Must I wear the same earrings til Thanksgiving?
August 19, 2010 6:35 AM Subscribe
It's still painful to try to remove my starter earrings. Should it be?
I got my earlobes pierced in late May, so they have now been pierced about 3 months. Because they are starter earrings, they have a notch which makes the back extremely hard to remove. Every time I try to do it myself I can't avoid pinching my earlobes, which is very painful.
Should it still be painful after 3 months? (It did hurt like hell to get them pierced.) There is not, and has never been, any redness, pus or swelling.
I am now scared to have someone else try because of the pain. I read it can be difficult even if you have someone else do it.
I hear if you go to the doctor, or maybe certain piercing places, they might just cut the stem of the earring and pull them out. Is this my best bet?
I also worry that when the earrings are removed, I will find that the skin has not healed, the trauma of removal will cause swelling, and it will be too painful to put new ones in. If this happens, can I wait a couple hours for the swelling to go down, or will the holes have started to close up already?
The piercing place says you should wear studs almost continuously for the first six months, which must mean that it takes that long to actually heal.
Background: I got my ears pierced twice before. The first time, no redness or swelling, and I could change my earrings and everything, but the holes closed right up after I left my earrings out for a day or two after they had been pierced a couple months (as I recall). The second time I had no redness or swelling, but when I tried to change them after about 6 weeks it was too painful to get the new earrings in. (again, my recollection is a bit fuzzy, as it was years ago.)
The only time I have recently noticed pain is when I try too hard to pull the earrings out. Other than that, the occasional pain I did have is gone.
I got my earlobes pierced in late May, so they have now been pierced about 3 months. Because they are starter earrings, they have a notch which makes the back extremely hard to remove. Every time I try to do it myself I can't avoid pinching my earlobes, which is very painful.
Should it still be painful after 3 months? (It did hurt like hell to get them pierced.) There is not, and has never been, any redness, pus or swelling.
I am now scared to have someone else try because of the pain. I read it can be difficult even if you have someone else do it.
I hear if you go to the doctor, or maybe certain piercing places, they might just cut the stem of the earring and pull them out. Is this my best bet?
I also worry that when the earrings are removed, I will find that the skin has not healed, the trauma of removal will cause swelling, and it will be too painful to put new ones in. If this happens, can I wait a couple hours for the swelling to go down, or will the holes have started to close up already?
The piercing place says you should wear studs almost continuously for the first six months, which must mean that it takes that long to actually heal.
Background: I got my ears pierced twice before. The first time, no redness or swelling, and I could change my earrings and everything, but the holes closed right up after I left my earrings out for a day or two after they had been pierced a couple months (as I recall). The second time I had no redness or swelling, but when I tried to change them after about 6 weeks it was too painful to get the new earrings in. (again, my recollection is a bit fuzzy, as it was years ago.)
The only time I have recently noticed pain is when I try too hard to pull the earrings out. Other than that, the occasional pain I did have is gone.
I have found that starter earrings are much harder to take out and put in than normal earrings (I kept one pair I liked and had pain taking them out even when my ears were healed and other earrings didn't hurt). Buy a pair of plain gold hoops or studs and wear those instead. An hour or so should not allow your ears to close up. You can also put ice on your ears to numb the pain temporarily.
posted by jeather at 6:54 AM on August 19, 2010
posted by jeather at 6:54 AM on August 19, 2010
If the piercing place says to leave them in for 6 months, better safe than sorry. If it hurts, that's a sign you probably should not keep trying to remove them. Don't sacrifice a properly healed piercing for fashion.
Saline soaks are always a good idea with a healing piercing. Dissolve a teaspoon of sea salt in a cup of warm water. It should be about as salty as your tears (i.e. not really too perceptibly salty). Soak two cotton balls in the solution and place one on the top and one on the bottom of the piercing. Alternately, you can stick your ear in the cup, but that's not very comfortable. Leave on for several minutes. If you are cleaning your piercing with anything like hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, soaps, etc, STOP. These things only serve to irritate the healing tissue and delay healing. Do not rotate the earrings without soaking first. If there's any crusties, it will just tear up the healing tissue.
posted by radioaction at 6:54 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
Saline soaks are always a good idea with a healing piercing. Dissolve a teaspoon of sea salt in a cup of warm water. It should be about as salty as your tears (i.e. not really too perceptibly salty). Soak two cotton balls in the solution and place one on the top and one on the bottom of the piercing. Alternately, you can stick your ear in the cup, but that's not very comfortable. Leave on for several minutes. If you are cleaning your piercing with anything like hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, soaps, etc, STOP. These things only serve to irritate the healing tissue and delay healing. Do not rotate the earrings without soaking first. If there's any crusties, it will just tear up the healing tissue.
posted by radioaction at 6:54 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
When I had problems removing my starter earings, I used a pair of scissors to pry open the stems of the butterfly backings so they were easier to remove. A pair of needle-nosed pliers would be a better (and safer) option.
