Did your piercer use a gun?
Did you enter a pool or go swimming at the beach or ocean?
Did you touch your face unconsciously?
Were you playing sports or hugging someone when a tiny hit caused pain to you nose piercing site?
If you said yes to at least one of these scenarios, you probably have a nose piercing infection.
Bleeding
Bleeding is likely to occur with fresh piercings but it can also happen with healed piercings.
Fresh piercings will bleed due to a flesh wound and healing whereas healed piercings can bleed due to many different reasons such as: touching the piercing, knocking around with the piercing, sleeping on the piercing, picking at the crust, drinking alcohol or taking pain medication. An infection can also cause bleeding and tight jewelry too can cause bleeding.
If you find your piercing is bleeding:
1. Apply gentle pressure to the area with a clean cotton pad or fresh tissue.
2. Put ice on the area to help with bleeding.
It also may be possible that you are allergic to the combination of metals you are using for your piercing. Being allergic or sensitive to certain metal slows how quickly your body will heal from the piercing. A slower healing time allows bacteria to set in. If it continues, you need to see if this is a problem and either let the piercing close or try a higher quality.
If you find that your symptoms are getting worse, you can always go to your piercer or go to your doctor.
Healing
Please note, when you’ve just got your nose pierced, it perfectly
normal for it to be red, swollen, tender, and maybe even bleeding a
little. Ofcourse, you just got a sharp object shoved through part of
your nostril, so this reaction is to be expected.
The tissue trauma from a nose piercing causes some tenderness, redness and swelling, which may not show up until a day or two after the initial piercing. This is normal and there’s no need to worry because nostril piercings take around 6-8 weeks to heal and the most important thing with this one is ensuring that you don’t catch it on clothes when dressing or undressing. Also, avoid hugging people during this time because their hair can get stuck and cling to your nose ring. Getting a sports or any physical injury, even a mild one, to that area, your risk of infection/s goes up.
Aftercare is so important for healing and could have caused the infection you have today. Clean
your nose piercing with a saline solution or a good piercing aftercare
product regularly during the first couple of weeks to help speed up the
healing process and reduce any lingering pain. This can also cure any
minor infections.
Infections are the most common problem you may have after getting a piercing. People have a hard time recognizing if their piercing is infected. We might confuse the infected nose piercing for a piercing that is healing.
Infection
Infections are most-often characterized by:
- Increasing redness
- Increasing tenderness and pain
- Increasing swelling
- Discharge that is yellowish or greenish in color
- Fever
- Red, swollen skin
- Foul smell coming from the piercing.
Why do infections occur?
Infections on nose piercings happen because the puncture wound from
the piercing goes much deeper than a scratch does so there’s more
opportunity for germs and bacteria to work their way into the wound.
It’s not like germs and bacteria that sit on the surface of a minor
scratch. They can easily be washed away with soap and water as you
shower everyday.
But on the contrary, when you get a deep puncture wound like a piercing requires, that same bacteria can work its way deep into the wound. When you take a shower, it’s much harder for that bacteria to be rinsed out since it’s already in your body, not just on the surface.
When the bacteria is allowed to stay, unchecked, in your body, that’s
when the trouble really starts. It starts to multiply and can lead to
an infection.
If you are worried that your nose piercing wasn’t done right, go back
and see your piercer. After all, it’s his or her work. If you are
really worried you have an infection, go and see a doctor. They are the
best at recognizing that sort of thing.
How to treat an infection
In order to treat an infection, keep the piercing clean (this includes your hands that touch it and the pillowcase you sleep on!) and apply an anti-bacterial treatment (ointment or cream) to kill the infection.
Minor infections may be treated with:
- Washing your hands each time before touching or cleaning your piercing.
- Over-the-counter medicines to rub on your skin, such as an antibiotic ointment.
- A warm compress applied to the piercing.
- Mild sea salt soaks: Clean around the piercing with a saltwater rinse three times a day. Use sterile saline (you can buy it online) or combine 1/4 tsp. of salt with 8 oz. of distilled water.
- Contact lens solution is the same as salt-water or you can buy some saline solution from Boots and spend your downtime squirting it at your face.
- No touching, avoid all contact with your hands and finger tips, and only touch it when a q-tip or cotton pad when you’re cleaning it.
- A saline solution is the only way to clean your nose piercing, so don’t use alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or antibiotic ointments. It further irritates the skin and slows down the healing process.
- Don’t remove the piercing. It causes the hole to close up and trap the infection.
- Clean the piercing and pat the area dry with paper towels. (Other materials may leave behind fibers.)
- If it’s severely infected then you may need to visit your doctor to get some antibiotics to kill the infection and ensure that it doesn’t spread elsewhere.
