Gauge wrote: » First, stop using Caldescene. It's way too harsh and powders are no good for puncture wounds, all they do is clog them up. It seems counter-intuitive but you don't need to use stuff like that on piercings at all. Second, what exactly do you mean when you refer to your piercing getting infected? Was it producing nasty smelling pus, feeling extremely hot, and making you feel unwell/giving you a temperature? If you have a true infection, the only thing you can do is get antibiotics and you should never let an infected piercing close up. They need to drain somehow and a trapped infection is a recipe for disaster. Infections are caused by dirt and germs and can be avoided easily by keeping the piercing clean and going to a hygienic piercer. If it wasn't a true infection, you were most likely experiencing irritation or rejection. Irritation could quite easily have been caused by the antiseptic powder you are using. You don't need it. Salt soaks will help a piercing heal just fine (quarter teaspoon of sea salt to a pint of boiled water, cooled to a comfortable temperature. Pour it into a cup or shotglass and clamp that to your belly for 10 minutes at a time). Navel piercings are susceptible to irritation because of their location, so you need to make sure clothes are not rubbing against them. Irritation can share symptoms with infections like redness and discharge, but it's much easier to deal with. Rejection is the process of a piercing being physically pushed out of your body. Again, it shares symptoms like redness and discharge, but you will notice the skin growing thinner and "shrinking". This can be a problem with navel piercings due to their nature, but you probably wouldn't confuse them with infections/irritation. I think stopping the use of Caldescene, replacing it with sea salt soaks and the rest of the time never touching your piercing will make a big difference to your navel, but if you feel worried you should definitely go back to your piercer so they can check it out for you.