Incidentally, I never had much discharge or redness, but it took about two years before I could take my earrings out for a couple of days and not have it hurt to put them back in. So I wouldn't worry if your healing seems slow. Just keep wearing your starter earrings or some simple studs for everyday and they should get there eventually.
posted by Georgina at 6:59 AM on August 19, 2010
Incidentally, I never had much discharge or redness, but it took about two years before I could take my earrings out for a couple of days and not have it hurt to put them back in. So I wouldn't worry if your healing seems slow. Just keep wearing your starter earrings or some simple studs for everyday and they should get there eventually.
posted by Georgina at 6:59 AM on August 19, 2010
n +1 with fermezporte -- spin the studs if you are worried the skin is healing to them. This will disrupt any attachment without your removing the studs. Once the skin is completely incapable of attaching to the studs, there is more likelihood that they have healed -- unhealed skin is much more likely to attach, I believe. If you are spinning them once a day, and they always feel like a new attachment has grown, I wouldn't take the studs out.
Perhaps someone else can provide a datapoint as to how long after *not* feeling an attachment it would be safe to take the studs out. Also, how long this sort of attachment thing can go on after piercing, normally, so that you'll know whether your ears are ok.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 7:14 AM on August 19, 2010
Perhaps someone else can provide a datapoint as to how long after *not* feeling an attachment it would be safe to take the studs out. Also, how long this sort of attachment thing can go on after piercing, normally, so that you'll know whether your ears are ok.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 7:14 AM on August 19, 2010
If the piercing place says to leave them in for 6 months, better safe than sorry. If it hurts, that's a sign you probably should not keep trying to remove them. Don't sacrifice a properly healed piercing for fashion.
The place only said to wear studs continuously for 6 months, not that she had to leave in the starter studs for 6 months.
Nthing that you should spin them regularly. Don't take them out until you can spin them without feeling like anything is attached. Call the piercing place if you have concerns about the healing time. You should use the cleaning solution they gave you to keep the area clean.
posted by elpea at 7:21 AM on August 19, 2010
The place only said to wear studs continuously for 6 months, not that she had to leave in the starter studs for 6 months.
Nthing that you should spin them regularly. Don't take them out until you can spin them without feeling like anything is attached. Call the piercing place if you have concerns about the healing time. You should use the cleaning solution they gave you to keep the area clean.
posted by elpea at 7:21 AM on August 19, 2010
My starter earrings stopped hurting after a day, but putting them in or taking them out hurt for at least three months. I also found they had a tendency to pinch my earlobe; to fix that I put them together and separated them a gazillion times (not handy with the pliers.)
In general I have sensitive skin and tons of allergies, so I had mild irritation and discharge off and on for a good year after I got them pierced. Bearing in mind that the wrong material in clothing or shoes can also do this to me. After the first bit of pain and soreness and the two weeks they told me to wait, I was able to go as long as two days without significant difficulty or pain getting the posts back in, though I don't recommend it (this was a trigger for irritation a day later.). Spinning them seemed to help.
That was 12 years ago; I still get irritation if I'm not careful, and tight earrings still hurt till they loosen up.
posted by SMPA at 7:26 AM on August 19, 2010
In general I have sensitive skin and tons of allergies, so I had mild irritation and discharge off and on for a good year after I got them pierced. Bearing in mind that the wrong material in clothing or shoes can also do this to me. After the first bit of pain and soreness and the two weeks they told me to wait, I was able to go as long as two days without significant difficulty or pain getting the posts back in, though I don't recommend it (this was a trigger for irritation a day later.). Spinning them seemed to help.
That was 12 years ago; I still get irritation if I'm not careful, and tight earrings still hurt till they loosen up.
posted by SMPA at 7:26 AM on August 19, 2010
My bet is that you got shitty nickel starter studs, and you've got some kind of allergy. Have you been using the saline solution stuff and giving them daily spins? I'm guessing the sensitivity based on your previous piercings.
I had the same issue w/ cartilage piercings. My solution, which I recommend only if you're tough, was to remove the starter, irrigate well w/ saline, and replace with a ring that is NOT nickel (or even stainless, stainless reacts funny for some folks), I went for the suspended ball rings, starting small, maybe 18 gauge. Push 'em through, and spin 'em around a couple times a day.
