I cant tell if my belly button ring is infected or

[xpinky21x]

yesterday, i tryed to pierce my belly myself with a needle that had been put in boiled water. i know it was stupid etc but my mum wont let me have it done and so she doesnt know. so the needle went through both holes but then the belly bar would only go so far ( nearly to the end ) and then stop ! so it hurt that much i just took it out and left it. i also tryed to get it throu the bottom hole but t just wouldnt go the hole way. i washed it with salt water and went to bed. now, both holes look kindov black ish ?! with red around them too. there is no puss so i dont know weather the black is just bruising or infection ! im really worried :S does anyone know weather its infection or just bruising? x

Okay first off.What kind of needle?Was it proper piercing material or some needle you got out of a sewing kit or off a syringe? I'd think it could be bruising as well as an infection.It may also be the metal wearing off on the skin if the needle is cheap copper and silver coaked.Like if you put a fake ring on your finger turns green and black?You Know?I'd clean it real good and don't do anything like that again lol inless it's professional.

[xpinky21x]

Everytime i sit down my belly bar goes up and all the bar sticks out the top and the bottom ball is like gone right up to the whole is that normal also, my skin seems to be really thin, does that mean that my body is rejecting the bar?
please help x

As far as the bar pushing up and all that, it's all normal sweetie :] It's just the way your sitting no worries. But if the skin feels and looks thin then yes, there's a possibility you are rejecting the bar, it may also be just the metal.Try Surgical Steel.

[xpinky21x]

Hey
im wonderin if you can help me
i have had my belly button pierced for 3 weeks now
and it is still red and sore... i have been cleaning it and everything
there is no puss coming out
do u think its infected?

That normal as well, Here is what to normally expect with a navel piercing..

*Soreness
*redness around the holes
*A bit of discharge(White,Clear sometimes grayish)
*Bleeding

What you shouldn't be expecting...

*Excessive bleeding
*Pusing(Greenish,Yellow)
*Any smells
*Swolleness
*Extreme Pain
*The skin thinning around the bar
*Alot of bar showing

This may be signs of an infection or signs that you are rejecting the bar.

Things that you may or may not experience like other people, but is totally normal.

*Keloids(purpish pink bubbles or scar-like forms around the hole)
*Discharge(normal kind) for up to 9 months.
*Pimple like forms( its just dirty and stuff, like a normal pimple DONT POP IT.Clean it.)

If you do feel like you may have an infection clean it thoroughly.NOT EXCESSIVE.2-3 times a day is plenty.Any more and your doing more harm than good.DO NOT TAKE IT OUT.It will seal the infection inside.Take antibotics and clean it good.You may also go and see your piercer.NOT A DOCTOR.They will just tell you to remove it.You DO NOT have to remove it.Just be smart and clean it.It may take a bit longer for some, but if you do it right you'll be fine.

If you think that you ar rejecting it.TAKE IT OUT and or go to your piercer for an opinion.If you don't wish to do that change the type of metal you use.Preferably Surgical Steel.

If you recently pierced your Navel.You HAVE to wait a minimium of 6 months before you change it.It is true LONGER THE BETTER. can't stress that enough.It take 6-12 months to heal fully, for some even longer.
Don't touch, pull, poke and try to avoid snagging your piercing.
One last thing...STAY AWAY FROM HOT TUBS AND SWIMMING POOLS!!!I guarantee you an ifection if you do so.I'm currently dealing with that mistake.I didn't listen to my piercer and I ended up with one. Any questions email me. [email protected]

[xpinky21x]

i have had my belly button pirced for 5 weeks on mondae and it is still red around the top ball its not much jst so you can c it owt the edges it pusses sum times and i dont know if its infected or im jst ova reacting [/list]

it's infected. pus definately means there is an infection.

People get pus and discharge mixed up.Theyre different.Her belly is normal.It will do that nowif its coming out green oryellow than yes it is.

[xpinky21x]

I am having the exact same problem...Mine is killing me, the top hole is stretched looking plus now starting to form a scab including puss....it's so cute but pretty gross. I'm wondering if I need to go to a doctor or just keep cleaning it.
I'm not using sea salt though, my piercer told me to use Dial Anti-bacterial soap only and not to bother with sea salt or saline.

