[mateosmama2005]

Does anyone have their Tragus' pierced?? I feel stupid asking here but don't know where else to ask!!
I got both mine pierced not even a week ago and theyre swelling...and hurt! My piercer told me not to clean them with ANYTHING....any one who has it done have any advice?? Thank you ladies!

[Iconised Ghost]

I havent, but ouch >.<

[kristilinn13]

I don't have mine pierced, but several of my college friends did. But they always cleaned them 2-3 times a day with a disinfecting solution for several months!!

[HaleyisLove]

I have mine and have had it for probably 4 years... you have got to clean them... you can use antibacterial soap but thats a bit messy... I always used bactine spray for all of my piercings... you just spray it on a few times a day and you're set...you can even use a q-tip and move it around some... also make sure to move the ring around

[duckyyellowfeet]

yep, i have mine pierced. I didn't have any issues, but here is the advice I got.

Pull your hair back to avoid it getting caught in the piercings. This can hurt and irritate them holes.
Try your best to not get shampoo or conditioner in them.

I would try a salt water soak. If you put salt into a shot glass and add warm water, you can place the shot glass over the piercing. Its hard to do, so practice with an empty glass first (cause you don't want to dump a bunch of water in your ears!)
Otherwise, if you get an unscented soap (like dial) that isn't anti-bacterial, you can gently clean the area with a q-tip and some warm water.

http://www.bmezine.com/index.html has a lot of good, sound advice for taking care of piercings (but it can be a little NSFW in some of the pictures)

Good luck!

[mateosmama2005]

Haley-what brand is the bactine spray??
Ducky yellow feet- So for the salt water clean, is it just tap water n regular salt??

[DivineFidelity]

I know you're not supposed to use alcohol on piercings because it dries them out...but when i just use soap they get infected...I've always cleaned mine with alcohol...I don't clean them often, but when they start to feel like they're getting infected a little bit of rubbing alcohol on a q-tip has always worked for me. Sometimes it does burn a lot though...lol

[mateosmama2005]

OUCH alcohol seems like it would burn lol!!! I called my piercer and he said to soak a chamomille bag and then put in on my ear...never heard of this...

[DivineFidelity]

When I got my nose pierced, the piercer told me not to clean it, and if I absolutely HAD to..that I should only use soap. That was such bull. For like 2 months it was infected, I cleaned it like 5 times a day with soap...it did nothing...I ALMOST think it made it worse...I gave up and cleaned it ONCE with alcohol then left it alone for a day, and by the next morning the infection was almost gone and it wasn't red and swollen anymore. I swear by alcohol..even though everyone says I'm crazy. lol

[JadeBlue14]

I don't have a tragus piercing, but did have 11 between both ears at one point. Only one ever went south and that was due to a missed hole incident. I always use peroxide. I clean my earings with them before i put them in, and if my piercings start feeling itchy, I'll soak some on with a cotton ball. I's been working so far.
Is it cold where you live? The cold seems to irritate my piercings way more than anything else, so protect those ears!

[Lizzie2010]

When I got my belly button pierced and it was swollen, I was told not to use soap, alcohol, peroxide, etc. at least for the first month or two. I used salt water spray to clean it throughout the day, then I used witch hazel (super cheap, it's like $2 for a big bottle) and liberally soaked the piercing with it. Witch hazel is often part of hemorrhoid medicine, so I think it's anti-inflammatory... Well, whatever it does, it helped me! Good luck!

[paradoxx]

My fiance is a master piercer (the "master" is for years licensed in the state) locally. He does tons of Tragus piercings and he tells his clients to clean them with sea salt (not plain salt, but in the same part of the grocery store) and warm water. He tells people that they can use non-scented, antibacterial soap (clear gel, like Softsoap) in the shower, but to NEVER use alcohol, bactine, neosporin, etc.

Also, if there is a place in your area that sells H2Ocean piercing spray (I know that hot topic stores carry it), that is even better than sea salt water.

I know that he has discussed piercing care in detail with many doctors and that they agreed that this was the best possible advice for clean healing. Hope that this helps!

[mateosmama2005]

Thank u all very much for the info!! I am going to start cleaning them although my piercer says not to!!