Got the double helix a while ago. She’s really bad… does anyone have any advice on how to get rid of this?

(Sorry about the gross fuckass images.. for context the first one is the bruise I had initially, the second, third and fourth is the current state it’s in at different angles, I have blood crust because I don’t want to rip it out and cause it to bleed again, I’m in the process of softening it)

Hello, I’m 16, very scared and I need some advice. I got a double helix and a rook done simultaneously 5 days and 6 hours ago (on the 18th around 4:00 PM).

Two days in (on the 20th), I developed a massive blue/purple bruise all over the upper rim. It wasn’t too painful at first. I used ice to constrict the blood vessels, kept cleaning it with saline solution, and took warm showers to help dissolve the blood crust. Initially, I made the mistake of using a Q-tip with saline to clear the crust, but I quickly learned that wasn't good because it kept triggering fresh bleeding. Because of that, there is still some noticeable blood crust around the jewelry in my photos (sorry about that..).

The blue bruise has completely disappeared now, but the upper ear is left very pink, shiny, swollen, and extremely painful. I genuinely couldn’t sleep at all last night because of a severe, burning, throbbing sensation. Even resting on a donut pillow with zero physical pressure on the ear didn't relieve the pounding.

The throbbing does relax significantly when I take ibuprofen, so I’ve started taking it regularly to manage the swelling and pain.

I’m fully aware that peak swelling can delay until day 5, and that getting 3 fresh cartilage piercings at once causes a massive amount of trauma to the ear. I went into this knowing that, but I’m finding it really difficult to differentiate severe inflammatory irritation from an actual infection. I haven’t seen any wet yellow/green pus so far, but since there is dried blood crust covering the holes, I can't be 100% sure.

The swelling is so tight that there is no bar space left on the helix studs and I'm worried about embedding. I am planning to contact my piercer tomorrow to get it checked out and potentially get longer bars put in to relieve the pressure and rule out an infection.

should I be worried about infection? If so, how can I prevent this from happening? I really don’t want this to turn into some shit like cauliflower ear or getting a surgery.

Age: 5 days and 6 hours old

Jewellery shape: flatback labret, titanium of some sort.

It has not been downsized.

I use neilmed saline spray twice a day, the first couple days I overcleaned I think

(Repost) I got my belly button pierced on January 31, 2026, and I’m worried about how it’s healing. I’ve attached recent photos for reference.

I’ve had ongoing irritation with this piercing for months. Some days it looks almost completely fine, but other times it’s red, crusty, and irritated.
Here’s what I’ve noticed:

The top piercing hole is frequently red and irritated.
The jewelry seems more exposed than it used to be, and the bar now looks like it’s sticking more straight up instead of following its original curve.
The top ball seems to sit farther away from my skin, and more of the metal bar is visible.
The skin between the top and bottom holes looks thinner than it did originally, although I’m not completely sure.
There’s a bump around the piercing, and I’m wondering whether it’s an irritation bump, scar tissue, or a keloid.
Recently, it’s become painful when I touch it or when anything presses against it. Now it hurts when I move around and do normal daily activities.
I’ve noticed whiteish/pale-yellow discharge that was sometimes thick and creamy and other times thinner and watery. I didn’t notice a bad smell.
I’ve had crusting and scabbing around the holes.
At one point, the area felt warm, although it hasn’t consistently felt warm.
After showering, some of the discharge and crusting seemed to clear up.
For aftercare, I used sterile saline wound wash regularly for months, but I’ve run out. I’ve used approximately two cans in total.
I’m worried that the piercing might be migrating or rejecting because the bar looks more exposed and the skin seems thinner. I’m also concerned about a possible infection because of the pain, redness, and previous discharge.

**For anyone experienced with navel piercings:**
Does this sound like migration or rejection?
Could the bump be an irritation bump or hypertrophic scar rather than a keloid?
Does the change in the bar’s angle and visibility sound concerning?
Has anyone experienced similar symptoms with their navel piercing?
I’m looking for honest advice and experiences. I understand that photos can’t provide a definite diagnosis, but I’d appreciate any insight into what might be happening.
**My piercing is 9-10 months old**
**My piercing is a common curved barbell**
**My jewelry has not been downsized**
**I used saline solution two times a day, like recommended**
**I have never encountered an unfortunate event with my belly button piercing. I have not snagged it on anything, or harmed it in any way**
**(I am also a side sleeper)**

I got my nipples pierced like 3 months ago? and I also got two side labrets and one vertical labret about a month ago. My question is can I get a medusa and/or vertical anti eyebrow this year or should I wait a year before getting more. please say yes I’m dying here.

