How to Spot an Infection
According to Dr. Russak, signs and symptoms of an infection include redness, swelling, and pain in the area of the piercing. Of course, this is to be expected for a short period of time after the initial piercing, but when symptoms don't go away or start to get worse over time, that's a warning sign that you should seek medical attention. If you think you have an infection, book an appointment to see your doctor or dermatologist as soon as possible.
A week prior to being diagnosed by Dr. Russak I knew something was up with my piercings. Every time I cleaned my ears with soap and sea salt-sprayed Q-Tips, the cotton swabs were covered in crust and blood. This prompted me to revisit my piercing parlour, a very well-respected and highly Yelp-reviewed establishment to have them check it out. At the piercing parlour, they made no mention that my ear might be infected, and they didn't suggest removing the barbells.
Instead, the very nice, well-meaning piercer cleaned my ears by squeezing out some pus and blood (sorry to the squeamish), and then told me to continue using salt spray and antibacterial soap on the area before sending me on my way. Little did I know that my piercings had become ticking time bombs.
Seven days later, the crew at Russak immediately acknowledged that my ear had become deeply infected. My particular infection manifested as lesions known in the medical community as pyogenic granulomasvascular growths, or PGs for the layperson like me. PGs are typically caused by some sort of trauma, whether intentional (like from a piercing) or as the result of an accident.
Sadly, this meant I had to say goodbye to my earrings and the area of infection had to be cauterised. This is a method that uses a heated tool to collapse blood vessels. It stops a wound from bleeding or prevents infection. The procedure was painless, thanks to some lidocaine injections, and took just a few minutes. To ensure my infection wouldn't linger or spread, I was also put on a round of oral antibiotics, and I was instructed to apply topical antibiotics as well.