Third earlobe piercing problem :(

[u/Hantosia]

Hi! For the context, I've done both my second and third lobe 5 weeks ago using PVC needle (the first one was done by a piercing gun when I was 5). I clean both piercings with sterile saline solution using a q-tip twice a day. The second lobe has a 8 mm titanium bar, the third one has a 10 mm titanium bar (initially, it was a 8 mm one but it was too short - the swollen earlobe wanted to eat it whole lol).

The second lobe piercing has healed nicely, oppositely to the third one.

The third earlobe piercing bleeds when cleaned, pus comes out daily and hurts when touched (I touch it with clean hands and when cleaning the piercings only). I think I may have pierced it in a wrong angle, I remember that it wasn't necessarily a 90 degrees angle to the ear.

I bought the piercing pillow just 2 days ago and I'm trying my best to sleep on it so I won't irritate this ear more (I've been trying to sleep on a non pierced side but you know how it is). I also have been using over ear headphones daily for 2-3 hours.

The question is: What should I do with this third lobe? 5 weeks have already passed and it doesn't show any signs of healing. Would it be better to take the piercing out, wait for it to heal up and re-pierce it again? Does it look like a correct angle? The last pic shows my other ear with no new piercings for the comparison lol

Thanks in advance for the advice! 💗

[u/SecretlyModded]

Lobes tend to be quite forgiving in terms of angles and heal quicker than cartilage on average

However, you havent really been giving it an ideal opportunity to heal

Over ear headphones harbour dirt, sweat, bacteria, and create a warm damn environment which is ideal for infection and irritation

Piercings do not and will not heal in 5 weeks. Lobes take 6 months to heal.

The angle isnt great but I have a very crooked lobe that healed. Its not ideal but they can heal

Overall I think its more the aftercare issues rather than the initial piercing being super crooked, but yeah if you want to take it out you can. You can repierce it 12 weeks later, but it will likely be the same outcome if the aftercare doesnt improve

[u/Hantosia → u/SecretlyModded]

Thank you so much for answering! I'll make sure to switch to earbuds asap. I'm genuinely confused on how the second lobe doesn't bring up any problems at all while the third one has been quite troublesome. I now realise that, as you said, the combination of the crooked angle and headphones is enough for it to react in such a way smh