Denisemomof4 Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 the ring threads and comments about metal allergies has me thinking about my ears. I can only wear surgical steel, sterling silver, white gold and yellow gold in my ears. I wear my gold hoops almost daily but occasionally will wear other gold/white gold earrings. If I wear my diamond earrings (white gold) in my second piercing, they almost always get infected. I will wash them down with alcohol before inserting them and will usually soak the backs in rubbing alcohol. I can't think of a reason why my second hole gets infected, or is tender and on it's way to infection, Every Single Time I wear my earrings in that hole. My first holes are fine. Weird, isn't it? Comments or suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkacademy Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 I cannot help but my top holes do the same thing! Funny I have NO issues with the bottom holes I can wear cheap, real or even plastic ear rings. The second holes have always gotten gunky no matter what I have tried to do. Maybe for certain people the higher up the more sensitive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted November 11, 2011 Author Share Posted November 11, 2011 it's strange, really. I've never met anyone with this issue. I used to buy these little plastic tubes with a little disk at the end. I could easily wear earrings in the second hole with those in place. When my dad bought me diamond earrings for my wedding, I always wore them in the second hole. And got infected regularly. When I lost one I got screw on backs put on. WOW did those hurt!!! I had to have them removed due to the infections they caused. My chemistry changed the gold to a black color. :confused: The white gold stays perfectly fine but still infects my ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth in WA Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 No ideas, but I keep 18 gauge captive bead rings in my ears just so the holes don't close up. I don't have to deal with them but can easily clean by turning them. When my 9 year old daughter had an infection in her then-new piercing I put a horseshoe shaped body ring in and kept cleaning without taking that out until it healed. Since they slide freely and don't have to have a bead touching the ear on either side they are easy to clean around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweiss Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 I don't know about the second hole issue, but I want to say that you are lucky that you can wear white gold, sterling silver, etc. I am so allergic to everything that I can only wear platinum! That is why I only have a few pairs of earrings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 Strange. My older daughter had a problem with her ears even after they healed. Any earring we put in would cause an infection. I finally solved the problem by coating the earring posts in neosporin before putting them in and then taking them out to recoat every night until her ears stopped reacting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted November 11, 2011 Author Share Posted November 11, 2011 Strange. My older daughter had a problem with her ears even after they healed. Any earring we put in would cause an infection. I finally solved the problem by coating the earring posts in neosporin before putting them in and then taking them out to recoat every night until her ears stopped reacting. this is a REALLY good idea! Like I said, I rub mine down with alcohol and it didn't help. I think this could solve the problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 I think some white gold is made with nickel. That might be what's causing your infections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elizabeth in WA Posted November 11, 2011 Share Posted November 11, 2011 this is a REALLY good idea! Like I said, I rub mine down with alcohol and it didn't help. I think this could solve the problem! Be careful with the neosporin. My daughter has a penicillin allergy and reacted to the neosporin when I tried that in her ears. She had a full body rash that started on her feet and worked up over a few days. The bright red, blotchy face and hands day was the most fun (not) and only benadryl helped with the itching, especially at night. It seems to get into your blood stream fairly easily from infected holes in ears. We no longer use any antibiotic creams or ointments on her at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 Have you tried earrings in your second holes that work in your first holes? (maybe the metal was mismarked or not a qood quality). Do you tend to leave the earrings in the second piercings longer than the first? I need to remove my studs for a day or two periodically to let my holes rest. Have you tried buying surgical steel backs? The earrings and backs aren't always made of the same material. I am sensitive to metals. I can wear surgical steel, 12k gold or finer( but not 18ct), white gold and platinum. When I put in earrings, I wash the earrings (I put the whole earring in a little plastic container with a lid so I can shake it periodically) submerged in alcohol for 5-10 minutes or so. I wash my ears with a bit of alcohol on a wash cloth, so I don't infect the inside of the hole from the outside skin. Just before I pull them out of the alcohol, to put them in, I wash my hands. :D I then dip the stem in polysporin (not neo-sporin, it contains neomycin) and put it in. Since I started doing this I have zero problems with the same earrings that used to bother me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 I used to buy these little plastic tubes with a little disk at the end. I could easily wear earrings in the second hole with those in place. You can paint the post and back with clear nail polish. I've only done that for earrings I was only going to wear for an evening... otherwise I go with titanium body-piercing hoops. If the gold is turning black, I wonder what else is in it. Gold shouldn't tarnish like that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 My second holes would get infected no matter what earrings I wore. After 20 years of this I coated the post and back in tea tree oil. Now I can wear earrings without irritation. I only use the tea tree oil once, over a year ago. I wish I had tried it sooner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 the ring threads and comments about metal allergies has me thinking about my ears. I can only wear surgical steel, sterling silver, white gold and yellow gold in my ears. I wear my gold hoops almost daily but occasionally will wear other gold/white gold earrings. If I wear my diamond earrings (white gold) in my second piercing, they almost always get infected. I will wash them down with alcohol before inserting them and will usually soak the backs in rubbing alcohol. I can't think of a reason why my second hole gets infected, or is tender and on it's way to infection, Every Single Time I wear my earrings in that hole. My first holes are fine. Weird, isn't it? Comments or suggestions? My dd had a lot of problems with her ears after she got them pierced. She was taking good care of them but still always infected. We talked to our Chiropractor about it and he told us that there is a meridian point in the earlobe and if it is hit with the piercing you can have problems. He did a NAET treatment on her for it and she doesn't have as bad a problem. Still can't wear cheep stuff but can wear good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 I'm the same way--even if I wear "allergy free" earrings mine tend to be tender too.....I can wear allergy free,yellow and white gold,and sterling silver-and surgical steele only Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farouk Posted January 3, 2012 Share Posted January 3, 2012 My second holes would get infected no matter what earrings I wore. After 20 years of this I coated the post and back in tea tree oil. Now I can wear earrings without irritation. I only use the tea tree oil once, over a year ago. I wish I had tried it sooner. amy: Well, this is an interesting solution for the second holes. Since second holes are virtually as standard as the first pair, it does seem odd that second holes can act so differently sometimes, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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