No, it’s not infected
I remember the very first time I got my septum pierced at Black Dragon, I was 18. I don”t really consider it my first piercing, same as when I had my lobe pierced at Claire”s when I was 11; it didn”t really count,( you know, like after that one time in high school, you”re still a virgin). I had it pierced on Halloween and wore a septum retainer in it. I kept it flipped up so my mom wouldn”t see it, (I remembered seeing her chase my brother around trying to rip out his eyebrow ring).\r\n\r\nOf course, after I decided to show her the piercing she tried to rip it out. It was pretty ridiculous looking back. But, she looked at it and said it was infected. I went and washed it with dial antibacterial soap and the retainer fell out. She looked at it and said it was infected because there was white discharge coming out of it. Now I know it was at a normal healing stage.
My Mom is a nurse, (which is why I grew up reading medical books. I knew more about anatomy & blood borne pathogens than the average 5th grader). She also thought it would be okay to give me my old unused anit-biotics. This was a big mistake! Within ten minutes, I’m scratching my palms thinking money was coming my way. Then, my neck started itching, my feet, and my face got really hot. I started gasping for breath as my airway started to close up. I had no idea what was going on at the time. Anaphylactic shock. We rushed to the ER and on the way these two bleach blond girls thought we were racing them and kept cutting us off. I got to the hospital and they gave me a shot of adrenaline. After that, I was right as rain. Actually, I was ripped and full of energy.
This is the kind of knee jerk reactions that a lot of people do when they don”t understand what”s going on. The healing dynamics seems to be a mystery to a lot of people, even doctors & nurses. I get a lot of people coming in saying, “It”s infected!” They say it with a little whimper & whine all while poking at the irritated piercing. I answer with, “No, it”s not infected… it”s healing. But, you”re pissing it off.” The body goes through a few stages during the healing period of a wound.
First, all the vessels seal up so that the bleeding stops, but blood rushes to the area to supply it with rich red blood cells. This is called the Inflamation Phase. We need red blood cells to repair tissue. NOT white blood cells. But, we”ll get back to their role. Whats happening is the cells are migrating to the site of injury. We generally don”t get scabs with piercings like we”re use to with cuts & scrapes. The reason is the jewelry seals off the wound and forces the wound to heal around it.
The second stage is where granular tissue starts to grow around the wound. This tissue is pinkish in color because it”s highly vascular (remember, we need red blood cells to heal tissue). Then, epithelial cells start to line the edges of the piercing. This epithelium thickens and become fibroblast tissue. This tissue is more dense and less elastic than epithelium that makes up most of our skin. Fibroblast tissue is what we think of as scars. This fibroblast tissue creates a tube called a fistulla. A fistulla is technically a tunnel connecting two organs, in this case skin to skin.
Final stage is Maturation Phase. Here our newly developed fistula is like a 2 year old child. It”s finding out how to work and fit into it”s new world. The collagen is being synthesised, remodeled, and becoming more organized. Certain anticeptics can interfere with the healing process.
Chlorhexidine is a good anti-microbial agent that doesn’t interfere with wound healing. Bactine probably isn’t great, neither is Pierced Ear Antiseptic, rubbing alcohol, or Hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is simply an unstable molecule: 2 hydrogens per 2 oxygen. When it come in contact with a catalyst (i.e. blood) it speeds up the reaction and become water & oxygen. It bubbles & stings. The only thing it kills is bacteria or viruses that can”t be exposed to oxygen (Anaerobic bacteria or viruses). It also tends to over dry the skin & kill your epithelial skin cells (you’ll notice the skin turns white where peroxide comes in contact). Skin heals better when it”s moist, so drying out the area isn”t good.
You’re probably wondering why it has the crusties & yucky stuff! What I wrote above addresses the cellular workings of repairing tissue. We have different interworking systems which include integumentary system, the circulatory system, and my all time favorite the lymphatic system. What your seeing in crusties is the lymphatic secretions. The way we keep our insides clean is this lymph fluid is leaked out of the blood vessels and kinda hangs around the cells. It picks up any dirty stuff and carries it back to the blood vessels & then gets filtered in the lymph nodes. These are located by the neck (the glands your doctor feels for when you have strep throat), arm pits, inner thighs, and lower abdomen. This is where it gets the yucky stuff out of our blood stream so it doesn”t go back to the heart.
Lymph is like police cars patrolling Los Angeles. They drive around looking for abnormal behavior then bring the hoodlums (pathogens) in for investigation. A detective (B-cell) is sent out to investigate. He finds the gang leaders & their specific gang signs then gets special operation forces (T-Cells) to go attack. These Special Ops only attack the specific gang members and eat them up. They don”t work out of their jurisdiction though; and they don”t kill anything that hasn”t been authorized.
When you see that crusty stuff, it”s just lymph fluid. If the discharge is a white or clear fluid, it”s normal.Piercing infection isn”t very common, contrary to what people will say.
Signs of infection include: Redness that surrounds more than just a halo. It will be inflamed and very hot to the touch. The discharge will be a putrid smelly yellow-green goo. Excessive drainage may be something to get looked at too if it”s red & tender.
If you think a piercing is infected stop into your local piercing shop and let them take a look at it. They’ve probably seen a lot of piercings during the different healing stages and they can tell you if you should get it checked out by a doctor. An infection will have to be cultured to determine the type of infection it may be.
Causes for infection: MRSA or Staphylococcus (staph) is the most likely to cause an infection. This is a bacteria found on the skin and/or in the nose of healthy people. It is usually harmless unless it gets into the body through breaks in the skin. I’m sure you can figure out that touching a piercing with your unwashed hands is the biggest proponent of infection. So-Don”t-Touch-It!
If you think your piercing is infected, don’t remove the jewelry. This is everyone”s knee jerk reaction (aside from unused anti-biotics). Also, don’t put antibiotic ointment on it. The discharge needs to be discharged. It has to get out or else you may develop an absess and it may need to be drained. If you remove the jewelry the ends seal up and everything is stuck inside. If you put ointment on there such as neosporin or bacitracin it will clog the hole and it can”t exude. Plus, it tends to make it more swollen and more goopy & gross.
Moral of the story: Don”t give your kid unused antibiotics, even if you”re a nurse. Always go to a professional, a person who knows or has a good idea about what you”re dealing with. If you don”t understand piercings, don”t use the same methods you would if your little one gets a boo-boo.