How to remove a surface piercing?

SusieBlue

I got my surface tragus pierced for the second time in November. The first time I got it done was 18 months ago and it rejected but I really liked it and wanted give it another go to see if it would stay in this time.

I also have my tragus pierced on the same ear so there is a lot of pressure on the skin on a very small area.

Anyway it healed nicely until I walloped it off a car door (damn winds during the stormy weather) and it ended up getting infected from the smack, and started rejecting to boot. I started cleaning it like a new piercing again and it was JUST starting to look better when it caught off something in work and practically ripped out the piercing.

The skin over the piercing is now extremely thin, it is constantly bleeding and is extremely painful and tender. I can actually see the bar through my skin. This happened Friday but my piercer only works Wednesdays and the other piercer I brought it to yesterday wouldn't touch it because it wasn't his work and it literally looks like my ear is about to fall off.

I can't wait till Wednesday because not only is it an eyesore and very painful but I'm afraid that the skin will literally break off and I'll be left with a scar.

I've been trying to unscrew the ball but I can't get it off, would it be possible to cut the bar with a tiny pliers or should I go to a doctor in the meantime before Wednesday?

Any advice appreciated, thanks!

Adiboo

Get yourself some latex gloves to give you better grip on the balls, that should do the trick.

SusieBlue

No luck with the gloves, and my piercer called in sick yesterday so I couldn't get it out. I went to the doctor yesterday with it and he hadn't a clue what to do with it, spent ten minutes trying to figure out which end of the bar was the screwy bit and then said he wasn't confident touching it. Gave me antibiotics for the infection and told me to go back to the person that put it in.

Do you think another piercer will remove it for me if I sign some sort of waiver? Its almost completely out of my skin now, only maybe 1.5cm of skin covering the bar. I'm tempted to just pull it out at this stage

topcatcbr

WhiteRoses wrote: »

No luck with the gloves, and my piercer called in sick yesterday so I couldn't get it out. I went to the doctor yesterday with it and he hadn't a clue what to do with it, spent ten minutes trying to figure out which end of the bar was the screwy bit and then said he wasn't confident touching it. Gave me antibiotics for the infection and told me to go back to the person that put it in.

Do you think another piercer will remove it for me if I sign some sort of waiver? Its almost completely out of my skin now, only maybe 1.5cm of skin covering the bar. I'm tempted to just pull it out at this stage

Depending on gauge and material you could try using a nail clipper to cut one ball off. Might be worth a try if your desperate

Star Lord

Obviously, removing a migrating piercing is generally a good idea as it can help prevent scarring. However, it's never really a good idea to remove the piercing if it has gotten infected, as this could leave the infection trapped beneath the skin.

Adiboo

Any good piercer will remove it for you. No need to wait for your original piercer.