Piercings

Infected Tragus Piercing, Signs, Bump, Inflammation, Swollen, How To Clean and Healing

tragus piercing bump

The signs and symptoms of infected tragus piercing including the bump, inflammation, swelling as well as how to clean and heal it.

infected tragus piercing

infected tragus piercing signs

Infected Tragus Piercing

Tragus is normally the small ovoid cartilaginous flap that is just outside the canal of the ear. It has nowadays become a very common place of the skin to pierce and even pin up jewelry and such a piercing is called a tragus piercing.

Traditionally, the ear lobe piercing has always remained a very popular choice for the people but due to the nature of the fashion industry, individuals are now opting to try something very different for themselves, leading to the invention of tragus piercing.

For the tragus piercing or any piercing, infection is a very common occurrence. So you require the necessary details to spot an infected tragus piercing at early stages and get it better treated.

Piercing is nowadays more and more popular, especially during the last decade. Both, men and women like to pierce their noses, eyebrows etc. Most areas of the body are used for piercing. Most of the people who have the piercings do not develop any given problems.

Each of the body piercing area has its own normal healing period and its own set of potential problems. Home treatment can help speed healing of the wound and prevent problems. At first, infected tragus piercing area may be a bit swollen. A small amount of blood or even fluid may drain from the area.

Tragus is normally the small cartilage nub that projects out from around the way that leads to the ear canal. It has been a common trend that is visible among the youth of the now generation so as to sport a shiny and funky rings on the small little part of the ear to prove their style statement.

Usually individuals who are much bold and more adventurous may opt for this kind of piercing, the methodology of which is a bit different from the other kinds of cartilage piercing. The tragus piercing is normally carried out using the hollow, straight or even curved small-gauge needle which should be sterilized.

It is a requirement that a professional piercer as piercing tragus is also very risky as there is a possibility of the needle penetrating beyond the tragus as expected. The tragus piercing risks are also very much in number and so we are required to take extra precautions while getting the tragus pierced.

The tragus is very susceptible to the infections as it is located in such a part over which hairs keep falling and may get around the earring and infected tragus piercing may be brought about out of this contact with the dirty hairs.

This normally leads to the tragus piercing infections as well as the problems which can increase to tragus piercing complications that may lead to the need for surgical operations in very extreme cases may even lead to the tragus to be surgically extracted.

In order to avoid the risks one must ensure to go for the tragus piercing tools and jewelry of a considerable high quality.

How to Know If You Have Infected Tragus Piercing

tragus piercing bump

tragus piercing bump

Tragus piercing infection comes with some very common signs and symptoms:

  • The infected tragus piercing area normally swells up, feels very warm and even aches for about 30 hours after a new piercing.
  • The area that is around the piercing tends to be much red in color.
  • Bleeding can happen for a considerable amount of time.
  • Localized heat is normally felt when touching the infected tragus piercing site.
  • Formation of the abscess, pustules or even boils around the piercing.
  • Pus-like yellow-green discharge is normally observed in most people, with foul smell in extreme cases.

Infected Tragus Piercing Causes

Although very small in size, Tragus is very much exposed that makes it much more vulnerable to the infection. Common causes of the tragus piercing infection are as indicated:

  1. Unsterilized Tools and the Environment

This is a very common cause of the tragus piercing infection. This implies that people have the piercing done by a piercer who is not very careful or not aware of the relevance of sterilization such as disinfecting the piercing tools. Usually this kind of infected tragus piercing happens about 2-3 days after the piercing. Unhygienic conditions at the venue where you obtain the piercing can be a precipitating factor for infection.

  1. Poor Piercing Aftercare

Failing to take very good aftercare of the piercing normally leads to the infection. It is relevant to carefully follow the aftercare instructions that is given to you by the piercer, which normally requires that you to wash it with a saline solution.

  1. Jewelry of Inappropriate Size and Material

Size of the jewelry is a crucial consideration when getting a tragus piercing as too big or very heavy jewelry may pull on the tragus, if very tight it may abrupt the healing process leading to the infected tragus piercing.

