How to Prevent Keloids on Ear Piercings?

How to Prevent Keloids on Ear Piercings?

How to Prevent Keloids on Ear Piercings?

Piercing of ears on various points is much trending than ever it was. But if you don’t take care of your ear piercing and don’t follow some basic precautions, the keloid may develop which once develop, are not only difficult to treat but also in some cases goes on spreading.

What are keloids?

Keloid is actually the type of scars but is much raised than other types of scars. Whenever we got an injury, intentionally or unintentionally, the healing process starts.

During the healing process, collagen tissue starts to accumulate at the site of injury, lately become scared. In the case of keloid, scars grow aggressively larger than the wound itself. So the keloid becomes the raised outgrowth on any wound.

After ear piercing, the keloid is likely to develop either on ear lobes or on cartilaginous tissue of ears. Keloid can be of different colors and different sizes. They vary from light pink to dark brown in color. May start from small outgrowth and goes on spreading with time.

You can prevent Keloid formation after the ear piercing by:

  • Visit a qualified ear piercer
  • Maintain good hygienic conditions
  • Use of properly jewelry
  • keep the ear-piercing site dry and clean
  • Use a new and disposable needle

Keloids are exaggerated outgrowth on piercing site due to healing aggressive healing process. They are not the type of tumor or cancer as many people consider it as tumor or cancer. As they are not tumor or cancer, it doesn’t mean that they are safe and need no attention. Still, they require your property attention as they may come with negative effects.

Keloids not necessarily develop by improper piercing but your body knows well about your conditions. Some times a minor piercing can give rise to aggressively large, raised keloid.

How to Prevent Keloids on Ear Piercings?

Keloids especially on the ear after piercing may kill someone’s confidence and people may feel uncomfortable with keloid. To treat keloid is not easy. Once they develop, they may further increase in size. Moreover piercing ear keloid should be considered different than other keloids. Prevention is always better than cure and in case of ear piercing keloid, it’s 100% true.

It’s really really difficult to treat keloid but your some precautions can greatly reduce the chances of keloid to develop.

Do you really want ear piercing?

This is the first thing you should consider before piercing. Some times, we are impressed when one of our friends pierced her ears. Not everyone is created equally and so not everything which suits others must suit you. I have seen many cases where people have regret after piercing. So first make sure you really want piercing. If you are not sure, then better to wait and think about it.

Locate the point on ear where you want piercing and think for a few minutes that really it will work for your beauty or not. Because the only purpose of piercing ear is to have an attractive look but if it’s not on the exact position, it can go against.

Piercing can come with a lot of complications like a keloid, you should take it seriously. First think about it properly and then go for it.

Always pierce from professional

Piercing is a difficult procedure and should only by performed by professionals. Don’t attempt at home by yourself or don’t piecer from an untrained person. Don’t take piercing lightly. For your little ignorance, you may have to pay a lot. You should be careful at every step of piercing ear.

For piercing, first, search a nearby piercing studio and make it confirm that the workers there are properly trained. Always pierce from a licensed piercing faculty and make sure they are properly aware and meeting the piercing regulations.

Ask the piercer to wear gloves if he didn’t

Some times due to negligence or some times the piercer forget to wear gloves. He works all day and may forget to change our wear gloves. No one can care about you more than you. You must have to be mentally active and notice if he changes or wear gloves or not.

Because sometimes after piercing a person, they start piercing another without changing gloves. If your piercer is doing the same, then ask him to stop at the moment and to wear or change the previously wear gloves.

It’s necessary from a hygienic point of view. There are chances that bacteria or any other pathogen may into your bloodstream through piercing opening. Piercing provides door to enter pathogens into your bloodstream. So as it’s a sensitive procedure, wearing gloves of the piercer is necessary and any ignorance can lead to keloid formation.

Make sure that piercer is using a fresh, sterile, disposable needle for piercing

To prevent the keloid and other serious infections it’s necessary to use fresh, sterile, disposable needles for piercing. At some piercing institutes, use of piercing guns is very common for ear lobes piercing but piercing guns can’t be entirely sterilized, can damage eat tissue according to Association of Professional Piercer.

It’s observed that people who pierced with guns are more likely to develop keloid than those who pierced with fresh, sterile, disposable needles.

Use sterilized non-disposable piercing equipment

If the piercer is not using disposable equipment, then ask him if he sterilized the equipment properly in an autoclave. An autoclave is sterilizing equipment using heat to kill bacteria and other pathogens. With unsterilized equipment, chances of keloid formation increase several times.

