I love reading about people getting their cartilage pierced, especially when it's at Claire's and with a gun. And they realize they have to clean it AFTER they get it. :/
Yesterday one of my friends got her tragus and cartilage pierced at a place that didn't tell her the material of the earring, or the length of the post, and they want her to come back in a week to change the earring to a shorter post. They also didn't tell her anything about cleaning it, like how you shouldn't clean it more than three times a day because it'll get irritated.
You can only put surgical steel or titanium in a new cartilage piercing, and gold is so fragile that in the six months it takes to heal it will break down.
And she showed me her piercings at swim practice, at the same pool people pee in, swim in with foot fungus, and the chlorine bleach itself will literally destroy your ears. It's disgusting.
Surgical steel or titanium
Make sure your piercer knows what they're doing
Only get pierced with a needle
Tattoo/piercing shops that cost a lot of money are better than the cheap ones
Make sure they tell you the gauge and length/diameter of the jewelry
Clean at most three times a day
Don't touch your piercings
Clean with saline or a salt bath, not alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. They'll only make it worse
Leave the original earrings in for at least six months. After that, it's usually healed, and when it hurts it's because the cartilage hasn't hardened after the trauma. The piercing is technically healed, but it still hurts and pain isn't good
Don't swim. Not even in a bathtub full of soapy water. After showering, wash carefully.
Seriously, the easiest way to get an infection is to swim in nasty water. Even if it's clean, it's not clean enough
If you do get an infection, don't take the earring out. Repeat, DO NOT TAKE THE EARRING OUT. The piercing will close up around the infection, causing an abscess that will have to be surgically removed. Leave the earring in, and go to the doctor.
The piercing will swell for about a week or so, but if it goes for too long, get it checked out
That's fine. If you think it's been too long, get it checked out.
I think that's it, but if I think of anything else, I'll add it. Thank you :)