This is pierced wrong isn’t it ? Got it last Saturday

Got it a week and a half ago had to change the bar different piercers told me it was pierced wrong and I clean it almost daily and it’s always irritated

So I need some advice. I definitely want to make this a double helix (had it probably 10 years ago and want to get it back) with a little flower under the butterfly. (Also that’s a freckle next to the butterfly not anything else, it’s a decade old and totally healed)

Since I’m already getting one piercing, thinking about making it two. I’ve been longing over this Madame Butterfly piece as a vertical helix online for months now, but I need real talk advice on how practical it would be. Obviously I wouldn’t get pierced with it and would only put that in once it heals, but how comfortable would it be for daily wear? Is it just a special occasion piece? Are vertical helixes in general more uncomfortable, will my hair/glasses be an issue?

Any advice welcome!

Its day 2 after getting my piercing done and im worried is my lip swallowing my piercings the piercer gave me too short bars i think

I got this eyebrow piercing mid march this year. I had the jewelry downsized after 6 weeks. Now it is looking like this. I'm deciding if I get a further smaller curved barbell downsize (I think it's an 8mm so I might go down to a 6mm of same guage) or just take it out now.

For further information my usual AAPA certified piercer declined to give me an eyebrow piercing due to my anatomy. A friend recently has been trained as a piercer at a different store, and did this one. She said she understood why my usual piercer said no, but that so long as I was aware it would be a surface piercing that will reject, this should be fine. I enjoy the piercing and had always wanted an eyebrow piercing, so was ok with whatever. Just not sure if I can keep it in a bit longer (with smaller jewellery) or should take it out. As I am almost certain it is rejecting.. but still quite deep in there so I thought I might be able to get a bit more time with it.

My rook is almost a month old, and after looking at photos of other rook piercings online, I think I like the look of a longer barbell. This is the bar I got it pierced with, and although it was long enough to accommodate swelling, I feel like my piercing is a relatively high and more barbell length on the bottom might balance it out a bit. The length that is on the bottom right now you just can’t see head on because the fold of my ear covers it.

Is this something I can/should do? I know you’re normally supposed to get a piercing downsized, but I just feel like the bar looks too short on my ear.

Pierced 4 weeks ago with a threadless titanium curved barbell, currently cleaning twice a day with saline.

I’m planning to get my vertical labret pierced, and I’d love to know how you guys managed dry or cracked lips during the healing process. Did you use anything to keep your lips moisturized? Also, how painful was it? I’m hoping to get mine done this Friday, and I’m planning to use titanium jewelry. 💗

Hi, I got my navel done on Oct. 13, so it’s been ten days now and I don’t have that much info on my jewelry, but I believe it’s the standard 14g 11mm, probably titanium?, and curved barbell. It hasn’t been downsized yet and I’ve been cleaning it 2x a day with 0.9% neilmed wound wash saline, letting it air dry for a min and then dabbing it dry very gently with a clean cotton pad. I’m posting bc I noticed some redness two days ago localized to the piercing area, but today I saw it was spreading a bit. It’s not painful, but it’s sore and itchy. I’ve been strictly wearing low rise pants and loose shirts, so I feel like I’ve been doing everything right and just being extra cautious that this isn’t starting to get infected or reject. Any help is appreciated!! *the photos make it look like I don’t have the right anatomy but it’s just bc I’m taking them at a weird angle and in an odd position

Hi guys! I've had my belly button piercing for 6 months and I decided to change the jewelry to a dangling titanium piece. I took out my old piercing and put in the new one super easily, nothing hurt or anything and it felt super good in!

Just today I snagged it for the first time ever REALLY bad and it hurt so much and I ended up bleeding a little. I sprayed it with saline. Should I take out this jewelry and put back my old default one, or should I just leave it and let it heal with the new jewelry in? Thanks!

**Grape-sized hard lump underneath my 1.5-month-old belly button piercing — anyone experienced this?**

Hey everyone! I got my belly button pierced about 1.5 months ago, and I’ve recently noticed a pretty big, hard, grape-sized lump internally beneath the skin, surrounding the area between the two piercing holes. It hurts when I press on it, but the skin on the outside looks relatively healed and there’s no bleeding.
My piercing has gotten caught on my bed a few times before, so I’m wondering if the repeated trauma could have caused a haematoma (collection of blood), scar tissue, or something else.
I went to see a doctor, who said it could be a collection of blood with possible bacteria. They prescribed oral antibiotics and a cream and advised me to monitor it over two weeks. I’ve only been on the antibiotics since yesterday, and the lump is still huge, although it’s becoming less painful.

Has anyone experienced something similar with a belly button piercing? Did the lump eventually go away with antibiotics, or did you need further treatment? Would really appreciate hearing about your experiences!

it got snagged and formed a bump and i guess it popped in my sleep and bled and is now sinking and red

TLDR: Am I supposed to rotate the piercing full circle when cleaning, or just turn it back and forth?

