Children and earrings.

smelltheglove

I just want to possibly warn parents to really pay attention tot heir kids ears even months after piercing, more regularily than I did anyway. My daughter, 7, had her ears pierced for a second time during the summer. White gold earrings. They were cleaned regularily for the first 2 or 3 months and then every once in a while I would look at them and turn them.

Last week she came home with a sore ear, I paid little attention as she said it was inside her ear so a spoonful of medicine and off to bed. During the night when we went to tuch her in her ear was completely swollen, very red and very painful. We took the first earring out, then tried to take the second one out where the ear was swelling up mostly, it wouldnt budge though, off to the docs the next day, doctor removed her earring and prescribed antibiotic cream and medicine.

I had a feelign the back may be stuck in her ear, when we initially checked it the first night there was no back to be seen, but when we tried too remove it the ear bled so we left it for the doctor to do. The doctor couldnt see a back either. She visited the doctor a second and third time in the week just to have the ear checked and on the third occassion the doctor agreed with me that the back was inside so off to the hospital.

The hospital was very traumatising for her, on 3 occasions they tried to remove the back, the first time with just one doc who realised pretty quick he would not do it alone, the second with nurses, my daught had to be forcibly held down, the third with 2 docs and 2 nurses, one doc trying to remove whilst the others held her down along with her daddy, still nothing, the whole procedure was very painful and obviously traumatising for her, she even tried to run from the hospital and people in the waiting room could hear the screams.

We now are waiting for a call to let us know when she can be taken into the day ward and go into surgery to have this tiny tiny piece removed by a surgeon.

All in the name of vanity. I dont want to be a scare tactoc or anything but I do want other parents to be aware of the potential danger of this because trust me seeing this happen to my little girl was not nice at all and all i can do now is say sorry, whether it was a reaction or infection I do not know but if I didnt allow her to have her ears pierced she would not have been put throught this torture.

kelle

Thanks for your post, OP.

I got my ears pierced at 8yo. All was fine for a few months- until I bought very cheap earrings, put them in and left them in. My ears started to get sore after a few days, my mother managed to take one out, but the other was wedged into my ear (with all the hardened pus) so Mum said she would take it out when I would be asleep. She tried, but I would wake up as soon as my ear was touched. I'll never forget going to school and my ear was getting redder and more swollen and I was distressed. My schoolmaster was a vicious brute, I didn't know the answer to a question and he grabbed me by the sore ear and twisted it - I let out an almighty scream, and despite my sobs he laughed at me followed by the whole class (this was 1979 before corporal punishment was abolished). That evening, my mother just held me down and took out the earring and it came out easily - the schoolmaster must have loosened it when he did that to my ear! (NO NO NO - I'M NOT SAYING YOU SHOULD DO THAT TO YOUR DAUGHTER!!!)

Did your daughter have an x-ray to see for sure if the back of the earring was in her earlobe? I'm just amazed they can't seem to find it.
I'm so full of sorrow for what the poor girl is going through, and I hope she will be out of her misery very soon. I have 2 daughters and will leave it as long as possible for them to get their ears pierced (when they can pay for it themselves:D)

smelltheglove

Yeah they xrayed it as they didnt believe me, the back was so tiny, they said she was the first to have her lobe xrayed. Its there alright and they could see it but they couldnt get to it properly, her ear healed up so quickly witht he antibiotics that they think it may be wrapped in fresh tissue, any time they got a hold it would slip away, which is why she had to endure the torture for so long. The earrings were white gold so nt very cheap either, they are the first paid of white gold earrings she has worn though.

January

Your poor DD smelltheglove!

I think this is why I shall not be letting my daughter get her ears pierced until she's old enough to get it done in a piercing parlour by a professional using a needle and not a gun! She'll be old enough to look after it herself then and any repercussions will be her own and not mine!

smelltheglove

adrieanne__x wrote: »

Your poor DD smelltheglove!

I think this is why I shall not be letting my daughter get her ears pierced until she's old enough to get it done in a piercing parlour by a professional using a needle and not a gun! She'll be old enough to look after it herself then and any repercussions will be her own and not mine!

Good idea, I dont think my daughter will be putting anything near her ears for a long time, she seems to be having trouble going to sleep now but honestly I dont blame her at all, it was a big enough ordeal, that has yet to finish, I am expecting a call from the hosp tomorrow to arrange the removal, hopefully she'll be better this time, but she has already voiced concerns about waking up during the procedure. She had a skin tag removed once while she was under and it did not phase her one bit but I fear this will put her off hospitals for good.

