Aftercare

Cleaning instructions:

Do the following steps 2 or more times a day:

Step 1: Wash your hands thoroughly

Step 2: Spray your piercing’s entrance and exit holes with Sterile Saline Wound Wash to soften any crusty matter

Step 3: Saturate non-woven gauze with Sterile Saline Wound Wash and wipe away any crusty matter and discharge from the jewelry

Step 4: Spray your piercing with Sterile Saline Wound Wash to rinse the area

Step 5: Gently pat the piercing dry with non-woven gauze

Once daily:  Rinse your piercing with fresh water in the shower. This will loosen any hard, crusty matter on the jewelry. After showering, be sure to follow the cleaning instructions.

What is normal:

• • Initially some bleeding, localized swelling, tenderness, and bruising.
  • Some discoloration, itching, secretion of a whitish-yellow fluid will form some crust on the jewelry. The tissue may tighten around the jewelry as it heals.

What to do:

• • Stay healthy. The healthier your lifestyle, the easier it will be for your piercing to heal.
  • Be patient and keep cleaning your piercing throughout the entire initial healing period. A piercing may seem healed before the healing process is complete. This is because piercings heal from the outside in, and although it feels fine, the tissue remains fragile on the inside.
  • Make sure your bedding is kept clean and changed regularly. Change your pillowcase frequently for a clean surface to sleep on or use the t-shirt trick: put your pillow in a large clean t-shirt daily.
  • Wear clean, comfortable, breathable clothing that protects your piercing while sleeping.
  • Leave jewelry in at all times, especially during the healing process, unless instructed to do so by a medical professional. Even healed piercings can shrink and close in minutes.

What to avoid:

• • Do not rotate, twist, or turn your jewelry while healing. This damages the piercing channel, causes the formation of unsightly scar tissue, migration, and prolongs healing.

• • Avoid any harsh chemicals, soaps, ointments, and essential oils including “natural” aftercare products like tea tree oil. We strongly suggest against using any other product besides Sterile Saline Wound Wash 0.9%.

• • Avoid: sleeping directly on your piercing, cell phones, telephones, headphones, earbuds, earplugs, headsets, stethoscopes, lotion, hats, helmets, make-up, pets in your bed, and anything from touching the piercing site or jewelry.

• • Avoid touching your piercing with unwashed hands. Contamination of the piercing site from touching with unwashed hands can result in an infection.

• • Avoid any activity that would allow your piercing to come in contact with other’s bodily fluids.

• • Avoid submerging the piercing in bodies of water including lakes, pools, and hot tubs because this could result in irritated or infected piercings.

• • You can protect your piercing using a waterproof wound-sealant bandage such as 3M Nexcare Clean Seals or Tegaderm.  These are available at most drugstores.

Tips and Tricks:

• • Use a travel pillow to prevent sleeping directly on your ear piercing.

• • A hard, vented eye patch can be used to protect a piercing from restrictive clothing, sleeping directly on it, excess irritation, and impact during physical activities such as contact sports.

• • Piercings require maintenance during their entire lifetime because matter can build up underneath the ends of the jewelry causing the piercing to become irritated. Continue to clean your piercing even after healed to prevent build up and to keep your jewelry looking it’s best.
  • With clean hands or gloves be sure to regularly check the threaded ends on your jewelry for tightness (righty tighty). For threadless (“push- pin” style) jewelry, gently squeeze or push the top and bottom together to secure it.

Oral piercing guide:

Rinse your mouth out with filtered or bottled water regularly.

• • It’s normal for the first 3 – 5 days to experience significant swelling, light bleeding, bruising, and tenderness. After that, expect some swelling, light secretion of whitish-yellow fluid during healing.

• • Avoid aspirin, alcohol, and large amounts of caffeine for as long as you are experiencing bleeding or swelling.

• • Elevate your head at night to help reduce
    swelling in the morning.

• • Once the swelling has subsided, it’s vital to replace the original, longer jewelry with a shorter post to avoid intra-oral damage.

• • Because the necessary jewelry change often occurs during healing, it should be done by a qualified piercer.

• • Floss daily, gently brush your teeth, tongue, and jewelry during healing. Use a new toothbrush and store it in a clean area away from other toothbrushes. Once healed, brush jewelry more thoroughly to avoid plaque build-up.

• • Avoid eating spicy, salty, acidic, hot temperature foods and beverages for a few days. Ice water and cold foods are soothing and can help reduce swelling.

• • Do not play with your jewelry. Long term effects include permanent damage to teeth, gums, and other oral structures. Avoid sharing cups, food, eating utensils, and any activity that would result in someone else’s body fluid getting into the piercing.

When to seek medical attention:

Infection is rare, however, seek medical attention at the very first sign of an infection. Symptoms include: sudden onset of swelling, excessive bleeding, discharge of yellow, green, or dark colored fluid. Some redness is normal but excessive redness and/or red streaks coming from the piercing site are an indication of serious problems. Fever, dizziness, nausea, or vomiting may also be signs of infection. If any of these symptoms occur, immediately contact a medical professional.