It's not a bad thing but maybe you're allergic to the metal thats what happened to me just buy a 14k gold one and put it in. the ring is kinda expensive but its worth it. you can get it off the internet at www.bodycandy.com
i did it and now its completely healed keep using the seasalt and it should take at most 6 months.

Gold will make it worse, your best chance of limiting infection is surgical steel.its normal.

[kelsseey]

kaay... well i got my navel piercing about a week ago.. and i ask my piercer if it was okay to go swimming. and he replyed yes. well , my navel piercing is rele red around the top ball. and i have a bruise. the skin inbetween the two balls is hard. and i've only seen puss once and that was after i went swimming yesterday. it really hurts.. im not sure if its infected or not.
Also. i hear everyone is cleaning theres with sea salt (ect.) . well when i was getting my navel pierced , my piercer told me to not use any salts because that will dry out the piercing. and he told me to only clean it twice a day. is this correct?!

anyways, plz help guys.. thx : )

[Guest]

I just got my belly button pierced about a week ago. Ive been cleaning it and using some sea salt mixed with warm water a few times every day and its still red and pussing a little bit. The top hole looks looser like its been stretched a little. Im not sure if its infected or if its normal. Should i take it out or leave it in??

leave it in cos its doing that so it stretches the hole so it has room 2 sit in the lil hole with out being stuck xxx

[Jazzaroooonie]

omgg i went on a camping trip and i had my belly pierced for about 4 weeks, but the seat belt messed with my belly bar and the top ball fell off i stood up and lost it in a big field of grass i had to walk around holding my belly bar in place, i bought another belly bar the next day and put it in with 2 weeks left to go before i could actually take it out, it fell out and i put it straight back in i have one day left to go before i can actually take it out without cleaning it , but i took it out today to change it and i couldnt get it back in i pushed it harder and harder and it started bleeding a loads of puss came out and it hasnt stopped bleeding and loads more puss is coming out what should i dooo?!

[webeheated]

hey so i have had mine for almost 3 months, its an inverse navel so its not on the top but anyways it doesnt hurt or anything but theres a ring around the top(the part in my belly button) that is red and looks kind of red, it doent puss or anything but it looks kind of weird like it might be infected. any suggestions? i used to wash it with seasalt but i havent for a month or so, just regular soap.

[beccamunroo]

i got it pierced a few months ago at the same time as my friend. its really red and it pusses and bleeds. ive changed the bar but havent touched it too much. i clean it sometimes with the H2Ocean formula that i was given. my friends os totally fine. is it infected?

[asdfghjk]

Heyy hun . It will be fine but stick to non iodized sea salt and warm water .
And ya if the puss is white (eww) its not infecteddd .. only if green.
But it would be a good idea if ur worried ot just go get it checked out by ur piercer . (:
good luck

[Meltsmagee]

I got my belly button pierced about 2 months ago. I went to a REALLY great piercer. HE TOLD ME:
1. only use saline, NO soap and NO alcohol
2. not to like push it up and down
3. Call him if I had ANY questions

If you guys are really really worried, just call your piercer. Anyway, at first it was sore, but once I was cleaning it about a week later and a CRAPLOAD of pus came out. I was so scared that my belly button was scarred for life! It ended up being fine. It's a wound so it needs to heal and draining (the pus) is normal **if it smells and the pus is a funky color CALL YOUR DOCTOR OR PIERCER**. Anyway, the top hole got better then the bottom hole got all gross again this was a part of the healing process. I took my ring out today for about 6 hours and at first it was crazy looking and I thought I would be disfigured FOREVER! By the time I put it back in, it was just a little bit of a scar, so if you're worried that you HAVE to have a ring in, don't. It'll be okay if you decide to take it out and scrap the belly button ring idea, it'll be okay

[Things you should know]

Okay first off, you ladies need to understand that a Navel piercing (just like an eyebrow piercing) falls under the category of "Surface Piercings". Surface Piercings are unlike nose and earlobe piercings where the jewelry's entrance and exit holes are not on the same plain (it goes through the skin and out the other side). Navel and Eyebrow and other Surface Piercings are listed as Surface Piercings when the entrance and exit holes are on the same plain. Surface Piercings have 'high' rejection rates because your body tends to treat it like a splinter and try to 'push' it out of the body.

