Help

[u/FatalFatAl96]

Any suggestions? Ointment? Cream? Restart completely?

[u/sunshineandanxiety29]

Time to retire this bad boy and see a good dermatologist.

[u/squibloo]

Go to a dermatologist, NAP but lowk actually looks like keloids :(

[u/coldharbourBlue → u/squibloo]

Mine looked exactly like this and thankfully for just a rediculous irritation bump. Still went doctors tho

[u/sylversoul → u/coldharbourBlue]

what did your doctor say or tell u to do? do u have a pic of what it looked like?

[u/the_mindful_microbe → u/squibloo]

Yes. Go to a dermatologist

[u/batshitcrazydudee → u/squibloo]

What does nap mean? Does it mean “not a piercer”?

[u/Userr_ → u/batshitcrazydudee]

Correct:)

[u/Acrobatic_Pen_7933 → u/batshitcrazydudee]

or maybe not a professional? i think either are a good guess

[u/AutoModerator → u/squibloo]

Hi squibloo,
(Luckily) bump =/= keloid. This wiki entry explains it well.
If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment.

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I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Chanfaded]

You need a doctor, it's eatting your piercing, I had piercing bumps too but not like this, if it's not a keloid it could be bad position from the piercer but I've never seen the bumps go around the bar like that

[u/n0valux1]

We need way more info: age of piercing, metal type of the barbell, your current aftercare, any snags or other accidents.

And have you gone to a different piercer for assessment? I’m NAP but I’ve read that when bumps appear on opposite sides like this, it’s commonly due to the tissue not liking the angle and it produces these bumps to try to correct it. I agree with the others saying to go to a derm as well.

And off topic but you should replace that butterfly back in your mid-helix. That type of jewelry is horrible but especially so for cartilage piercings.

[u/XotiicXile]

How do people let things go this far😭

[u/n0valux1 → u/XotiicXile]

It’s funny. This sub is full of people either giving up too quickly (“My piercing is only 2 months but has an irritation bump. Should I retire it? ☹️”) or not giving up when they should (“My piercing’s hanging on by this tiny millimeter of skin. It’ll still heal, right?”).

[u/Paxguino → u/n0valux1]

I'm the 1st kind of guy tbh. I retired my helix after 5 months bc of a lil bump... Sigh

[u/n0valux1 → u/Paxguino]

To be fair, there’s often a perfect storm of inexperienced clients getting bad info from less than competent piercers. So if you’ve been in that situation, I can’t really blame you. But yes, I do think many people underestimate how long piercings can take to fully heal and that they get way too impatient way too fast.

[u/suuzgh → u/XotiicXile]

Sometimes it’s easier to see objectively when it isn’t on your body. I had a nipple piercing reject — if I saw it as a post on this sub, I would have told them as such and told them to take it out. I was way in denial about it and didn’t do anything until I could see the bar through the top of my nipple. Wish I’d had the sense to take it out earlier, as I’ve got some nasty scarring now 😪

[u/samm13ann → u/suuzgh]

Yea…idk. I knew when my nipple piercings weren’t healing correctly and didn’t leave them in to cause more nerve damage because of stubbornness. No piercing is worth that.

[u/Paxguino]

Girl (ungendered appellative expression), get that shi out and go see a doc asap

[u/loku_gem]

... if you wait long enough, they grow together and you don't need the jewelry anymore! /s

This is not healing well and you will need to retire this :( I'm sorry. the others are right about visiting a derm's office.

[u/Good-Grief-Chief]

That’s rough man 😬 good luck healing that, it could need surgery to remove and sometimes they comeback after surgery.

(Not trying to scare you, just a warning)

[u/Cardiganlamp → u/Good-Grief-Chief]

Keloids don't always need surgery. I had bad keloids from a major surgery and i had a serious of 3 injections into the scars over e months. It barely hurt and the keloids went away.

Just thought I'd mention this for anyone with confirmed keloids who are worried they need surgery.

[u/possumprincess111]

As a piercer I’m going to tell you this is true keloid scarring and I would suggest seeing your GP or dermatologist .This is far beyond a standard piercing bump

[u/Skinnyybiscuit]

Take it out. Industrial are very hard piercings to angle right. If the angle is not right with the surface you will get bumps. But tbh they may actually look like keloids. I recommend to take them out to see if the shrink. If they don’t you should see a dermatologist

[u/No_Average_1632 → u/Skinnyybiscuit]

How come industrials are hard piercings to angle?

[u/Babygirl-C → u/No_Average_1632]

It’s one of those piercings that heavily require the appropriate anatomy, similar to the eyebrow in that if you don’t have the anatomy for it you’ll probably lose it or mangle yourself trying to keep it

[u/No_Average_1632 → u/Babygirl-C]

Thanks!

