Around the middle of May 2008, I got my tragus on my left ear pierced at Viva Tattoo and Piercing in Rochester, Minnesota. The piercing went without a hitch and I absolutely loved it after it was done. The piercing wasn't done with a gun, it was done with a needle, and the guy who did the piercing didn't do anything unsanitary and gave me good advice on cleaning, so the infection was my fault. Anyways, it was sore for the first couple days and then it was feeling fine, I could comfortably wear iPod earbuds and everything. I did sea salt soaks and kept it pretty clean.. for the first month. After then, I had decided that it didn't need anymore cleaning and it would be fine, which was a biiig mistake.
At A Glance Author anonymous When Three months ago Studio Viva Tattoo & Piercing Location Rochester, Minnesota Towards the end of June 2008, I started to notice a small bump on the outside area next to the side of the captive bead ring. I thought nothing of it; it was quite small at the time. I had also had a small infection with one of my cartilage piercings, which cleared up all on its own. It stayed pretty small for about a week, but then it started to slowly get larger, though it never hurt. I was beginning to worry, but I was still more lenient toward my original thoughts. I still hadn't restarted cleaning it, which probably could have ended the infection right then and there.
Suddenly, it began to grow faster, until it was about the size of the head of a pin, the kind you use when sewing. (Not a push-pin!) It was red in color and raised off the skin, and quite noticeable. I did some research online (should have just gone to my piercer or doctor!) and found some great success stories with tea tree oil on mysterious piercing "bumps." Obviously, I had restarted regular sea salt soaks. Now that I think about it, that may had not been so obvious, considering how long it took me to start cleaning it. My mom brought home a small brown bottle of tea tree oil and I applied it 3 times a day with a cotton ball to the red bump, but it had no effect on the bump. Also, my mom had been very bothered by the bump, considering she's a nurse in training and had just learned about different skin diseases. She also didn't care for the thought of me having a big bump on my tragus for the rest of my life. I didn't either..
About a week later (this is around the beginning of July now.) I noticed the bump was slightly bigger. My mom kept on wanting to look at the bump and one day she said something along the lines of "Ohhh, Emily, it just looks like it's getting bigger!" which confirmed my fear. I had a small meltdown and told her that I was stressed about it too, and I didn't want to put my hair up in a ponytail anymore because of the bump. This was opposite from when I got it done, I loved wearing my hair up so everyone could see it. (I secretly loved the question "Did that hurt?!") I asked my mom if we could just go to the doctor and have it checked out. I was quite worried it could be a keloid, mainly due to the fact the bump just kept getting bigger. (It didn't itch and I didn't feel pains in it, though.) However, it was a Sunday, and we'd have to make an appointment for the next available date. Also, the next day, I'd be leaving with the rest of my ninth grade class to Washington DC, a trip I had been eagerly awaiting. So that meant 7 more days with the bump, and with everyone (most of my grade) who was coming on the trip. It's very hot along the east coast in the summertime, and it was a real pain not putting up my hair because of the gross bump.
One day I cracked and wore my hair up, and thankfully that was a day that consisted mostly of sleeping on the bus, but we did walk around in Gettysburg in the hot sun for 2 hours, and again in the night (which was amazing) but I doubt anyone noticed. Day 5 out of 7 I decided I needed to do something about the bump, which, this time, wasn't a bad idea. I had a lot of time because I had gotten up early so I could take a long shower while my roommates slept, and had some extra time. I was inspecting the bump in the mirror and noticed a small little scab on it, and it seemed kind of like a "tear here" thing. Though disgusting, I picked off the little scab and suddenly it just bled and bled. I cleaned off all the blood and looked at the bump. Miraculously, it was a lot smaller! It looked sort of deflated. During the final 2 days of the trip, it continued to get smaller. I wore my hair up once again when we slept on the bus on the way home (it was many hours to get back to Minnesot a, so we officially left Washington DC on the sixth day of the trip around 5, had dinner at a pit stop and then all slept through the night while 150 kids and chaperones on 3 buses came back home.) When I got a look at myself at home once again, I noticed the bump was even smaller. My mom and dad were both very glad, and I went to the doctor the day after I got back from the trip, just to be safe. I ended up being told it was just an inflammation, not an infection, and got a shot I had needed for something unrelated. There weren't any pills or anything I could take, so the doctor just told me to wait a few more days, and if it continued to decrease in size, there would be a very small risk of visible scar tissue and the captive bead ring wouldn't have to be removed. I'm not so sure it had always been just inflamed, there definitely had to be an infection of some sort along the line.
It's now close to the end of July 2008, and the piercing looks good as new! It's a little sore too, like it was freshly pierced. I suppose this is my chance to start over? I'll make sure to take much better care of my piercings in the future and if I notice anything fishy, go to the doctor as soon as possible. Please don't do what I did, I'm nowhere near a doctor, and had a pretty good chance of infecting my ear when I performed my, uh, procedure. Oh, and the DC trip was fantastic, in case you were wondering! (: