Burnt myself doing a salt soak

Mystic Fibrosis

Hey guys,
I got my lobe pierced with a 2.4 mm ring (unsure of the gauge exactly) on Friday so that when it heals I can stretch it for a flesh tunnel.

I've been using the solution I got to clean it but yesterday I decided to do a salt soak to go a bit further. What I read told me to wait until the water was "as hot as you can handle" and then do it. Evidently my pain threshold is a bit bigger than they assumed, since now I have a rather nasty blister on the tip of my lobe from presumably burning myself.

Apart from feeling really stupid, I'm worried now about how difficult this is gonna make cleaning my still fresh piercing. Should I use some kind of ointment on the blister and that area to help it? I know that you shouldn't use ointments on the piercing area itself so this is gonna be a bit difficult. I'm also worried that if the blister bursts while I'm cleaning the piercing that the lymph might get into it somehow. Is there any way I try and minimize the possible damage now?

Thanks.

garthv

Hah, salt soaks should only be with luke warm water...as hot as you can handle goes straight out the window once youve gotten somewhere pierced. What your skin can handle and what open flesh can handle are two completly different things!

2.4mm isnt all that big so you dont have too much to worry about. Use ice to bring down the swelling and then put some Vitamin E cream on it.

Luu

ow ow ow sorry to hear your troubles
Personally I would stay stay away from Vit E cream- the greasiness on a wound might evoke infections. If you felt you needed anything to ease the dryness- go for germaline or some kind of anti-bac cream. If I were you though, I'd just plain water (boiled then left to cool) soak just get get rid of crusties :P then try cool salt water soaks again.

Fingers crossed for you OP

Purple Person

You may have been reading the instructions for what to do when a granuloma appears, only then do you need to have the water hot, but obviously not scalding hot. The hot water and sea salt compressess are the best way to shrink those little lumps that form.
For your problem though I would still suggest to use the sea salt but let the water cool to a comfortable temperature before applying it. Don't apply and creams or ointments to a fresh piercing as this will just cause it to kick out loads of gunk, just keep your fingers away from it, touching it will transfer bacteria and if the burn gets infected aswell as the piercing then that will be worse still. Try to just clean off any lymph that appears with a luke warm sea salt solution (1/4 teaspoon of sea salt to 1/2 pint of boiled water) and a cotton bud, give it time to recover and don't be tempted to pick at any dry skin that appears just leave it to fall off naturally. If you don't get any improvement or you want a piercer to look at it, I'm in wildcat, St Stephens green, Dublin.

I hope this helps

DeVore

No medical advice please. Sorry to hear about your problems OP.... sounds sore!

DeV.

Purple Person

Do you mean me? Wasn't aware I was giving medical advice. Sorry.

truthinwords

I'm sure it wasn't. Your advice was good and from a professional.

xtruthx

Crumble Froo

ha, wow, when yout hink about it, we probably can't technically give any healing advice....

Star Lord

I think that advice on healing a piercing has to be taken completely seperately from "medical advice"... I would not classify such advice as "medical advice" and I think there is a huge difference. This is not treating an illness of any kind, it is not advising people of things that are really health related, it is solely advice on piercings, and the healing thereof.