This may be horrible advice, but it worked for me. Starter studs are garbage.
posted by TomMelee at 7:29 AM on August 19, 2010
I had the same issue w/ cartilage piercings. My solution, which I recommend only if you're tough, was to remove the starter, irrigate well w/ saline, and replace with a ring that is NOT nickel (or even stainless, stainless reacts funny for some folks), I went for the suspended ball rings, starting small, maybe 18 gauge. Push 'em through, and spin 'em around a couple times a day.
This may be horrible advice, but it worked for me. Starter studs are garbage.
posted by TomMelee at 7:29 AM on August 19, 2010
Response by poster: I have been turning my earrings from the beginning, and have never felt like any skin was attached. I don't think that necessarily means they have healed though, since you're supposed to turn them every day from the first day, and obviously they weren't healed yet then.
posted by serena15221 at 7:31 AM on August 19, 2010
posted by serena15221 at 7:31 AM on August 19, 2010
Response by poster: My starter studs are cubic zirconium with a 14k gold post. I intend to get rid of them as soon as they are out of my ears, for the obvious reason that I don't want to have to go through the hassle of trying to remove them again. I even bought a pair of regular 14k gold studs that look just like my starter studs (except a tiny bit bigger) because I like the look (cubic zirconium). So believe me, I will never be tempted to wear these studs again.
posted by serena15221 at 7:42 AM on August 19, 2010
posted by serena15221 at 7:42 AM on August 19, 2010
I got my ears pierced when I was 13. When it came time to remove the starter studs, I COULD NOT DO IT. I couldn't pull the backs off of them, my dad went in there with needle nose pliers to try to pry the backs off with no luck, and I was panicky and scared.
Part of the problem was that we didn't understand the mechanics of the starter stud earrings, and why they clasped so hard. The post, since it is pointy, has a much more flanged end than other stud earrings. I can't find a good picture of it online, but it's good to know that there's no real "trick" to getting them off, they just need a lot of extra oomph.
What eventually worked for that first time is that my mom was able to wiggle her acrylic nails between the front stud and the back clasp and give an opposite pull so that all the pressure was taken off of my earlobe, causing me to panic less.
A few days later, though, I realized how silly I had been. Once your ears have been in the starter studs long enough, they're fine. They're just ears and you're not going to pull them off your head if you put a little pressure on them. Yes, it's scary and nerve-wracking. Your ears are tender and sensitive and they have a new hole in them, and this is hard to get past mentally. But you can give them a good tug and, I swear to you, your ears will be fine. They may sting for a second or two, but they will be OK.
So finally, here's the trick to getting the starter studs out: focus on the FRONT STUD. Work your fingers in behind the stud (the gem, ball, whatever it is), so that your thumb and forefinger are between the stud and your ear. The back clasp will be directly hitting the back of your earlobe--this is good! Now, bring your thumb and forefinger together in a pinch...you don't want to pull on the stud, but bring your thumb and finger together such that you're increasing the space between the front of the earring and your earlobe. The back of your earlobe will pop the stud backing off and the earring will slide right out.
I know it is scary and when you do it for the first time it will feel wrong-wrong-wrong like you're pulling your ear off, but really--this is the best way to do it. I actually ended up wearing my starter studs a lot because I had figured out how to get them in and out of my ears easily.
(If any of what I said is unclear, feel free to memail me and I'll try to explain better.)
Good luck!
posted by phunniemee at 7:56 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
Part of the problem was that we didn't understand the mechanics of the starter stud earrings, and why they clasped so hard. The post, since it is pointy, has a much more flanged end than other stud earrings. I can't find a good picture of it online, but it's good to know that there's no real "trick" to getting them off, they just need a lot of extra oomph.
What eventually worked for that first time is that my mom was able to wiggle her acrylic nails between the front stud and the back clasp and give an opposite pull so that all the pressure was taken off of my earlobe, causing me to panic less.
A few days later, though, I realized how silly I had been. Once your ears have been in the starter studs long enough, they're fine. They're just ears and you're not going to pull them off your head if you put a little pressure on them. Yes, it's scary and nerve-wracking. Your ears are tender and sensitive and they have a new hole in them, and this is hard to get past mentally. But you can give them a good tug and, I swear to you, your ears will be fine. They may sting for a second or two, but they will be OK.
So finally, here's the trick to getting the starter studs out: focus on the FRONT STUD. Work your fingers in behind the stud (the gem, ball, whatever it is), so that your thumb and forefinger are between the stud and your ear. The back clasp will be directly hitting the back of your earlobe--this is good! Now, bring your thumb and forefinger together in a pinch...you don't want to pull on the stud, but bring your thumb and finger together such that you're increasing the space between the front of the earring and your earlobe. The back of your earlobe will pop the stud backing off and the earring will slide right out.