- Don’t wear makeup on your nose area, so no contouring, as this may irritate the piercing and throw fuel onto the fire.
Don’t remove your piercing stud or ring unless your doctor tells you
to do so. Leaving the jewelry within your nose can ensure proper
drainage. It also prevents an abscess or (the collection of pus) from
forming. Many times the infection can be treated without losing the
piercing.
If you take steroids or blood thinners, talk to your doctor. Also ask
if you have been exposed to a disease while being pierced? Or if you
are allergic to the metal in my piercing jewelry? If your piercing will
leave a scar when taken out? And if there’s a chance for a keloid.
What Do I Do With A Bump On My Nose Piercing?
Nose piercing bumps are weird non-permanent scar tissues that occur
if you catch the nose piercing on things. Basically, the tissue is
disrupted and a bumpy lump appears. And it will appear. It will appear
and not go for weeks. And even though you’re essentially a walking
puddle of saline, people will say, ‘You should put saline solution on
it’ and you’ll want to murder them.
Others will reassure you that theirs disappeared after three days, which won’t be reassuring when it’s still there two weeks later. Then, after constant saline squirting, it will go but if you’re not careful, you can hurt the nose piercing and the bump will come back.
Pain
The initial pain of a nose piercing is over a few seconds later.
Comparatively, a nose piercing is less painful than lip and ear
piercings but it depends on your pain tolerance.
Nose piercing pain: 3 to 4 out of 10
Vertical labret pain: 4 out of 10
medusa piercing: 4 out of 10
Daith piercings pain: 5 to 6 out of 10.
Rook piercing pain: 6 out of 10
Why does it hurt later ?
The nostril piercing is considered slightly more painful than ears
and lips and this is because you are piercing through cartilage which is
tougher than skin and therefore hurts a little bit more. However, most
people describe a nostril piercing as a very brief sting that makes your
eyes water and can make you sneeze.
Expect your nose to be sore for a few days while the healing process
continues. New piercings have a tendency to swell and get inflamed (red
and tender). This reaction usually goes away and clears up within 5 days
for nose piercings (unless an infection occurs).
This piercing shouldn’t be too sore afterwards and can be cleaned
following the normal saltwater wash guidelines as advised by your
piercer.
If the pain goes on for longer than a week, or if you develop any bumps, extreme redness, or scarring, you should go back to your piercer or to a doctor to have it checked out.
Visit a doctor if:
You can treat minor infections successfully at home. But if any of the following symptoms occur, seek medical attention:
- The nose stud or nose ring doesn’t move.
- The stud or ring clasp becomes embedded in your skin.
- The infection doesn’t improve with home treatment within two or three days.
- You develop a fever.
- Redness and swelling spreads beyond the piercing site.
FAQ
How do you know if a piercing is infected?
Look out for these common symptoms of an infection:
- Increasing redness
- Increasing tenderness and pain
- Increasing swelling
- Discharge that is yellowish or greenish in color
- Fever
- Red, swollen skin
- Foul smell coming from the piercing.
How do you get rid of an infected piercing?
Use these steps to take care of a minor piercing infection:
- Wash your hands before touching the nose piercing.
- Clean around the piercing with a saltwater rinse or saline solution three times a day.
- Avoid alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or antibiotic ointments.
- Don’t remove the piercing before visiting the doctor.
Why does my nose ring smell?
Human beings secrete a substance called sebum when the skin becomes
dry and to balance the dryness. Sebum is secreted by the sebaceous
glands in the skin. Add sebum with some dead skin cells and a little bit
of bacteria, and you get some really potent smelling piercings! The
discharge often is described to smell like stinky cheese.
Is it okay to shower with a nose piercing?
Yes, shower like you normally do and towards the end you can clean
your piercing with the following steps: 1) Lather up with some mild
non-antibacterial soap using clean hands and gently wash your piercing.
2) Rinse with distilled water or shower, as mentioned above, to get rid
of any salt crystals that might develop when dry.
How much is a nose piercing?
The cost depends on the facility and type of jewelry used. In
general, you can expect to pay anywhere from $30 to $90 at most
facilities. Still, it’s best to call the studio and ask about prices
before making a decision.
How to clean nose piercing?
Use mild sea salt soaks: Clean around the piercing with a saltwater
rinse three times a day. Use sterile saline (you can buy it online) or
combine 1/4 tsp. of salt with 8 oz. of distilled water.
When should I go to the doctor for an infected nose piercing?
Call your doctor if you experience any of these infection symptoms:
- Fever.
- Red, swollen skin around the pierced area.
- Pain when touching the pierced area.
- A yellowish, foul-smelling discharge coming from the piercing.
With simple at home treatments, a minor nose piercing infection can be successfully resolved.