Use of proper jewelry

Wearing improper jewelry after piercing is the main cause of keloid formation. Some kind of jewellery are more likely to develop keloid than others. Plastic or iron jewelry is more likely to form keloid. Using a piece of clean jewelry can also reduce the risk of developing a keloid.

Platanium, titanium, Stainless Steel or of high karat gold of 14 – 18 may minimize the chance of keloid.

Maintain proper cleanliness of your ear piercing

The main factor is cleanliness. Keloids formation usually start-up or progress due to unhygienic conditions of the piercing site. It’s crucial to keep the piercing site clean. For cleaning the piercing site, first, wash your hands with soap properly. Then with surgical cotton, clean the piercing surface twice a day. You may use any disinfectant like Dettol, Payodine, etc to kill germs. It’s also recommended to keep dry your piercing surface as much as possible.

I have seen many cases where people wash out the piercing surface many times in a day just to keep it clean, it is not a good practice. A moist surface is a lovely place for fungus or bacteria to grow. And you knows that keloid occur more frequently in the presence of bacteria or fungus.

Stay away from the swimming pool

Swimming in the pool should be avoided when you pierce your ears or any other body part. Most of the swimming pools don’t maintain the proper hygienic conditions which are alarming for your newly pierce point.

Although chlorination can reduce the risk of developing germs it’s not entirely a good option and also chlorine can also be harmful to your piercing.

Avoid rubbing the piercing

Many of the people use to rub piercing just because at the time is scaring, it feels somewhat like itchy. With rubbing it frictions, the piercing may become red and even may bleed. And the worst piercing tends to keloid.

Don’t touch your piercing even with wash hands. Friction is produced due to rubbing, which generates heat the site of piercing, which increases the blood flow and your ear piercing may bleed.

You only reason to touch your ear piercing is for cleaning. Otherwise, keep your hands away from it. And also for cleaning, you must have to use surgical cotton, not your hands.

Keep wearing jewelry in a pierced ear

Until your piercing heals properly, keep wearing jewelry, but only wear from above-mentioned jewelry. If you don’t wear jewelry, your piercing may close and on the other side, it becomes the perfect site for pathogens growth. Piercing takes from weeks to even months to heal up. Wait for the piercing to heal to remove jewelry.

Take action if piercing starts to turn red

Have keen observation of the site of the piercing may help you from preventing keloid. At the site of piercing, if you feel redness or swelling or if the piercing site is getting thicken, then don’t ignore it. Immediately go to your doctor. It’s the start of keloid. It’s time to wear pressure earrings.

Pressure earrings reduce the chances of keloid formation or may prevent a keloid from further processing.

Don’t pierce your ear if you already have keloid

If in the past, you have keloid at your ear by piercing then avoid piercing again on your ear. If your ear has keloid in past, means your skin is more likely to prone keloid.

If you already have infection or allergy then don’t pierce your ear

Ear with an allergy or any other infection more easily develop keloid after piercing. Allergic reactions or infections are due to bacteria or fungus and if you pierce at the site of infection or allergy, chances of keloid increase several times.

Factors which increases the chance of keloid formation after ear piercing

For today’s question, How to Prevent Keloids on Ear Piercings? This is a must-read. There are many factors which influence the keloid formation. Not all the people are at equal risk of developing a keloid.

Skin tone

People with darker skin tone are at more risk than with lighter for the formation of keloid at the site of ear piercing. Keloids are more common among African, Asian or Hispanic descents. Darker people with a large amount of melanin are at more risk.

Age

There is a certain age limit at which keloid formation is at top. Age between 10 – 30 is favorite for the ear keloid. Research proves that keloid formation is more common among people of the age of 10 to 30. There are very rare cases where people with age greater than 30 develop keloid after piercing.

Genetics

Those with a family history of developing keloid from piercing are more likely to get keloid from piercing. If parents have keloid from scaring, the child has greater chances to have keloid from piercing. In more than half cases, people who develop keloid have a family history. You can find at least one family member has a keloid problem.

Allergy

People who have any type of skin allergy are more prone to develop keloid than others.

Final words

Keloids on-ear due to piercing have not any solid reason to develop but by taking above certain precaution and focusing on factors, which increase the chance of keloid formation, you better able to reduce the risk of developing keloid from piercing.

Precautions are the only thing which is in your hands because once they start to develop, they are difficult to treat. Sometimes they not snatch your confidence but also comes with other complications like pain, discomfort, bleeding. Do your best to avoid them as possible as you can.

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