What you need to know about Nose Piercing Aftercare

Piercing Types and Healing Time

Whenever you get a piercing, there is a healing process that must occur if you are to have a happy and healthy enjoyment of your new body art. It is essential to understand just how much care you need to give to the pierced area, and what to do if you are unsure about something. Different piercings take more or less time to heal. The average nose piercing takes around half a year to sufficiently close and be free of potential infection. Even if you end up taking more or less time, remember that it’s entirely reasonable as long as you are keeping on top of things. Your artist will give you a set of instructions to follow shortly after getting your piercing, ideally on a piece of paper that you’re able to take home. If you happen to have any questions about the healing process, be sure to let them know and also to make a note of it for yourself.

A Timeline of the Healing Process

Shortly after your piercing, you’ll probably be experiencing some level of pain and discomfort that can bug you. Rest assured that this is entirely normal. The pain of the initial piercing itself should be the worst of it, and after that, all the discomfort you feel is because the area is getting a chance to heal. After a few weeks, your pain level should be going down considerably. You might still have some redness and irritating at the piercing site, but it definitely shouldn’t be feeling any worse than when you first got it. Once a few months pass, your nose piercing will ideally look like a regular part of your expression, with no swelling or redness. Now you can thoroughly clean the pierced area and fully enjoy your new piece of body art.

Step-by-Step Disinfecting

During the healing process, you’ll need to ensure that the pierced area is clear and free of infection by monitoring it. It is a relatively simple process that doesn’t take much time, but it’s crucial that you do at least twice a week; it often to promote healing.

1. Please wash your hands to ensure that they are clean and full of debris.
2. Prepare a saline solution that will adequately disinfect the area.
3. Use cotton balls to touch the piercing with the solution gently.
4. Adequately rinse the area and dab it dry.

Instead of a saline solution, you can use ¼ teaspoon of salt with the same set of instructions. It is important to remember and take the time to clean the area as much as you can each day. Different types of nose piercings have different requirements, so you can experiment with what works best for you and your situation during the healing process.

Cleaning Your Nose Piercing

Some areas of the nose require a bit of a different approach when it comes down to the cleaning process. If you happen to get a septum piercing, cleaning it can be a bit outside of the traditional methods, but the same general rules of cleanliness and monitoring apply. The septum is the bottommost part of the nose. It looks similar to the ring that you may find in a bull’s nose. Due to its location, cleaning it is a relatively simple process.

• During the first few weeks, use a small spray bottle filled with saline solution to mist the area around the septum, since scrubbing and rubbing can irritate the piercing.
• Use a sea salt soaking solution at least once or twice a day to effectively clean the area and keep bacteria at bay.
• Don’t use hydrogen peroxide or any alcohol-based solutions on your piercing, as these can dry the area out as well as irritate the skin.

As with any other piercing, taking note of anything unusual during the healing process is an integral part of ensuring that nothing wrong happens while you’re waiting for your piercing to heal.

Potential Complications and When to Talk to Your Doctor

Like with any piercing, there is always a risk for infection during any stage of healing. Most of the time, however, the highest chances are typical during the initial process when the wound is fresh and more apt to attract and accumulate bacteria. While infections tend to be the most significant risk to everyone, for some individuals, an allergic reaction can also be an issue during the initial application process. If you have a known sensitivity to certain types of metals or materials, have a conversation with your artist about it before getting any jewelry put in. Since most piercing jewelry is stainless steel, there is little to no risk of allergy for most people. However, other, more exotic materials can cause skin irritation that won’t get better unless you remove the jewelry. Prevention is truly the best medicine for allergies and infections, so it’s essential to know the signs as they appear.

Understanding Allergic Reactions

Some people do have allergies to particular types of metals or other materials used in piercings, even if they aren’t necessarily allergic to them when placed on the outer skin. Since piercings create an open wounded area, it’s incredibly easy not just for infectious agents to enter the wound, but also allergens from the materials used. Telltale signs of allergic reactions include excessive itchiness, swelling, and quick development of hives shortly after the application process. If you do have an allergic reaction, take out the piercing immediately. If it is severe enough, it may require antihistamines to reduce the swelling promptly. If you’re ever in doubt about whether or not you’re allergic to a particular metal or material, you can have your doctor run some tests that can adequately tell you one way or the other. Sometimes all it takes is a short round of antibiotics for a few days to curb any chances of the infection from getting worse.

Keeping an Eye Out for Infection

The average nose piercing healing time is around six months, so it isn’t a long period to be monitoring the area for signs of infection. However, knowing the symptoms is essential. If you notice anything unusual, talk with your artist and doctor so that you can nip the potential problem in the bud.

• Redness, swelling, and excessively itchiness are all signs that there is possibly an infection in the exposed area.
• Scabbing that bleeds or weeps fluid is also an indication of an infection that has gone unnoticed and untreated.
• Any other unusual physical signs or discomfort that doesn’t get better after a few days or weeks.

Being proactive with monitoring new piercings is imperative to preventing infection. Even so, there are times and situations that we can’t avoid, so being sure to know the signs is better than thinking you will heal up in time. Even a small infection can cause complications for the long term, so don’t be afraid to have a conversation with your doctor if you think anything is amiss. By doing this, you’ll be better off enjoying your piercing is a happy and healthy way for many years to come.