Kimono-Girl

while reading your post it reminded me of my friend, simular story only she got her ears pierced at 16 years old, one day she noticed a lump behind her ear, the lump developed into a little sore red mark which grew as the weeks went by, she went into hospital to see a specialist, he recognised what it was before she had the lump removed, it turned out to be a back of one of a cheap pair of earrings. the back had lodged in her ear. she was told at any age never to wear earrings to bed as he had seen a few cases where backs have lodged in the ear. apparently it has become a common problem with earrings lately.

cbyrd

my eldest had her ears pierced at 7 and this happened not to such an extent i was able to yank it out myself with some tears... so now we buy the extra large backs with the big plastic surround on them it's just backs and they sell them in claire's and accessorize's she's like me and has sensitive skin so the plastic doesn't irritate..

hope this helps someone...!

smelltheglove

Well I called Claires today and informed the manager of the situation, I explained I was not looking for anything as I was aware that I had signed a declaration and the poor girl was so apologetic. She said she had never heard of this extreme before but honestly I do believe it is down to the tiny size of the back, I mean yes she had a reaction/infection which is fair enough but had it been a larger back it is unlikely it would have been enclosed in her ear or that the doctors would have such a job to get to it.

The manager asked would I call the customer service as I would be able to explain the situation better. So I did, the girl there was not quite as apologetic or helpful, very much if it was a reaction you would have noticed it sooner, this can happen with any size backs etc etc etc. I explained that I had gotten both daughters ears pierced, the youngest had to be done a second time after hers fell out, so 3 piercings with the same earring, both sets fell out of the 2yr olds ears so after forking out a second time I would not go a thrid, these were both with the initial piercing backs, which are larger and had to be replaced after 6 weeks, the 7 yr olds lasted and the backs were changed to the smaller ones a few weeks back. I reittirated numerous times that I wanted to make them aware of the problem with these tiny backs, that even the doctors were astounded by it, and she did offer a refund on that particular piercing, as a gesture of goodwill which I did agree to accept but I did continually reitterate that these backs are waaaay too tiny.

The plastic backs are a good ides, although I dont know if my little girl will wear earrings again but for anyone else reading, yes do invest.

Miaireland

I know how your daughter feels smellthe glove. I got a back of an earring lodged into the back of my ear when I was a child.

I also had to have surgery to remove it. The surgery itself was fine although I was left with a hard lump in my ear that is only starting to break down now 20 years later.

I have since got my ears piereced again and fine that I am very sensitive. I can only wear earrings for a couple of hours every few months.

eviltwin

My daughter got her ears done in Claires too when she was 7. She's now 12.

At the time the girl talked us through everything about taking care of the studs, we bought all the right solutions and made a point of doing the cleaning routine religiously but she still ended up getting a bad infection in one of her ears that took two months to clear up.

5 years on she refuses to get her ears pierced again.

Nothing against Claires as a company and I'm sure the staff are trained but I think if I was ever to get anyone's ears done again I would go to somewhere that isnt staffed by a bunch of teenagers. Its not worth the hassle.

Das Kitty

I really think piercing guns should be banned. They basically use brute force to rip through the tissue. It's brutal. When compared to the needles used in piercing parlours there is no comparison. I'd much prefer to have someone who's trained properly (not a 1day course) pierce mine or my child's ears using the correct implements rather than someone who does it as part of their job selling kid friendly accessories using one of those horrific guns. I know bringing a kid into a piercing parlour might seem weird but to me it would be the only option. Or no piercing.

LordSutch

Surely getting your daughters ears pierced (while still at primary school) is far too young?

Khannie

Camelot wrote: »

Surely getting your daughters ears pierced (while still at primary school) is far too young?

Why?

Seems (very clearly) to me to be a decision for the parent in question.

username123

Khannie wrote: »

Why?

Seems (very clearly) to me to be a decision for the parent in question.

I disagree. I dont think parents should be having permanent body modifications done on children. Im speaking from personal experience. My ears were pierced (decision made by my parents) at age 7. I hated it. I hated wearing earrings. After a year or so I moaned so much that I wasnt made to wear them but now as an adult, I hate the holes in my ears. Even now, almost 30 years later, they occasionally get infected. I personally dislike piercings - Im not against other people having them, but I just abhor them myself. I did discuss this with my parents when I was older and my mother was shocked I felt so strongly about it. A lot of people dont mind having pierced ears. I do. And it cant be changed, the holes are there to stay - yet Ive not worn earrings in nearly 30 years.

A parent wouldnt be inclined to have a child of 7 tattoed - so why pierced? Its a body modification and as such should be treated with the same gravity as tattooing, scarification etc.. Is it because its just more culturally acceptable I wonder? What about clip on earrings, cant they be used instead of permanent holes in a childs ears?

