Hello All,
My daughter has had her ears pierced for 9 months. She has never been comfortable changing the earrings, so she usually keeps the same ones in. Tonight I insisted that she change the earrings so we could clean the back of her ear etc. She tried to remove them and couldn't get a hold on the back of the earring. I took over and found that her earring back was pressed tightly against her ear. I was able to get it out, but she has an imprint on the back of her ear the shape of the earring back (butterfly type). It doesn't look infected. The ear is a little red, but no signs of puss or bruising. Has anyone had this happen before? Should we put an earring back in or leave it out at this point? And does anyone know if the imprint will heal or is she going to effectively have a large hole on the back of her ear?
Thanks in advance for any advice or reassurance anyone can provide.
Just put the back on again but make sure it is in that little groove at the back of the post to give her ear room to breathe
I would definitely put it back... You wouldn't want the hole to close! My daughter has had her ears pierced for over 3 years, and if I let her go even a few hours without an earring in it becomes difficult to reinsert them.
I would probably put her pack in the piercing earrings- they should have a snap on back that CANT get too tight... Then buy some screw-back earrings. :)
Fwiw, I always had a rough time with too-tight earrings as a kid. It seemed like they just tightened themselves. Lol. Eventually, I got into the habit of periodically checking he tightness throughout the day by putting my thumb on the post, then pushing the back of he earring to met my thumb. I'm not sure how old your dd is, but maybe it's something you can get her into the habit of doing?
Also... I highly doubt the earring imprint is permanent. It will likely be back to normal by morning.
screw back earrings with a ball back would be better for her.
I've had this happen more than once. The indent always goes away in a couple of hours. Because she's young and her ear may have grown, this may have been tight for a very long time her's may take longer. Of course put an earring back in being careful to not push the back on too tightly. I see no reason for concern.
You describe her ear as only being red and indented without weeping. Leave the earring in so tge hole doesn't close up. Actually if their is weeping and soreness you still want the earring in. My ears get sore and weepy every once in awhile. I put antibiotic ointment on the stud and put it back in. The infection clears up in a couple of days. However, this doesn't seem to be a concern for your daughter.
Unless she's had the piercing for at least a year do not use hoops. The wire is too thin causing the hole to shrink. Then putting in studs will be painful.
I had this same thing happen to me when I was younger & had my
ears pierced.
It could have been on too tight and/or she can be sensitive to metals. I
could only wear gold or silver earrings.
You can try to hypo-allergenic backs.
First clean the infected part w/hydrogen peroxide. That shouldn't hurt, if I
remember correctly. Alcohol would hurt.
Then put the backing back on (again hydro-allergenic would be best) but
don't push it all the way back on. Just a bit onto the back of the post.
Are her earrings gold or silver? Or costume jewelry? I'd get pure silver or
gold so they don't interact w/her body chemistry (through the hole in her
ear).
Don't worry, you should be able to clear this up AND still have her have
pierced ears.
Be sure you clean her ears every night w/peroxide & twist the post so they don't get stuck.
Try putting in hoop earrings for a while.
I agree with putting in hoops for a while. If you do put the posts back in, you could use a pencil eraser for a back until the back of her ear heals. Then, after that, just make sure that every day she loosens the back just a bit so it doesn't get so tight. We always took our earrings off when we went to bed. To this day I don't know how people sleep with post earrings in!