I know it is scary and when you do it for the first time it will feel wrong-wrong-wrong like you're pulling your ear off, but really--this is the best way to do it. I actually ended up wearing my starter studs a lot because I had figured out how to get them in and out of my ears easily.
(If any of what I said is unclear, feel free to memail me and I'll try to explain better.)
Good luck!
posted by phunniemee at 7:56 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
If your piercings still hurt, your jewelry isn't ready to be changed. Every time you rotate your earrings or try to take them out too soon, you're ripping open the scab of your fistula and prolonging your healing process. Your body won't absorb the metal of the jewelry; there's no way that a well-cleaned and -healed piercing will "stick" to a high-quality earring.
Please stop touching and turning your jewelry, and please wait until your ears are no longer sore before you try to change your earrings. Yes, if you take them out too early, they'll swell up and you'll have a painful (and perhaps fruitless) time getting the jewelry back in.
I'd recommend following the aftercare suggestions of the APP, which you can find outlined on BME. A lobe piercing can heal in 6–8 weeks, but not if it undergoes the constant trauma of being turned and twisted by possibly-dirty fingers. When the piercings are ready, you'll be able to handle them without pain.
I know it's incredibly frustrating to wait—I've been there many times—but your body will thank you in the long run. You'll spare yourself a lot of pain and frustration if you take a more conservative approach.
posted by kwaller at 8:57 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
Please stop touching and turning your jewelry, and please wait until your ears are no longer sore before you try to change your earrings. Yes, if you take them out too early, they'll swell up and you'll have a painful (and perhaps fruitless) time getting the jewelry back in.
I'd recommend following the aftercare suggestions of the APP, which you can find outlined on BME. A lobe piercing can heal in 6–8 weeks, but not if it undergoes the constant trauma of being turned and twisted by possibly-dirty fingers. When the piercings are ready, you'll be able to handle them without pain.
I know it's incredibly frustrating to wait—I've been there many times—but your body will thank you in the long run. You'll spare yourself a lot of pain and frustration if you take a more conservative approach.
posted by kwaller at 8:57 AM on August 19, 2010 [1 favorite]
I got my second lobe piercing done with a gun, and the starter earrings on one were so completely stuck that I had to get them off with pliers. It was painful, but my ears didn't swell up and I was able to get the studs back in once I was done.
phunniemee has it about working on the front part of the stud. Pull the front side with one hand and the back side with the other hand. There may be no avoiding pinching your earlobe, but I guarantee this is how you can get them out. Maybe you can try a lidocaine-type sunburn spray to numb your earlobe a little if the pain is too much.
However, the golden trick that nobody has mentioned yet is gloves! Appropriately sized nitrile or latex medical gloves will let you grab the stud very firmly, and they will keep you from kicking germs into your still-healing piercing. It's the only way to get some piercing barbells that you have to screw on or off.
Once you get them off, put the other pair back in. Because they're not pointy, it is actually less painful to put them back in than starter studs. Also you should have considerably less difficulty putting those on or off.
You can also use the starter studs with normal post earring backs once you get them out. Just sand off the point so it doesn't stab you in the neck, and you're golden.
If for any reason your holes get too swollen to change the jewelry (not likely if you're just taking them in or out, but if a small child grabs your earlobe or you hit it with something: soak the earlobe in cold water, or ice it like you would any other injury.
posted by skyl1n3 at 10:24 AM on August 19, 2010
phunniemee has it about working on the front part of the stud. Pull the front side with one hand and the back side with the other hand. There may be no avoiding pinching your earlobe, but I guarantee this is how you can get them out. Maybe you can try a lidocaine-type sunburn spray to numb your earlobe a little if the pain is too much.
However, the golden trick that nobody has mentioned yet is gloves! Appropriately sized nitrile or latex medical gloves will let you grab the stud very firmly, and they will keep you from kicking germs into your still-healing piercing. It's the only way to get some piercing barbells that you have to screw on or off.
Once you get them off, put the other pair back in. Because they're not pointy, it is actually less painful to put them back in than starter studs. Also you should have considerably less difficulty putting those on or off.
You can also use the starter studs with normal post earring backs once you get them out. Just sand off the point so it doesn't stab you in the neck, and you're golden.
If for any reason your holes get too swollen to change the jewelry (not likely if you're just taking them in or out, but if a small child grabs your earlobe or you hit it with something: soak the earlobe in cold water, or ice it like you would any other injury.
posted by skyl1n3 at 10:24 AM on August 19, 2010
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posted by fermezporte at 6:40 AM on August 19, 2010 [2 favorites]