Ear piercing, 6+ weeks later...

[sarahsthreads]

OK, so I let DD1 get her ears pierced as a First Communion gift from my parents. She has been absolutely diligent about cleaning her ears 2x per day, rotating the earrings, and at least half of those cleanings DH or I supervised, so I'm certain it was done well.

We got to the 6 week point and she begged to try new earrings. (If you remember the lost library book/no earrings thread, the book was found in her classroom library!) So we got her some little earrings from Claire's. (It was tough to convince her that the big novelty earrings would be much too heavy and uncomfortable!) When I took the piercing earrings out they had a little stuff on them, but nothing worrisome and her holes looked clean and healed. Put in the new earrings. Decided we should take them out and clean them and put them back every morning.

This morning, one ear looked a bit weepy. But not red or swollen, and she says it doesn't hurt or itch. I cleaned her ears really well, put her piercing earrings back in (she's not thrilled about that) and sent her off to school.

Is this normal? Should I get some different (gold? surgical steel?) earrings instead of the unknown metal ones at Claire's? How will I know whether we've crossed from "a little weepy" to "a little infected"?

Help!
Sarah :)

[Green_Tea]

We've gone through this with both girls, and it never turned into a full blown infection. Clean them really well 2x/day. Make sure the backings are not on too tight -a little air does the piercing good. One thing that made a big difference for us was having the girls wear little hoops like these: http://www.overstock.com/Jewelry-Watches/Sterling-Silver-Small-Hoop-Earrings/2665227/product.html
They allowed air to circulate. We also found that sterling works better for long term wear than the ones at Claires.

If all else fails, put the piercing studs back in, and give it another week or two!

[AngB]

I would go with surgical steel. Both my mom and sister have nickel allergies and can't wear most earrings at Claire's, etc.

[Neatfreak]

That sounds a lot like how I remember my own freshly pierced ears. I'm not sure if they needed more than six weeks to heal, but they were very sensitive for a long time, and infected easily. They gave me trouble until I stopped wearing the cheap earrings and stuck with surgical steel (like the ones they were pierced with) or gold earrings that my mom loaned me. Gold hoops were the best, actually, in terms of helping them heal better.

[infomama]

Take those earrings out. I only buy high quality earrings for dd1. She has fewer pairs but her ears are happy and healthy.

[khm]

I remember my daughter's doing that when the piercings were newish. We just kept and eye on them and they were fine in a day or two.

FWIW, the Claire's we go to does have a selection that are nickel-free. I am allergic to nickel so I avoid it like the plague for my daughter. It's awful!

We got a big card with several pairs, I took a few and she took a few, neither of us has reacted to them at all. I'm super sensitive, so I would have in about a minute!

[Pyrodjm]

My bet is that it's the unknown metal. No one in my family can wear any metal except gold and some sterling silver. If I try to wear fashion earrings my ears get very irritated. When my girl get their ears pierced it will be gold only earrings for them.

[weech]

If I wear fake/costume jewelry earrings for more than a few hours, my ears get the same way... weepy, red, and generally unhappy. I stick to high quality metals (usually surgical steel) and do salt water soaks if needed.

[AnnieW625]

It is going to be a personal preference. My ears only get weepy if I wear heavy earrings too long, and it didn't start until I was in my mid 20s.

I think nothing beats fun earrings and I would still let her wear them, but ESP. for overnight make her wear the tiny ones as much as possible.

[lizzywednesday]

It could be the metal.

It could be the ears haven't healed just yet.

I used to swab down the posts & backs with rubbing alcohol before I wore anything that was on a rotating display rack. If that doesn't fix the irritation, skip "mystery metal" earrings from now on.

There are plenty of cute earrings in silver and gold!

[khm]

I did buy clear plastic "sheaths" and backs for the unknown metal earrings (grandma got her some really cute fashion earrings that she really wanted to wear), they'll make the earring post a bit larger, but no larger than the stud.

I got them at Claire's too. I can't remember what they are called. But, they go over the post and flare up onto the earring's backside.

[sarahsthreads]

OK, I'll stop worrying it's a metal allergy for now and give it a couple of more weeks with the piercing earrings. Thank you all for talking me off the panic ledge. :)

I will go looking for some surgical steel earrings we could rotate with after a couple of weeks. Something without the pokey sharp end of the piercing studs, kwim? It probably really is just that they'd be fine to wear during the day but not for 24 hours at a time. We were told she'd have to wear earrings 24/7 (though obviously taking them out for sports which require it) for at least a year after getting them pierced.

And I do clean the earrings with the ear cleaning solution before I let her wear them. Is that enough or should I use rubbing alcohol?

Sarah :)

[lizzywednesday]

...

And I do clean the earrings with the ear cleaning solution before I let her wear them. Is that enough or should I use rubbing alcohol?

...

It should be good enough.

If she's sensitive to metal, she's sensitive to metal and she's going to have to get used to it. My first piercings got infected & irritated from mystery metal so I didn't try anything other than gold after I had them re-done.

I'd recommend sticking with surgical steel, gold or silver if the sensitivity continues to avoid other issues.

[daisysmom]

I remember vividly getting my ears pierced at 7 and then getting an infection. I needed to let them close, and redid them at 12. I was so bummed.

If they are "weapy" or at all look gooey, I would put neosporin on the back and the front of the ear, and also some on the earring post, before putting it back in. I would suggest only gold or surgical steel (I had that same allergy, or so we thought as a kid). But the neosporin would improve a small infection and she could be out of the clear again in a week. That's what I would do. Once they get itchy or red, it should still work... but she will be so happy if she doens't get to that point.

[soon2b4]

:yeahthat:
We just went through a similar situation with our daughter.

Our ped. said that we could be cleaning too much - that the cleaning solution can actually impede the healing. So, you might consider cleaning thoroughly once per day, if the metal does not seem to be the issue.

The other note from the ped. was about not wearing them too tight - be sure she is putting the backs on the notch designed to hold them on the post, not up against her ear.

Good luck!

[Beth24]

When my DD is starting an infection like that we put the piercing studs back in, and put antibiotic ointment on the post before inserting in the ear. Clears it up every time. And weve discovered she can only wear 14k gold earrings or her holes get irritated.

[longtallsally05]

I remember thinking my ears piercings were infected even years after they were done. It turned out to be nickle allergy which cleared up after I started wearing only gold post earrings. Also, if the "infection" doesn't clear up with Neosporin, your DD might be sensitive to that too. My sister had to remove belly button ring because she thought the piercing was infected but the dermatologist determined that she's WAY sensitive to Neosporin. She actually has to use a prescription antibiotic ointment; Neosporin, Polysporin, other OTC stuff just won't work for her. Something for you to consider, anyway.