How do you care for an infected naval piercing?

I dont want dull answers. Dont tell me hydrogen peroxide because that delays the healing process and can cause more infection.

I’m really against advising people to use harsh chemicals on fresh piercings, and even more so against using them on infected ones. Chemicals like peroxide don’t only kill bacteria, they burn away tiny layers of healthy skin, too. If you want to treat your piercing well, you don’t want to get rid of even that minute layer of good tissue – that’s very important in healing a piercing. So, you’re right – no peroxide.

Try going to the store and getting a small bottle of antiseptic cleanser, like Hibiclense (with gold, not iodine… it’ll tarnish otherwise) or Betadine. In the shower, clean it the best you can with your usual cleaning methods, and make sure all the soap is rinsed away. Afterwards, clean it with some of the antiseptic cleanser you bought, and make sure it gets worked all the way through the piercing. That’s important. It will most likely sting a little, as your piercing is still fresh, and you’re putting cleanser on an open wound. Once that’s done, rinse it again as much as you can, and when you’re done showering, invert a cup of saline solution over it. The saline should use sea salt, and use about a 1/4 teaspoon per every glass of warm water or so (as warm as you can handle it). Hold it there for five to ten minutes, then rinse it AGAIN. It’s very important to rinse off all of the saline, as you could risk a salt burn otherwise.

After all of this, you should be able to go back to your regular care routine for a few days. If it hasn’t improved, try it again, then wait a few more days. If it still hasn’t gone away, contact your piercer. It could be your body reacting to the metal, or something along those lines, and someone with more experience than me will be needed to help you change the jewelry. =] Good luck.

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