Bump on Conch (Cartilage Piercing)

Jul 17, 2017

Katrina D.

Hello,

Here's a hefty amount of information regarding my predicament:

I got my helix and conch done last November 2016 in a pharmacy using a gun. I know this is bad and I know better now. She inserted butterfly jewellery in my ear.

It was fine but during February/March my conch started acting up. On the front it was having red, inflamed bumps almost like pimples that seeped out either blood or yellow pus. I cleaned it and it was okay before it started up again. Also, the butterfly jewellery was too tight and I wanted it changed.

In April 2017 I had it changed by a piercer friend of mine. She gave me a new jewellery for my helix (a barbell I think) and she ‘widened’ my conch piercing a bit as it was shrinking because of the jewellery she said. She also inserted a curved banana bar.

It was fine and then my conch started acting up AGAIN. First it was just the general puss on the front which I ignored and just kept cleaning. But then the bump was now seen behind my conch piercing. It was inflamed at first and I cleaned it like normal BUT IT NEVER LEFT LIKE THE CONCH DID. It is now a small bump just above my piercing. It’s painless and a bit red. But it’s not leaking out blood or pus - it doesn’t ‘dry’ like a pimple or something.

I went back to my piercer and she told it was just some hyperthropic (??) bubble which means its not a keloid. I just have to do saline soaks and generally leave it.

Its now July 2017 and the bump is still there and I STILL occasionally have the pimple/pus in front of my conch. My helix is fine apart from a few bacteria being trapped but can be easily cleaned.

What do I do with my conch piercing? I’ve tried cleaning it normally, saline soaks, aspirin + salt and while they haven’t been done consistently I don’t think my conch should be acting up like this. I’ll be trying the tea tree oil method. But should I just remove the piercing and let it heal because it’s not adapting?

Sorry for the long post but thoughts are appreciated!! xx

Jul 17, 2017

Sam R.

Just keep on doing the saline soaks morning and evening everyday, and you can put tea tree oil on the bump... I did that for a few months for my piercing... it generally take about a year to heal

Jul 18, 2017

Alyx T.

Bumps are normal. Just keep cleaning it. Cartilage piercings are fickle. Some people don't have any issues with it and some people get lots of keloids and bumps from anything. You can try a tea bag but really I would just keep cleaning it twice a day. Do it as part of your daily routine of brushing your teeth. It might take a while. It's likely a build up of skin cells that get stuck and the skin builds around it. It's common around piercings after a bump or if it gets pulled because the body is focusing on healing that first

Don't take it out before it's fully healed, which can be anywhere from a year to two years with a cartilage piercing done by a gun.

Apr 6, 2018

Mc P.

Hi! I was searching online for a while now on what to do because I got a cartilage bump on my conch piercing and I clicked on this website cause I found out we kind of have the same problem and I had the same set of questions. since this was posted a year ago, I was wondering how is your piercing now? is it healed yet just with thorough cleaning? I just had this last Feb and this bump with a very small amount of white discharge just recently occurred. hope you could get back to me. thanks, xx