OP - Im sorry you have had such a bad experience with your childs ears. I hope her surgery goes well with minimal scarring/lump.

miss no stars

Sorry to hear about your little one's ordeal OP... multiple piercings (some infected) on, a couple of things struck me here

1. these kids should have proper kiddy earrings that have a thicker stem to go in the ear that narrows to the normal diameter outside the lobe. It means you can't over tighten the back on to it, something which in itself causes reactions

2. most places like claires have daft routines for cleaning that end up with ears being overcleaned, which also leads to reactions. Clean once a day only, with a cue tip dipped in warm water and a little anti-bacterial soap for sensitive skin, then wipe off with a cue tip dipped in warm water. Don't remove the jewellery to do this, just clean around it gently knocking off any hardened puss.

3. piercing guns aren't ideal, especially if used with a freezing spray to numb the ear. However, while not ideal, they are OKAY for lobes. For anything else, off with ya to a proper piercer!

smelltheglove

Camelot wrote: »

Surely getting your daughters ears pierced (while still at primary school) is far too young?

In fact I was of the same opinion, my husbands family like lttle girls getting the ears pierced and were always asking me but I dont, I only pierced her ears under pressure from herself, even the 2 year old was constantly asking. Now at 3 she is always telling me she misses her earrings... they fell out within weeks of piercing.

I always hated seeing babies with ears pierced so when I was asked when she would have her ears pierced when she was just a baby there was no way I'd do it. She is a mad little thing and very advanced for her age, a right little yapper so inf act even she asked me daily to have her ears pierced and when they were she showed everyone, even the girls in the shops, she was so proud.

My advice from now on is going to be what my inital decision was, dont pierce kids ears, I had mine done for my communion and it was all I expected to be done for my own kids, I just regret now that I gave in and did it sooner.

To the more reccent post, these earings actually did thin as they went down to a little point and they had markings for where to close to to prevent extra tightening too.

taram

miss no stars wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your little one's ordeal OP... multiple piercings (some infected) on, a couple of things struck me here

1. these kids should have proper kiddy earrings that have a thicker stem to go in the ear that narrows to the normal diameter outside the lobe. It means you can't over tighten the back on to it, something which in itself causes reactions

The problem with this, and what I found on both my own earrings, those of the child I mind is that you end up with a enlargened hole, so the minute you switch to normal earrings, the back (or front!) will get lost inside the ear. Ideally you'd be pierced normally, without a gun, then get a large back and front, so the ear lobe has a normal sized piercing. I have a lot of piercings, and the ones I got done with a gun are noticeablly bigger.

eviltwin

Camelot wrote: »

Surely getting your daughters ears pierced (while still at primary school) is far too young?

It should be up to the child imo

Personally I would have been quite happy never to get my daughter's ears done. I don't have mine done so its not something that had even crossed my mind but she started asking me from about the age of 5 and wouldnt shut up about it.

7 to me is a fairly responsible age to make that decision. I'd had two years of badgering at that stage so I was pretty sure it wasnt a phase she was going through. Any younger though and I wouldnt agree to it and I hate seeing babies with their ears done...it looks horrific

littlebug

Oh the poor girl I hope she gets through it all without any more major truma. I:( . My 7 year old has mentioned getting her ears pierced a couple of times but it's a definite no no....esp after hearing that. I think 11/ 12 years is plenty of time. Lots of her friends have theirs done though.... there is a real peer pressure element unfortunately.

smelltheglove

News in is that the op will be in the next 2 -3 weeks, now I just have the job of trying to keep it clean, she still wont let me take the plaster off that the doc put on so i think a shower as opposed to a bath, that way she cant easily protect it from the water.

Its amazing the amount of people who have told me that this has happened to them or a family member before, the only one I heard as extremem though is here on this thread with another poster mentioning an op. I suppose from now on I go with my gut instincts rather than what the child wants.

Fad

An aunt of mine got her (<1 y.o) daughter's ears pierced with a gun.......I was slightly baffled tbh.

This is ignoring how ridiculous babies with pierced ears look.....

Oryx

Kids shouldnt wear earrings with tiny backs, or very small studs. I know Argos, particularly, used to always issue a set of plastic backs with any gold earrings likely to be worn by kids, with the advice that the smaller backs should not be used by children.

Re the infection, its hard to stop kids touching their ears with unwashed hands. That alone can get them infected. If ears get infected, take the earrings out straightaway. Who cares if it closes up?

I think children should wear small sleeper hoops, as they avoid all the issues with backs, and the lighter ones will usually pull open and come out if accidentally caught.

Eyeofthetiger

Hi smelltheglove,

I just wanted to say thanks for posting this thread, my 5yr old has been at me for the past while as it seems everyone older and younger than her is getting their ears pierced!

This is definitely the kick up the proverbial I needed to continue saying she'll have to wait!