Irrigation and the Curse of the Never Healing Piercings

[Muddud]

so - after talking with many piercers, most of them have told that while cleaning the outside of a piercing is important, irrigation is important as well and should be included in every cleaning with clear and clean water. now, my question is, how the frick am i supposed to do that?

my lip piercing is NOT a gaping hole where there's ample space around the barbell to flush water through: applying pressure of water from either side isn't going to do anything! obviously a new piercing is not supposed to be taken out and put back in every day. so how the heck does this work?

i've always, always ALWAYS had huge issues with healing piercings - even with the utmost care they can and will get infected on a whim, no matter what i do. but whenever i speak to someone they say flush the piercing with a non-irritant like pure water to clean out the inside as well as the out.

unless someone can tell me how to do that, though, i'm taking the call for any suggestions that have worked for you - i've done the sss, hot presses, tea tree oil, LITHA, taking antibiotics, and just cleaning it with water and soap. they don't change a thing.

i know this sounds like the average whiny thread about infected piercings, but i've already lost two and it certainly isn't to neglect. i'm a**l-retentive about good care, and it's not helping.

any suggestions, aside from losing the piercings altogether? i'd never be able to be mod-free, it'd feel so...repressive.  

[Warninglv100]

For myself, I've figured out that less is more when it comes to aftercare.

I sea salt soak my piercings for the first few weeks (days if I get lazy or out of routine) for cartilage and other finicky sites if they're acting up, once a day for 5-10 mintes. I don't use soap on them, but I wash my hands before I touch them in the shower. I just let them rinse off from the shower water. I only move the healed ones to get and gunk out. If it's still fresh, I just don't touch it at all, just let the water run over it. I'd only let them be "cleaned" in the shower once a day when fresh.

Overcleaning tended to be a bigger problem than overcleaning to me. If you don't touch it or let it get dirty, there's not much need to aggressively clean it. Piercings in the same general area have healed better/quicker for me than the ones I followed more involved aftercare. (Namely two of my outer cartilage piercings versus the other two older ones)

This may or may not work for you, but all I can say is it works for me.

As for your lip, I'd probably just let it rinse in the shower, and use a non-alcoholic mouthwash like biotene if I were you. See how that works for you.

Good luck with healing.  

[All_Wrapped_Up]

My body heals easy. I've never really had to do much to any of my piercings or tats. Just rinse them in the shower. Use mouthwash for my lip piercings. That's just me though.  

[Terragar]

I use something called lense care. It's an aresol can of sterile saline solution.  

[Madame Macabre]

Terragar

I use something called lense care. It's an aresol can of sterile saline solution.

Oh really? I've never heard of that. Sounds like a good idea.  

[Warninglv100]

Terragar

I use something called lense care. It's an aresol can of sterile saline solution.

Don't lens products usually contain preservatives and other chemicals that aren't good for piercings though? I don't know anything about that specific product, but that was my first thought reading that.  

[SquidThroat]

Terragar

I use something called lense care. It's an aresol can of sterile saline solution.

I use H2Ocean, also an aerosol spray.

All my piercings healed up fine. Except last night my three cartilage piercings woke me up in the middle of the night puffy, red, and hurting like hell. I didn't know what else to do so I took them out and cleaned them really well. I don't know what the problem is. I've had them for about 3 years, never had a problem... cry  

[Muddud]

neogramath

Terragar

I use something called lense care. It's an aresol can of sterile saline solution.

I use H2Ocean, also an aerosol spray.

All my piercings healed up fine. Except last night my three cartilage piercings woke me up in the middle of the night puffy, red, and hurting like hell. I didn't know what else to do so I took them out and cleaned them really well. I don't know what the problem is. I've had them for about 3 years, never had a problem... cry

i always hear great things about h20cean - where can you buy it?  

[Terragar]

Muddud

neogramath

Terragar

I use something called lense care. It's an aresol can of sterile saline solution.

I use H2Ocean, also an aerosol spray.

All my piercings healed up fine. Except last night my three cartilage piercings woke me up in the middle of the night puffy, red, and hurting like hell. I didn't know what else to do so I took them out and cleaned them really well. I don't know what the problem is. I've had them for about 3 years, never had a problem... cry

i always hear great things about h20cean - where can you buy it?

Lens plus is the same as H2Ocean, but with more salt, more volume, and cheaper. Some shops carry H2Ocean, but you'd be better off just getting it online

http://www.bodyartforms.com/productdetails.asp?ProductID=1780

Lens Plus: $7.00, 12oz
H2O: $10.00, 4oz  

[SquidThroat]

Terragar

Muddud

i always hear great things about h20cean - where can you buy it?

Lens plus is the same as H2Ocean, but with more salt, more volume, and cheaper. Some shops carry H2Ocean, but you'd be better off just getting it online

http://www.bodyartforms.com/productdetails.asp?ProductID=1780

Lens Plus: $7.00, 12oz
H2O: $10.00, 4oz

I bought my H2Ocean at the shop when I got my eyebrow pierced, it was $11. It works really well.
I'm assuming that Lens Plus works just as well if not better? Where do you find that, regular stores?  

[Muddud]

i hear h20cean is also good for tattoos - izzat true?  

[[NUTs]]

has anybody ever heard of silver aid ninja ? thats what my piercing shop i go to carries. It says it helps promote healing (etc and stuff like that)  

[blessed.into.extinction]

this is probably really late, but just in case someone else wants to try it...I use the syringe I got from the surgeon when I got my wisdom teeth yanked. It's really gentle and gets all the dead stuff out. Aren't I creative... biggrin  

[[NUTs]]

blessed.into.extinction

this is probably really late, but just in case someone else wants to try it...I use the syringe I got from the surgeon when I got my wisdom teeth yanked. It's really gentle and gets all the dead stuff out. Aren't I creative... biggrin

i don't understand.... u use a needle to clean?  

[blessed.into.extinction]

[NUTs]

blessed.into.extinction

this is probably really late, but just in case someone else wants to try it...I use the syringe I got from the surgeon when I got my wisdom teeth yanked. It's really gentle and gets all the dead stuff out. Aren't I creative... biggrin

i don't understand.... u use a needle to clean?

no it's a different type of syringe... it's just a plastic tip with a plunger to help irrigate stuff. it looks just like this: http://www.whelpwise.com/testing/images/feeding-syringe-DSC_0003.jpg