It is also important to make sure you’re not allergic to the material of the jewelry. Nickel is known to lead to the allergic reactions in the people. It is also recommended to opt for the stainless steel, silver or platinum jewelry as they’re normally hypo-allergic.

  1. Other Causes for Infected Tragus Piercing
  • Constant cleaning of the pierced part can irritate it and lead to inflammation.
  • Mechanical or even chemical injury to the pierced area.
  • Physical trauma to the pierced site when cleaning the area.

Tragus Piercing Healing Process

tragus piercing healing

tragus piercing healing process

The most important factor for the fast healing of the tragus pierced is to follow the tragus piercing aftercare measures effectively. For at least 4-8 weeks you should ensure to take good care of the tragus for the smooth healing of the tragus.

But the healing period largely depends on the skin type which can either be oily or very dry, the immunity capabilities of the body system, as well as the metabolic disorders such as the diabetes with any wound or infection takes a longer time to heal.

The tragus piercing area must always be kept clean and very clean by soaking in a clean cotton ball in a disinfectant or even a saline solution and then gently using it in and around the pierced area. The solution should also be applied in such a way as to allow it to seep directly into the pierced hole.

The tragus piercing jewelry must also be twisted gently as and when required in order to ensure that the even distribution that is related to the solution all around the tragus. This cleaning procedure must be followed twice or thrice a day.

You should not try to touch the pierced area using the dirty hands as it may lead to bacterial infections and lead to the infected tragus piercing.

If there is any kind of irritation found in the pierced area relating to the tightness of the jewelry or the discharge of any given kind of fluid from the affected area, then you should carefully loosen or even change the jewelry or wipe out the fluid by a hand that is washed properly using an anti-bacterial soap.

While sleeping you should also be very careful to lie on a clean bed especially on the either side of the ear affected. The pillow on where you rest the head should also be cleaned and then changed on a very regular basis so as to avoid the area from getting infected.

Vigilance is also needed while sleeping so as to restrain yourself from touching or even itching the ear affected.

Similarly you should ensure to refrain from scraping any kind of the crusty formation over the tragus. Any of such irritable cause should be carefully dealt with following the guidelines that have been laid down by the experts as well as the doctors.

Swollen Tragus Piercing

Unlike the piercing of any other part of the body such as the belly or even the nose, the tragus usually lacks a bundle of nerves and thus comparatively have less blood that flows through it. So there are no such other chances of then experiencing a lot immense pain while tragus piercing.

There may be a pinch similar to what one normally experiences as in case of a cut but the pain is highly negligible. Initially the area pierced may bleed and develop into a sore but the pain withers away within a very few days. It is necessary to keep the area clean and tidy so as to prevent it from any kind of infection.

How to Clean a Tragus Piercing

How to Deal With Infected Tragus Piercing

From the signs and symptoms indicated we can be able to evaluate that an infected tragus piercing is a common complication that requires proper attention. Here are the treatment and home remedies to ease the pain.

  1. Rubbing of Alcohol

Using a piece of cotton to gently apply rubbing alcohol twice or thrice a day assists to clean the infected area. Hydrogen peroxide should never be used as it leads to dryness over the pierced area and should be contraindicated if the area has not healed fully.

  1. Use of Saline Solution

In case the infected tragus piercing happens as the piercing is already healing, it is also advised to dip a cotton bud into the saline solution and then clean the infected area with it, making sure that all the debris and the pus is extracted in the process. You can make your own saline solution by combining a teaspoon of sea salt and some eight ounces of water.

  1. Try Chamomile Tea Bag

It is a perfect home remedy to dip a chamomile teabag in warm water and then dabbing the infected area using the bag. It not only cleans the area, but also quickens the entire healing process. The water that is used to dip the teabag may further be used for cleansing.

  1. Application of Hot Compress

Soak a clean piece of cloth in the warm water, wring it and then use it to the infected area for at twice a day. This aids in maintenance of a good blood circulation to the tragus and then accelerating the healing process.

  1. Treat using Antibiotics

If all the remedies indicated above fail, then you should seek assistance from the piercer or even the doctor. After thorough examination, then you may be recommended the oral or topical antibiotics, painkillers as well as ointments that can help curb the infected tragus piercing. This is highly probably in the case of the cellulitis. Make sure that you seek medical attention before using any antibiotic on your own accord.

