Stinky piercings

[Kraven de Sade]

Okay, basically, I have several (4, to be exact) ear piercings that smell bad after a while. I clean them constantly, and they've gotten to the point that they don't need anything special to prevent infection. Two are 12 guage, 2 are 8 guage. And yet, they constantly smell (nasty) after a while. Does anyone know what I can do to keep the stench away?

Also, I have other holes (8 altogether, all 16 guage) that don't stink at all.

[killer_asian_Dax]

OOOOHHHHH!!!!! Good question!!! I've just got my two 2gauges and am so annoyed with having to clean them every other day.

There HAS to be a way to keep them from stinking without having to clean them all the time!

So far- I've just gotten frustrated and now I only clean them once a week. Disgusting- I know, but until I figure out a way to keep them from smelling- that's the best I can do. IF you don't touch them- the smell won't come out. It's only when you mess with them- it's like opening a stink valve in your ear. But ya.

Anybody have the answer to this! PLEEEEEEEEEASE!!!! I'm desparate for the answer!!!!!

[Kraven de Sade]

Well, it could be worse... It could be stinky nose piercings...

[Lucretia_my_Reflection]

Are you turning the rings often enough, are they streached pierceings or normal ones. If there streaching at the momment they are going to smell for awhile.

[Kraven de Sade]

The 12s are normal. The 8s are stretched, but it's been about a year since. They just collect gross goo and start smelling.

[Minyaliel]

Once healed: the jewelry may not move freely in the piercing; DO NOT force it. If you fail to include cleaning your piercing as a part of your daily hygiene routine, normal but smelly bodily secretions may accumulate.

This is from http://www.safepiercing.org/bodyAftercare.html, I guess you know all of this already, but I suggest you read it just one more time

And having a smelly nose ring would be horrible... *laughs*

[vampyremage]

Cleaning piercings, especially stretched piercings, is just an unfortunate necessity of life. However, I have found that when I got some horn tunnels for my stretched lobes the smell went down considerably. You might try finding some organic jewelry and use that for a while. Oftentimes it helps cut down the smell.

And as far as smelly nose piercings go, yes my septum must be cleaned at least once a week or begins to smell just like any other piercing. Trust me, its none to pleasant. Thankfully its pretty easy to avoid just so long as a remember to clean it regularly.

[Vako]

This is my new favorite thread !!!

Stinky Piercings !!!

[Haunted House]

I had a spider stud in my ear once and it must have been made out of some kind of poisonous metal because it got all infected and started to scab up. It got so scabby that it looked like I had a ball of dryed blood and pus as an earing.

[c130]

HH - there was probably a high nickel content in the earring. That's what happens when you have a reaction to nickel, and it's really common for piercings to go nasty when you've got a cheap bit of jewellery in it.

-----

The smelly piercing is due to "ear cheese", aka dead skin cells that can't shed naturally because the jewellery's in the way. It happens with all piercings, but it's most noticeable with large-gauge piercings since they've got a large area of skin unable to shed properly.

've heard lemon juice rubbed into the piercing can stop the strench for a while.
Natural, porous jewellery (wood, bone, etc.) can also help.
Smooth metal is the worst for having smelly ears - no idea why.

But whatever you do, take your jewellery out and clean the holes daily with some gentle soap to get rid of the buildup of dead skin cells so you won't start smelling funky.

[Delicate_Torture]

Your breath smells when you don't brush, your pits smell when you don't shower, your clothes smell when you don't wash them... seeing the point here?

Just turning them and washing with soap and water in the shower should be enough to stop them smelling. The inside of your piercing is a body surface, and therefore it needs to be cleaned or it will get funky.

Didn't your mother teach you to wash behind your ears?

[Attitude_Stricken]

It's dead skin and soap that wasn't completely rinsed away. Skin cells turn over in about a week so you're going to have to remove the dead skin cells every week, sorry. Make sure you rinse all the soap/shampoo/conditioner away. Also hair products and perfumes/cologne can build up around piercings and really irritate them.

[Underwater Ophelia]

If you're using a plastic or metal piece of jewelry, that's the problem. It's not necessarily an infection, it's just the reaction.
If you get organic jewelry, like bone or wood, it doesn't stink.

[c130]

It's not a reaction, it's just dead cells.



If you hate someone, take your jewellery out and stick a finger in the piercing. Rub it around a bit then hold the defiled finger under your enemy's nose. O_O