Most piercings can have a series of flare ups: quite often in cartilage piercings: on the ear and nostril.

Piercing irritation tends to be in the form of a granuloma/irritation bump: this is an unsightly lump of trapped fluid usually found in the entry and exit site of a piercing

Granulomas tend not to be painful unless the area is knocked or banged, or trapped fluid has dried, and formed a crust that is pulling on the piercing site. The causes the piercing fistula to tear, crust is then pulled inside the piercing fistula. Granulomas are usually just unsightly. Never pick or try and pop a granuloma as this usually makes them worse.

The most common causes of granulomas include:

• A knock or bang

• sleeping on a piercing

• picking, touching or twisting a piercing

• resting headphones and mobile phones on a piercing

• undercleaning

• overcleaning or cleaning with the wrong aftercare: teatree, TCP, surgical spirit etc

• changing jewellery too soon

• jewllery that is too long/short

• poor quality jewellery

• stress, illness, medication, a lifestyle change,

• face masks, unclean face masks resting on the piercing site causing pressure on the piercing

Granulomas although annoying & unsightly are quite simple to treat and reduce

Heat compressions are an excellent remedy for irritation bumps

This must be done daily so that the fluid gradually is drained out of the Piercing, leaving a dry, empty sack which will flake off naturally. Depending on the size of the granuloma we usually advise a daily heat compression of between 7-21 days.

Helpful Tips:

• Always ensure your hands are cleaned thoroughly prior to touching your piercing

• Taking a daily multivitamin which includes Vitamin C & Zinc can help boost your immune system and facilitate healing. Alongside this try and up your daily fluid intake. Drinking plenty of water can do your piercings a world of good. Also ensuring you are having a adequate amount of sleep & maintaining a healthy lifestyle

• There should always be adequate room on your piercing jewellery throughout the initial healing process. However its really important to pop in for a jewellery downsize once you are healed as longer jewellery in a healed piercing can cause further trapped fluid issues and alter the placement of the piercing fistula.

• Alternatively if you think your jewellery could be too short, please pop in where we will be more than happy to assist.

How to:

We advise using heated up saline solution, saline wipes or camomile tea bag compressions:

heat up saline solution on clean cotton pads in a microwave or place saline pads in hot boiled water.

Make up your cup of hot camomile tea using water from a kettle. Allow the liquid to cool to a comfortable but still hot temperature. With clean hands remove the tea bag and gently squeeze out the excess tea. Place with tea bag on the Piercing site and hold in place with clean fingers and form a compression. It is sometimes beneficial to pop a tea towel or flannel on your shoulder to catch any drips of tea. Continue for around 15 minutes or until the tea bag has cooled. Alternatively you could use the tea bag water and kitchen roll if placing the tea bag on the area isn’t achievable.

Always ensure that the affected area is dried thoroughly after the tea compression. This can be done with a cotton bud or kitchen roll. Leaving the area wet can cause further issues as any moisture to the area can cause bacteria to breed and the area become red, chapped and sore.

Continue daily for the recommended time.

For piercings with excessive trapped fluid which are suffering from a moisture issue a dry heat compression should be used: this can be perfromed by wrapping heat pads, heatable wheat bags or small hot water bottles in a clean cotton towel and applying to the affected area twice daily: please ensure you follow the manufacturers guidelines when heating up pads or water bottles

For more help or advice regarding troublesome piercings please reach out