  1. Other Ways of Handling an Infected Tragus Piercing
  • If serious damage happens around the piercing, it is also better to get rid of the jewelry so no further damage happens.
  • Use an antiseptic spray so as to soothe infection
  • Don’t touch the piercing, especially after the onset of infection

Tragus Piercing Bump, Inflammation

tragus piercing bump

tragus piercing bump

  1. Cancer

One of the known sign and symptom of cancer is a lump on the patient body. Does it then imply that whenever you have a swollen lymph node then you could be having cancer? Tragus piercing can lead to the ear lobe swell if the procedure is not properly done or probably your after care was poor.

If you have got a bump on the tragus after then piercing, consult the healthcare provider to have the bump carefully examined. It could be an indication of a serious health risk such as cancer. In some other cases the cancer will begin as benign lesions or even the tumors on the tragus which may spread to the entire ear.

  1. Otitis Externa -Swimmer’s Ear

This is an inflammation of the outer areas and does not have any direct link to the tragus piercing. However, it could be the reason that you have a swollen bump near the tragus. Normally it is a bacterial infection that leads to infected tragus piercing; chronic cases are related to infection by the fungi. Symptoms for this include appearance of small boil that tends to extend to a certain length of the canal.

It is known as swimmer’s ear as it has the frequency of appearance in people who like swimming regularly. Treatment of this particular of infection in the ear canal and around the tragus is simply allowing it resolve on its own. No medical treatment is involved unless very serious you develop serious health complication which are rare.

  1. Wearing wrong jewelry

The reason you may be having a bump on the tragus is due to poor choice of jewelry you wear after you have had the ear piercing. It is very common to see people wearing wrong jewelry materials on the tragus after they have had just the piercing.

It is crucial to avoid wearing tight jewelry that may make it very hard for the fast healing of the piercing. Such jewelry or even studs may make the tragus to experience bumps or even infecting the bump altogether. Additionally, the materials such as then nickel are known to cause allergic reaction to quite a number of people.

It is advisable to go for the materials such as steel, silver, platinum or gold. Studs made from these material have shown rare cases of allergic reactions thus considered safe to be worn after tragus piercing.

  1. Bad Tragus Piercing Aftercare Practice

While you may be looking for the latest trend of the ear piercing, it is relevant to have in mind how best to take care of the new tragus piercing. The swelling on the tragus can be an indication of poor aftercare practice. Ignoring or not taking proper care of your new piercing can harbor bacteria or fungi, this leads to the infected tragus piercing.

The best known aftercare is to always clean gently the area using a saline solution or even a bacteria soap. You may as well ask for a guide on how to take care of the piercing until you are fully healed.

  1. Using unsterilized piercing tools

Always ensure that the piercing tools are much sterilized before you have the procedure done on your tragus. This should begin with a professional piercer otherwise you can end up having an infected tragus piercing. Obviously, the quacks have a way of doing things the very wrong way at a cheap attractive cost. Washing of the hands or even using disinfectant after the procedure should be part of the procedure to have a safe piercing.

  1. Physical injuries

Take caution of the new piercing otherwise healing process might take longer. Physical injuries on the tragus by the studs or even jewelry can lead to bleeding that will make you susceptible to infection. While you are in the process of then recovering, always use a mirror to clean or even insert a jewelry in the tragus piercing. This is a safe procedure to minimize self-implicated pain as well as injuries.

Swollen Tragus Not Pierced

If you have a swollen lymph node near the tragus that resembles nodules found in clusters, this is normal. Lymph nodes are part of the lymphatic system to protect the body from infections.

If the tragus is infected with bacteria or fungi, the lymph nodes group in the clusters and move near the tragus to fight the infections, in the process the lymph nodes get swollen.

An infected tragus piercing can lead to the the lymph to get enlarged as they trap the cells of tumor. Similarly, if you develop a sore tragus or sinus the lymph node in front of the ear gets swollen.

When Can I Change My Tragus Piercing

Changing of the tragus may be done at any other given time provided that the initial piercing is almost or completely healed.

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