Cartilage Piercing Bumps

Jul 23, 2015

Dani B.

So I got my cartilage pierced back in February at Claire's (yes I know I shouldn't have but I did). I made sure to have pick the highest quality stud (the white gold 3mm ball) and everything seemed fine. The piercing was healing nicely and seemed perfectly normal. Around May I decided to try and put a hoop in, when that didn't work I opted for a new stud (Claire's Sensitive ear studs) thinking that would be better than putting the original stud back in my ear. Two days later a small bump formed on the back of my ear near the piercing. At first I just thought it was because I was messing with it. I left it alone and carried on with my life. In July I started researching ways to get rid of the bump. I've been doing salt soaks daily for the past several weeks. They seemed to dry out the top layer of the bump but when the skin falls off the bump is still there. I'm convinced the bump is being caused by the low quality material in the stud but I'm afraid of taking it out because of the risk of infections. What should I do?

Jul 23, 2015

Megan M.

Buy surgical steel jewelry, it's what professional piercers use and is the best for people who have reactions to different metals. As for infection, as long as your hands and the jewelry have been washed it should be fine. Just keep cleaning it as usual and I find that the sea salt soaks don't really do much when I get keloids. Try tea tree oil. You can get it at any pharmacy and just take a little on a cotton swab and place it on the bump 2-3 times a day and that should help with the bump but it does take a while for them to go away. Just be patient. As long as it's not leaking pus or looking infected, you're fine. Tenderness is to be expected but that will go away once you've healed entirely.
I hope this helps!
I'm not a professional btw, just a lover of piercings and very familiar with both of these issues, I have highly sensitive skin so I react to everything that isn't surgical steel and I've gotten keloids before, just try not to touch it too much and it will heal if you treat it right. Good luck!

Jul 23, 2015

Natalie A.

I had that for a while as well. You were right to do the salt soak. I put a cotton ball in hot water then I rolled it in pure sea salt. Then I put it on the bump for 5-10 minutes. I cleaned it with alcohol twice a day. My piercing got infected, there was some green-yellow discharge and it was red and swollen. I put my 14k gold piercing stud in so the discharge wouldn't infect my entire ear/piercing thing. Just don't touch it and keep it clean. Also, keep your hair away from it- keep it tied up

Jul 23, 2015

Ellie K.

You can make a really easy version of h2ocean at home. Use half a tablespoon of non-iodised sea salt and hot water, and mix together in a spray bottle. Once or twice a day, spray onto a cotton bud and give the piercing a thorough clean, this should help any bumps go down. Also look at something along the lines of sudocrem or generic diaper cream - they are full of antiseptic, healing ingredients and will help the piercing heal healthily.

Jul 23, 2015

Dani B.

So is safe for me to take the cheap earring out and put something of higher quality in?

Jul 23, 2015

Ellie K.

Personally, I would give it a couple of days to see if the bumps go down. And in all honesty I'd say to go to your local piercer if you need a jewellery change. They usually do it for a small fee, I paid around £3 to have my nose jewellery changed, but I think it's worth paying to have it done professionally, they shouldn't have any trouble with it. You can even take your own jewellery and ask them to put that in. They don't always charge, but they may do if that's the case. Good luck!

Jul 23, 2015

Sheslay F.

I had a bump that was on my belly button and I literally tried everything!! The only thing that worked for me was crushing up aspirin and adding a tiny bit of water to turn it into a paste, then I would put the paste onto the bump and let it dry, once it drys you just wash it off like normal. The bump was gone after a week of doing it 1 to 2 times a day.

Jul 23, 2015

Stephanie G.

You're not supposed to use hoops on new piercings. You need to wait a year. Use the cleaner they gave you---that worked for me.

Jul 24, 2015

Brandi N.

This happened to my sister! We went to a piercing place and they said to ALWAYS go to a shop and make sure they use titanium.

Jul 24, 2015

Lauren W.

Its a keloid just clean it and don't change it yet you should be okay!

Jul 24, 2015

Ellie K.

I'm with Brandi on this one. Go to a professional piercer, make sure they use titanium jewellery and you should be fine. Your ears will thank you in the long run!

Jul 24, 2015

Jessica P.

Next time don't get piercings like that done with a gun...and I'm pretty sure they tell not to change piercing for 6 weeks...like another member said it sounds like a keloid (which doesn't go away) and is very common when your cartilage is pierced with a gun...not much you can do about it unfortunately

Jul 24, 2015

Tamara F.

It isn't a keloid. If the top layer is going away it is hypertrophic scarring. You can research this. During the first 6 to 8 months of a cartilage piercing, any type of pressure (sleeping on it) will cause hypertrophic scarring. Yes, you should've went to a piercing parlor. Yes, you should go to one now and ask for the best jewelry they have (neometal or anatometal) and put that in. They will tell you if you are in a stage of rejection or migration also, which will help you know if you should keep it. Walmart has wound wash. Try that twice a day with tea tree oil only once a day. It doesn't sound infected.

Jul 24, 2015

Isabelle R.

I cleaned mine with warm salt water and a cotton bud, and the lump went away after a few days :)

Jul 24, 2015

Les N.

As tamara said that isn't a keloid.

Jul 24, 2015

Stephanie G.

Tamara gave great advice! It doesn't sound like a keloid---and keloids don't go away. Keloids do not leak pus and don't usually hurt. Another clarification about keloids---they aren't always linked to piercing guns. They can happen with any kind of piercing. It really has to do with how your body scars (although trauma like with a piercing gun can increase the chance if you're already prone to keloids). If it does turn out to be a keloid I would just avoid piercings.

Jul 24, 2015

Tamara F.

Great information Stephanie G.!

Jul 25, 2015

Makayla K.

Mine had a bump for a while too, I wouldn't be too worried as long as it's not irritated or like gross.

Jul 27, 2015

Stephanie G.

If you've had it since February it's totally okay to switch it out now as long as it is still a stud (no hoops for a year) and you leave it in. I think the wait time is 12 weeks and you've gone past that. Also, there's also a possibility that it's not the earring itself, but the earring back. I've had reactions to earring backs that weren't as high quality as the actual earring. You could try to switch the earring back. Another thing I've done is pull the back as far as it goes while still keeping the earring in place (Claire's piercing studs can be adjusted if that makes sense) so that my ear has room to swell and drain. Make sure the earring is not tight.