better than hepatitis.
Or a ped may be a good choice, provided that you get to eyeball the placement of the piercings (their eye for "even" may not be better than anyone else's).

Originally Posted by kangamom

How big is a piercing needle anyway,

One can get pierced with several different gauges, but the standard "gun stud" is roughly analogous to a 16 gauge. The jewelry that is commonly available for already-healed piercings is of a finer gauge.

Originally Posted by kangamom

and would they do both ears at the same time?

Not usually, no.

Originally Posted by kangamom

I keep saying she can get them done when she gets her first menses, like a rite of passage celebration. I figure she will be old enough to care for them then and she'll know for sure if she really wants them.

Rock on, Mama!

alsoSarah

[kangamom]

Wow, thanks for all that info. I had no idea it was so complicated!

[supercrunch]

you may be able to find a place that would do both ears at the same time

when I got my ears pierced at 8 years old I had heard way too many horror stories (I had been there when my sister got her ears pierced and she screamed like she'd been shot, and then my cousin got one done and wouldn't let them do the other one because it hurt too bad...)
so I had my mom call around and find a place that would do both at once so I couldn't change my mind in between :

sure enough, in lovely downtown Grass Valley, CA (which at the time, was the total boonies) there was a small family owned jewelry store that had 2 piercing guns and would do them both at the same time...but wouldn't guarantee that they'd be exactly even.

Well...they look even to me


my dd swears up and down that she is NEVER getting her ears pierced. We'll see how long that lasts before she changes her mind

[MOM2ANSLEY]

just my .02
do NOT use the childrens earrings with the screw post backs
i waited extra time before changing dd's, used the children type earrings from a jewelry store, twisted then daily as directed,...well dd's skin "grew" to the spiral part of the post and it pulled the skin out of the inside of her piercing....I'm a nurse but It made me SICK b/ it was my daughter

[alsoSarah]

Originally Posted by kangamom

Wow, thanks for all that info. I had no idea it was so complicated!

You're welcome!

[shelbean91]

We bought a pair of the screw backs (not knowing they were that back until we got home) and that's our 4th pair total and the ONLY one we've lost the back to. Go figure.