I got my ears pierced 2 weeks ago at Claire’s; I was told to clean the piercing 3x daily by using a cotton ball to drip the cleaning solution onto the piercing and rotate the earring back and forth once a day. I’ve been doing that, and literally just rotating it back and forth, not full rotations/circle (if that makes sense). My right ear has been through it because I kept bumping it, causing irritation, so it’s a bit sore when touched but never swollen. My left ear has been an angel this whole time, but yesterday I realized that I may have been supposed to do full rotations when moving the piercing. So I tried it and the piercing was resistant, and it hurt but I got it done. I did that again today and had the same result (resistance, pain). If I were to describe it, it’s kind of like the skin is trying to grow attached to the post and I interrupted the process, slightly tearing the skin inside.

Yuck, but is this the proper way to do it or was I doing it correctly at first? The right ear has no problem with full rotation, probably because it’s been disturbed so much.

For background, I got my lobes pierced 2yrs ago and let the holes close bc I lost my studs and didn’t want to put in hoops and potentially tear my earlobes. Scaredy cat but better safe than sorry.

Deets:
2 weeks old
White gold long-post studs (threadless/push-in)
Claire’s Rapid Aftercare Cleanser (came w/ the piercing)

Edit: Thank you for answering my question! Never going to Claire’s again 🫡

Im very early into the healing process of snakebites(day 9) it’s so uneven inside but doesn’t look too bad on the outside. I think if I was to keep them studs it is the only to be okay and hoops are definitely cooked without a re-pierce. Is there a work around or am I am I fated for a re-pierce?

Okay so i dont even know how to start this but i wanted to get my nipples pierced and i had a friend who got hers pierced at a place next to my uni that was cheap. I have a really tight schedule so that was the only place that had a slot open when i could go. i went there and it seemed really clean, and sanitized. The piercer looked professional and the first one almost didnt hurt, in the second one, because i have an inward nipple only on that side, she had to "lift it" with the needle. it was painful but that's normal, and i almost passed out after but its normal for me cause that happened aswell when i got my navel, but the woman was really attentive and preoccupied. during that day it was kinda painful(i got it done at 9 before class) and i went to sleep (there was only a little blood on the left side but i cleaned it with sterilized gauze and saline) i had a 4/10 pain qhen i went to bed, but woke up with no pain at all. today was my second day with them and they almost didnt hurt exept from when i remembered their existence (like a 1/10) pain. but today i was talking to a friend and she said that that piercer is known for her piercings getting infected!!!! i dont know what i should do should i take them out or just take extra good care of them and see if they heal( they are placed properly and look fine dont hurt and i only touched them with sterilized gauze) and also my friend has no problems with hers
my piercing is:
2 days old
normal small nipple piercing jewelry
has not been downsized
only use saline and sterilized gauze for cleaning
hadn't had any issues apart from one drop of blood coming from the left

Hello ! This might be a bit of a ramble and a general question (or multiple) but I've pierced my navel twice due to my first one being done incorrectly (wrong piercing type and too shallow). Despite being pierced correctly to my anatomy, I've come to realise my current one is possibly rejecting after 10 months of having it and I'm devastated. I've booked to see my piercer to see if there's any chance of saving it or if I just need to suck it up and let it go. I have a suspicion it might be because of the extreme humidity where I live alongside the type of tops I tend to wear which can be on the tighter side. My piercing was the calmest in drier weather when I was abroad and it freaked out the second I came home.

Has anyone repierced their navel multiple times ? How did it go ? How long did you have to wait until doing it again ? Was there anything you did differently ?

I'd love to hear about any experiences to see if I should attempt it a third time because I genuinely do love this piercing.

First facial piercing i'm panicking
I got it tuesday so this is day 3

I’m bouncing back and forth as to whether I like this flat or not 😆I liked it a lot when I got it 16 months ago, but now am questioning if the placement actually compliments my ear. I had it pierced with the hope of wearing a larger piece in it, but when I switched to one, I realised that the way my cartilage curves means I can only wear small pieces-larger pieces don’t lay flat against my ear and they spin a good deal.

I’ve decided I either want to:

A- Take the flat out for good and get a helix piercing instead

B- Get another piercing (not sure what) to maybe make me love the flat more, if it complements it. I would only want one piercing though as I’m already not wild about healing another cartilage 😆

The flat still isn’t fully healed, if that makes any difference.

TIA for any thoughts 😊

A week ago, I got jewelry re inserted in my rook after 10 years of not wearing any jewelry. I thought it had closed up but apparently the channel just shrank and my piercer was able to get a barbell in with a taper. I posted in this group a few days ago because I was experiencing a lot of pain from the stretching.

Anyway, that has since subsided. I had 2 solid days where the piercing looked BEAUTIFUL and the pain was a 0/10.

Unfortunately, last night, my dog slammed into my rook and it has looked dreadful ever since. It started bleeding a bit and swelled up more than it ever has and I woke up this morning with some dried blood and crusties. It swelled so much that I’m worried it could envelop the jewelry.

Any advice? I’ve been doing normal aftercare 1-2x per day saline and rinsing it with warm shower water. Oh and blow drying the piercings dry after saline and shower.

The first 3 photos are how it currently looks vs the last photo is how it looked yesterday afternoon BEFORE the accident