How To Clean Ear Piercing With Salt Water

Piercing Aftercare

Body Piercing Aftercare:

-Showering: Shower like you normally do, then the last thing you will do is clean your piercing. Lather up some mild non-antibacterial soap in your clean hands and gently wash your piercing. You want enough friction to clean it, but not too much that you cause trauma to the piercing. If you must rotate your jewelry to clean, grab the jewelry and not the piercing. The hot water will also open your capillaries/pores and help flush the area out and bring in oxygen which helps healing.

-Sea Salt Soaks: These should be done 1-2 times a day with a ¼ teaspoon of sea salt to one cup of warm distilled water , or 4 teaspoons to one gallon (do not used iodized salt which has an additive to prevent clumping). It should be the temperature of a hot beverage that would be comfortable to drink. Use a shot glass, cup, or bowl to soak the piercing for 10 minutes. Then rinse with distilled water or shower, as mentioned above, to get rid of any salt crystals that might form when dry. You can invert the piercing itself and hold the container of solution tight against the skin to create a seal, then flip back over to soak. You can also soak a sterile gauze in the solution to make a compress to apply to hard to reach piercings. Just like showering, the warm sea salt solution will open up capillaries and pores to flush the area, and increase oxygen.

-Saline Cleanings: To be done 2-3 times daily with any generic contact solution (that does not contain hydrogen peroxide), or sterile wound wash. Apply either to a couple of Q-tips and clean each side of the piercing. You can apply a little bit of compression to cartilage piercing to help aid the layers of tissue to heal back together. The first cleaning should be done after shower but the last thing you do before you leave the bathroom. This will clean any hair/body products, or makeup that might have migrated to your piercing. Clean one more time during the day, and before you go to bed. If doing any exceptionally dirty activities make sure to do an extra cleaning afterwards.

Oral Piercing Aftercare:

-Mouthwash Cleaning: Use a non-alcohol based mouthwash and rinse for at least 30 seconds, 4-5 times daily, or after you eat or drink anything besides water. Your first rinse should be right after you brush your teeth, then repeat after each meal, then once again after you brush your teeth at the end of the day. In a pinch, you may also dilute an alcohol based mouthwash with water 50/50. Eat, drink, and talk like you normally would, but take care not to play with the jewelry until it is healed. There may be some swelling, which is normal because the mouth is always moving when talking, eating and drinking. You may gently chew on some ice chips to help alleviate the swelling. Avoid excessive smoking and drinking of alcohol, but if you are a heavy smoker add an extra mouthwash rinse.

What to Expect:

The first few days after the piercing you may notice bleeding, swelling, and some bruising. These are all normal symptoms of a healthy piercing. Your body is trying to flood the wounded area with blood and plasma to achieve hemostasis, when your blood clots to prevent further bleeding.

In the next few weeks/months your body will produce a base layer of cells made up of collagen and protein that will grow through the piercing and around the jewelry. The skin will also start to contract and tighten around the jewelry. New skin cells will start to form at both edges of the piercing and grow inwards to connect up and form a fistula (flesh tunnel). This process causes a clear to yellow color liquid discharge made up of dead cells and other fluids. These fluids dry into what are commonly called "crusties".

At this stage the initial healing is complete but it will take more months for the skin to mature and strengthen. Care must still be taken, because any trauma or bumping of the piercing may cause it to regress back to an earlier stage in the healing process.

DO NOT TOUCH YOUR PIERCING!:

This is a major cause of infection. Your hands come into contact with many types of dirty environments on a daily basis. If you must touch your piercing make sure to thoroughly wash your hands first.

-Make sure to change bedding and towels at least once a week, and wear clean clothes around the piercing.

-Disinfect all objects that come in to contact with your piercing; phones, ear-buds, etc.

-Try not to sleep on the piercing, bump or cause any trauma to it.

-A healthy diet, a good nights sleep, drinking plenty of water, and taking daily vitamins will help with the healing process

-Avoid stress, alcohol, excessive caffeine and smoking

-Avoid tanning because it may cause permanent discoloration in the new skin formed around the piercing.

-Exercise: You should be fine with most exercise as long as you are not bumping causing trauma to your piercing, or exposing it to any dirty surfaces or environments. Your sweat is sterile to you so just shower like you would normally and cleanse the piercing with saline, as mentioned above.

Happy to help with any questions:

If you have any questions or concerns contact the shop at 474-5151

or email piercing@ironbrush.com

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