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ATLANTA
Piercing Signs to monitor
The 3 Stages of Healing
Stage |
|---|
Remodeling Phase |
Proliferative Phase |
Inflammatory Phase |
Typical Duration |
|---|
Months to years (ongoing) |
Weeks to months |
Weeks 1-2 (longer for cartilage) |
What Is Happening |
|---|
The fistula matures and strengthens. The tissue becomes more durable. The piercing becomes truly stable. |
New tissue and collagen are produced. The fistula (the healed channel) begins to form. The piercing may feel fine before this phase is complete. |
The body responds to the wound with redness, swelling, and discharge. Immune cells arrive and begin cleaning the area. Lymph fluid moves through the site. |
Normal Signs - What to Expect
Sign |
|---|
Mild sensitivity after sleeping on a cartilage piercing |
Tenderness when touched or bumped |
Itchiness around the piercing site |
Occasional clear or slightly yellow fluid |
Swelling, especially for oral piercings (first 3–5 days) |
Redness and warmth around the piercing site (first 1–2 weeks) |
White or yellowish crusty material around the jewelry |
What It Means |
|---|
Normal — reduce pressure and monitor. |
Normal during the inflammatory and early proliferative phases. Should gradually decrease over time. |
Often a sign of new tissue forming — a good sign during the proliferative phase. |
Normal lymph fluid. Concerning only if it becomes thick, opaque, colored, or has an odor. |
Expected. Tongue piercings can swell significantly. This is why starter jewelry is longer than what you will eventually wear. |
Normal inflammatory response. The body is doing its job. |
Dried lymph fluid — completely normal. This is the most commonly mistaken sign of infection. It is not pus. It softens during cleaning and flakes away. |
Signs That Need Attention - Come In or Contact Your Piercer
Sign |
|---|
Discharge returning after it had stopped |
Jewelry end sinking into or disappearing beneath the tissue |
Redness, itching, and blistering in a ring around the jewelry contact area |
The skin over the jewelry is becoming thinner or the jewelry is nearly visible through the skin |
A raised bump at the entry or exit point of the piercing |
Firm, raised scar tissue forming at the piercing site (staying within the wound boundary) |
The piercing appears to have moved from its original position |
Likely Cause & What To Do |
|---|
Re-injury, new bacteria introduced, or over-cleaning. Reassess aftercare and come in if it does not resolve within a few days. |
Embedding — the jewelry is too short for the current state of the tissue. Come in promptly. Do not try to force it out yourself. |
Possible allergic reaction to the jewelry material (most commonly nickel). Come in — jewelry material may need to be changed to implant-grade titanium. |
Rejection in progress. Come in soon — removing jewelry while some tissue remains leaves a smaller scar than waiting for full rejection. |
Likely an irritation bump — most commonly caused by sleeping on a cartilage piercing, snagging, or over-cleaning. Remove the irritating cause and simplify aftercare. Come in if it is not improving. |
Likely hypertrophic scarring. Silicone scar sheets and removing the irritating cause can help. Come in for assessment. |
Possible migration — the body pushing the jewelry toward the surface. Come in for assessment. If left too long, migration leads to full rejection. |
Signs of Infection - Seek Medical Care
Signs That Require A Doctor - Do Not Delay |
|---|
For cartilage piercings: severe pain with redness spreading through the ear cartilage and the cartilage feeling hard — this may be chondritis, a serious cartilage infection requiring urgent antibiotics |
Fever, chills, or swollen lymph nodes near the piercing |
The area is significantly hot to the touch |
Pain that is increasing rather than decreasing |
Redness that is spreading visibly beyond the immediate piercing site |
Thick, opaque discharge that is green or yellow with an odor (this is pus — not crusties) |
What to Expect - Stage by Stage
When |
|---|
Week 1–2 |
Weeks 2–8 |
Months 2–6 |
Fully healed |
Normal |
|---|
Redness, warmth, swelling, crusties, mild bleeding on day 1 |
Crusties decreasing, swelling reducing, mild itchiness, jewelry feeling more stable |
Little to no discharge, minimal tenderness, jewelry moving freely, occasional sensitivity if bumped |
No discharge, no tenderness, no redness at rest, jewelry moves freely |
Not Normal - Act on This |
|---|
Thick colored discharge with odor, rapidly spreading redness, fever, jewelry embedding |
Bump forming at entry/exit, discharge increasing, significant swelling not improving after 2 weeks on soft tissue piercings |
Persistent bump, discharge returning, jewelry migrating, significant tenderness returning without obvious cause |
New discharge, significant redness or pain in a fully healed piercing — worth assessing |
When to Contact Studio 219
Quick Reference - Normal vs Not Normal |
|---|
DO NOT: Change jewelry before the healing timeline is complete — feeling healed is not being healed |
DO NOT: Remove jewelry from an infected piercing before seeing a doctor |
SEE A DOCTOR: Spreading redness, thick colored discharge with odor, increasing pain, fever, signs of cartilage infection |
COME IN: Irritation bump, raised scar tissue, signs of migration, jewelry embedding, allergic reaction symptoms |
NORMAL: White or yellow crusties, mild redness in week 1–2, itchiness, occasional clear fluid, mild tenderness |
For The Midtown Location - Contact Fulton County
https://www.fultoncountyga.gov/inside-fulton-county/fulton-county-departments/board-of-health
141 Pryor St. SW
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-612-4000
For The EAV Location - Contact Dekalb County
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