ok, this is a problem that ive had for a few weeks now, but i cant find anyone that can help me out with it, and for some reason, this bbs always has the answers to other peoples strange questions, so maybe you guys can help me out with mine. i got my left ear cartilage pierced in early august. cleaned it twice a day, got it done professionally, everything was done ok and right. however, in the last month or so, its grown a slightly gross bump on both sides of the ear. the bump isnt very big but it is still a bump and it still kind of looks disgusting. i thought it would go away quickly, but its been like three or four weeks and its still there, as gross as ever. i took my earring out today and it kinda started bleeding, so i put it back in after about fifteen minutes. taking the earring out didnt help. i know its not infected cuz i asked around and apparently its NOT an infection, but its still annoying as hell. so i guess what im asking you guys is, what the hell is it and how do i make it go away? has anyone else had this problem or something similar? maybe someone you know? thank you, trusty clutch bbs.
It's got a lot to do with it. African Americans can sometimes produce excess scar tissue which is called a keloid. These keloids are very common after ear piercings. Although it usually takes slightly longer than one month to form, its possible.
thats real interesting. however, im not african american. is it possible though that it is a keliod, even though im not african american?
Are you Asian (has some propensity for getting keloids)? Light skinned people almost never form keloids. I guess its possible if your parents have an excessive scar forming trait, but i'm not sure about that. A hypertrophic scar is also a possibility (assuming you are right and it is not an infection). My best advice would be to go see your family doc, he/she will know what to do.
Jello, I have the cartilage pierced on both my ears. That bump your talking about comes from getting your ear pierced with a "gun" in staed of a needle. The "gun" shatters the cartilage, but that bump is nothing to worry about because most people get their ears pierced that way. I went to a tattoo parlor to get mine done, and a needle is used without the "gun". Fortunately, I don't have any of the bumps you're talking about. Hope this helps. Cod
Child, if you didn't know I'm the question asking king on this board and I was asking because I really wanted to know why it mattered not because I thought he was insinuating that it's a negative black thing. Geez.
Wow, I never knew that. I got my ears double pierced (down at the lobe) a couple of years ago, and I always thought it was just infected... So I got it re-pierced, but that didn't help it at all. Come to think of it, she did use a gun, and the piercing was close enough to the cartilege to possibly do some harm....
dude... i was joking because i thought it was racial too but then it turned out to be so scientific. mr. thin skin.
I remember getting my tongue pierced and they warned me about these types of scars. They said it was rare but it does happen and usually goes away on its own.
actually while keloids can happen more in certain races, almost any race can get them. when i was a med student and training at MD Anderson breast cancer clinic, we saw a patient in her early 30's who needed a surgery for a lump. She was some distant member of the royal family of Saudi and i remember the whole family was more concerned because of the family's propensity to make keloids (after any type of scar - even surgical) than even whether the lump would be benign or malignant.
i also forgot to mention. if you ever get a cartilage piercing that gets infected (red, irritated, pus discharge) make sure you get that seen. lobe infections aren't as dangerous - but a cartilage that becomes infected can get permanently damaged and you can end up with a floppy ear. i once had a girl that had to be hospitalized for IV antibiotics because of that same thing.
are you an alien?? aliens rarely have auditory sensors made of cartilage, but there have been some funny stories about them trying to pierce their ears, anyway. wake me up before you go, go.
What they told you is completely untrue. If a keloid forms, they are notoriously difficult to treat. Surgery, cortisone shots, etc... (Although i've never seen/heard of a keloid on the tongue) I guess they told you that it goes away so that they didn't scare you and your money away.
I still have a little bump on my ear from getting it pierced years ago. It's nothing you can see though, and I can barely feel it. They used a gun as well, so there might be something to that. But I also got my tongue pierced a few times, and I remember there being a little bump or hard area in the middle where the piercing was. It went away after I took the piercing out, but the bump on my ear has stayed.