A good piercer will discuss this with you before getting your navel pierced. A navel with a very distinct "lip" (a flap of skin) are the best types of navels to get pierced because they are less likely to reject. A navel with a smooth lip.

Easy navel for piercing: http://www.biocrawler.com/w/images/2/20 ... button.jpg
Difficult navel for piercing: http://www.co2partners.com/blog/wp-cont ... button.jpg

So what causes rejection? Rejection is determined by several factors, but here is a small list:
1) the type of navel you have
2) jewelry material compatibility (DO NOT buy cheap navel jewelry and buy your jewelry from reputable places so you know what they are made of! Always sterilize new jewelry before inserting into your navel NO MATTER HOW LONG YOU HAVE HAD YOUR NAVEL PIERCING! This is important! BAD jewelry choices can cause rejection at any time, it happened to this lady after 10 years of having her navel pierced!: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Ear-Body-Pie ... blem-2.htm )
3) friction (which means touching your navel, sleeping on your navel, stretching your navel to take a look, snagging your piercing, constant rubbing on tight clothes or belts etc..etc..)
4) OVER CLEANING! (Yes, if you are over cleaning your jewelry you're making it harder for your body to do it's job and heal the piercing. All you're doing is keeping the wound fresh and encouraging your body to reject it because of the constant irritation! All you need to do is eat healthy, get lots of sleep, take your vitamins and protect your piercing from dirty shower or bath water! If you must clean your fresh piercing, do a sea salt soak soak once a day to help drain build up of fluids. However, you should just leave it alone and let your body heal - DO NOT TOUCH your piercing with dirty hands)

If you can see the piercing through your skin, it means your body is rejecting it and you have no choice but to take it out or just wait for it to fall out. PLEASE DO NOT let your piercing fully reject, otherwise you will have an ugly scar like this:
http://www.aafp.org/afp/2005/1115/afp20 ... 029-f4.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/244/4483 ... 6a63fd.jpg

[Maddison Mckee]

I've had mine for about a week now. at first it hurt so badd !!! i had a reaction with the curved barbell i had it done with, so I went to my fried that does piercings, and he said that it being done with a curved one was no no. that is should of been with a hoop. so he switch mine, omg talk about pain! ever since then, everything fine. its healing the way it should, not swollen anymore, it doesnt hurt.

if you have it for a bit and its all nasty and gross, but doesn't look infected, your bodys not liking it at all. Just be careful.

[Guest]

]Hey,Hey,Heyy! alright i just had mine pierced and my friend has had hers peirced for about a year now she sed to ONLY use dawn soap!, i Use sea salt at first i was stuipid nd used table salt which BURNED! and it acted as an acid nd now my bellybutton ring (standard) is a little bit lower then usual, but hey! i jus havta heal it, your supposta clean it 3-4-5 times aday depending on how sore it is, then wash your hands thougouly and turn the peirceing (dont want the skin to attach and have to get it cut out)! okay, for Sea Salt ima tell some steps (sea salt gets ride of most of an incoming infection or infection) step1: take a cheap plastic cup and a pinch of sea salt (usually found in stores rite next to ttable salt) put the sea salt in the bottom of the cup, Step :2 Take The hottest water u can tolerate and put about 3 ounces in the cup, let it cool a bit and then take a Q-Tip (sterilized) and (u mite want to stir it first) dip it in the cup, then move the ring up and rub the water around it and then move the ring down and do the samee, once finished, dump out the cup and put fresh new water! hold a rag under u and poor the water on ur bellybutton wen done wipe the access water off, by the way wen useing sea salt its better to use distilled water its in local stores EVERYWHERE!, and the next day after doin tht and u think it mite be becz of the sea salt then dont do it agn, its simple, remember talking showers is a big part of infection take a clean rag while in the shower, and gently rub your bellybutton, oh yea NO BATHS your filth will end up on the ring and punctured place, make sure no one touches it wear loose clothing and try sleeping on your back (it helps)! dont goto public pools until FULLY healed!, beaches are okay it has PLENTY of sea salt just make sure tht there wasnt an oil spill like ovr here in louisiana! thankss, hope it helps bye, -Kayla Ann Delaney ♥[/b]