A Cautionary Tale

Disclaimer: Some of the details in this story might gross you out if ear piercings/infections make you uncomfortable. 

It has been seven weeks since I got my ears pierced during spring break. I first got my ears pierced sometime in elementary school, and I think I was around eight years old. My doctor did it, back when they still did that.

I got my second hole on my left ear pierced a few years ago at a stand at a mall, and then the second hole on my right ear almost two years ago at the same place. Both experiences were fine. A little over a year ago the newer second hole got infected. I hadn’t been wearing earrings in my second holes for a few months, and because the right side was newer the back of it had closed. Prom was about a week or so away, so I convinced my dad to just force a stud through. Don’t try that at home folks. The hole got infected and I had to go to the doctor, take out the earring and let the hole close, apply a prescription antibiotic ointment to the wound two or three times a day, and wear a little band-aid over it until it healed. 

In spite of this, over the past year I’ve been dying to have the second hole pierced again and maybe more, so I went for it over spring break, getting the second hole on my right ear re-pierced and a new third hole in my left. I went for simple gold ball studs. I asked the piercing technician at the mall which one would hurt more so I could get it over with. She said most people thought the third hole hurt less. Alas, for me, it hurt more. Every time I get my ears pierced, I think I must be crazy, intentionally inflicting pain on myself, but then I remember that I’m getting the pre-piercing nerves and it’s a few minutes of pain for a (hopefully, usually) lifetime investment. 

A few days after I got my ears pierced, I could tell that they were getting infected (always consult a doctor to make sure). I don’t know what made this experience different since all the other times they healed fine (except when I forced my dad to half-pierce my second hole). Having had an infected piercing a year prior, I remembered the feeling. For me, it was a sort of soreness, and a pain in my neck/below my ears if I leaned my head too far over. I was slightly relieved to be returning to school because that’s where I had my leftover antibiotic ointment just in case. I applied it to both ears, morning and night for a few days, and they instantly felt better, but I kept applying it just to keep any infection at bay. I thought that would be the worst of it, but I was wrong.

A week after spring break we were sent home because of the coronavirus. I started to notice that although neither piercing felt infected, the third hole was a bit red and hurt a little when I touched it accidentally. This is somewhat hard to describe, but I noticed that the skin around the third hole piercing was going right up to the sides of the sphere of the stud, as opposed to on my right ear where the whole sphere was visible. I was a bit nervous, wondering, is it possible for a piercing to try to heal over an earring? I voiced my concerns to my mom who rolled her eyes and asked me why I would ever want more piercings. She thought I was probably just overthinking it.

I dismissed the thought, but the next morning, only the tip of the sphere was visible. It was honestly a bit scary, but I applied some warm water to soften the skin, gently pushed the earring forward, removed the excess skin with a little q-tip, and applied ointment. I gave myself a pat on the back for keeping my cool and solving the problem. Or so I thought. 

The next morning, I woke up and my heart dropped to the bottom of my stomach as I saw that the earring was completely submerged beneath a thin (almost scab-looking) layer of skin. I ran to my computer and consulted google to see if it is possible for a new piercing to be swallowed and what to do. I skimmed over one story and closed the computer. As soon as I saw this person mentioning how they had to get their earring surgically removed I decided to stop reading for my own sake. I took a few deep breaths and reminded myself that the previous morning it had been easy to soften the skin and remove it, but I knew that the piercing would probably try to heal over the earring again, so I decided it would be best to take it out. However, I was determined to not let the hole close. 

Instead of doing it myself (because I wouldn’t be able to see clearly, my nails were too long to grasp the stud, and my hands would be at a bad angle), I went downstairs to show my mom the proof of what I had been suggesting the day before. When she saw my ear she said confidently, “You took the earring out?” I shook my head no and she gasped, “It’s still in there?” I think she was more freaked out than I was. I told her I didn’t want the earring to close, so did she think I could replace the stud with a hoop? We were both unsure, but I called my dad to help me take the earring out and replace it with a small hoop. It was a bit painful but mostly scary. When the stud came out, there was a larger hole than I was expecting, red and inflamed from constantly trying to compete with the earring. 

For the first two weeks after replacing the stud with a hoop, a bit of skin tried to grow around the front clasp, but there was nowhere for it to close so it was not as problematic or irritateds, and eventually it stopped trying to close altogether. I still rinse the piercing morning and night, apply a bit of ointment, and move the hoop around to discourage the piercing from trying to heal. Now it’s been almost two months since I initially pierced my ears and they’re almost completely healed. 

I’m not writing this to scare you, so I apologize if I have, and I’m definitely not writing this to discourage you from piercing your ears (a. I don’t believe in telling others what to do with their body, and b. I love piercings and I am already considering getting a third hole in my right ear). I am mostly writing this to convey the most important thing that I learned from this whole experience, which is to trust your intuition. 

My ears have never been comfortable with stud earrings long-term. They always fare way better with hoops. Unfortunately, with a piercing gun, you have to get your ears pierced with a stud. Everyone’s ears are different, so what works for me may not work for you, but for myself in the future I am going to go to a professional piercer and get my ears pierced with hoops, no gun. Because I know my ears get irritated with studs, I was suspicious of the soreness from the start. And if I had listened to my intuition about my piercing trying to swallow the earring sooner, maybe it wouldn’t have been as inflamed when I ultimately switched out the earring. If I had completely ignored my suspicions, I may have had to take a detour to the hospital, and that was the last thing I wanted to do because by that time coronavirus was spreading. 

If you decide to get your ears pierced (or any piercing), make sure you have access to a doctor in case it gets infected and you need a prescription. Do some research on where you’re going to get pierced. I had gotten my ears pierced twice at the mall with no problems, so I wasn’t worried, but it’s probably wiser to go to a professional, which I will certainly be doing now. Above all, don’t freak out and take deep breaths if you notice something worrisome going on with the piercing. Most things are easily fixed, but don’t ignore your intuition if you’re truly concerned about it. 

• caution
• ear piercing
• piercings