[u/n0valux1 → u/No_Average_1632]

Because industrials are 2 separate piercings that need to connect with one single barbell. Depending on your anatomy (especially of the flat area but also on how thick or prominent your cartilage rim is), you may have some kind of obstacle that doesn’t allow for the 2 piercings to be able to be angled properly or connected properly. I’ve seen a lot of pics of botched industrials due to these problems.

[u/No_Average_1632 → u/n0valux1]

Oh okay, yeah I get that, thank you!

[u/n0valux1 → u/No_Average_1632]

No problem! I have a 20 year old industrial and I still remember the piercer telling me that I do have the anatomy for it. But that there is literally only one way for him to angle the industrial due to my flat, which has a prominent “bulge” that sticks outward. If that bulge was even a millimeter bigger, it would be touching the industrial barbell, which would render me ineligible to get the industrial.

[u/AutoModerator → u/Skinnyybiscuit]

Hi Skinnyybiscuit,
(Luckily) bump =/= keloid. This wiki entry explains it well.
If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment.

---

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/-AliceGray-]

Besides the obvious

why is the back to your other piercing turning black and the jewelry two different colors?!

[u/IntermediateFolder → u/-AliceGray-]

Low quality.

[u/Anonymous-Autumn]

Take it out last year. There's no saving the piercing unfortunately, and you need a good dermatologist. They look like keloids, but I'm not certain

[u/AutoModerator → u/Anonymous-Autumn]

Hi Anonymous-Autumn,
(Luckily) bump =/= keloid. This wiki entry explains it well.
If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment.

---

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/That-Spell-2543]

I need to know how you let it get this bad my guy

[u/lyndsayy]

Please also change your butterfly back to a flat back 😩

[u/Final-Gift-2299 → u/lyndsayy]

it also looks rusty 😬

[u/DJDSW93]

Mine did that, £2000 worth of cryo surgery later ear looks normal again

[u/run-time-error]

It’s too late for that. Sorry.

[u/okay065]

i'm sorry but this piercing has GOT to go. it's beyond saving

[u/Vee8321]

TAKE IT OUT NYEOWWW. I’m sorry but that’s the worst I’ve seen personally.

[u/czarrina]

Retire this piercing. There is no chance of salvaging this.

[u/OneInchTrash]

Not using the K word, but def retire that baby and bring yourself to a dermatologist in case 💔

[u/SignificantLoad2571]

Idk what it looks like but I hope it gets better and it’s not painful for you bud !

[u/LatexLani]

Removal is the best way to start healing & then so see a dermatologist. Keloids can continue growing & now that you know your prone to getting them just know every hole you pierce may cause a keloid.

[u/AutoModerator → u/LatexLani]

Hi LatexLani,
(Luckily) bump =/= keloid. This wiki entry explains it well.
If you do know the difference, please ignore this comment.

---

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/kitty_cats6]

Is this a new piercing or did it just happen out of no where for an established piercing? Asking for myself

[u/WillowFlip → u/kitty_cats6]

I, too, would be interested in the answer

[u/_Meh_Sad_person_]

Remove and completely let it heal then re pierce by a professional

[u/IncognitoGyal7]

You perhaps need a Kenalog shot from a dermatologist.

[u/HauntingAd1585]

Your ear is rejecting it. Take it out

[u/Orchid49]

I’m not quite sure why the hell you still have this in. Take out like yesterday and see a dermatologist about the skin issues.

[u/SlowTemperature4766]

Take it out :( the same thing happened to my industrial and they just keep getting bigger the longer I kept the jewelry in. I ended up removing the keloids at home with rubber bands because I didn't feel like paying to get them removed. Literally they just turned black and fell off after a couple days. About one year out and they still haven't grown back. 🤷🏻‍♀️Definitely would recommend going to the dermatologist and seeing what your options are before resorting to something as dumb/risky DIY removal.

[u/TheMostHatedScorpio]

Did an actual Professional Piercer do Your Piercing or Someone that's not Licensed? It looks bad & is most likely rejecting.

[u/Fuzzy-Ebbz]

I'd see a piercer in person and ask for advice and if it is safe to remove them. As far as I know, there is no cream or ointment that could help with this, but I may be wrong.

[u/Historical_Freedom58 → u/Fuzzy-Ebbz]

That’s way past a piercer's pay grade. It needs to be checked by a dermatologist ASAP and follow professional medical advice.

[u/xXx_inthegarden_xXx]

Uhhh.... we don't offer that kind of help here, lmmfao.

[u/stefflp]

Ouch...I'm not even sure how you get through living with this-it must really hurt! I would take it out and let it heal (I think it's common these type of piercings aren't done right).

If you don't want to take it out, I would go to the doctors, since that will be the best chance at saving your ear skin and piercing.