Possibly allergic to plastic rings?

[corenna]

Hey everyone--really happy to have found this site.

This is actually my second time stretching. My first time was about two years ago, when I went up to a 6g from a 14g (from being pierced at age 2 and earrings that are too heavy....). When I was at a 6g, I was healed up pretty nicely and decided to put in plugs instead of tapers. Out of nowhere, my lobes started pussing something awful, But it wasn't inside the holes, it was on the outside, where the black plastic rings had been up against my skin. So I decided to go ahead and let them heal back to normal size, especially since I was applying to grad school, haha.

I have really bad allergies to most semi-precious metals, but I can handle stainless steel and acrylic just fine. But I didn't have a reaction like this to the rings when I first started stretching--just when I put in a plug. Now that I got into a school, I decided to stretch again, but the same thing happened with the rings. I'm being pretty generous with soap and saline, and I sterilized the tapers in boiling water just in case.

Is it possible that I might be allergic to the plastic rings? If that's the case, what do I do in order to stretch comfortably without them?

Thanks for your time!

[corazon_de_oro]

Your ears might still be having issues from skipping so many sizes. It is also definitely possible that you could be allergic to your o-rings... many people have issues with the black ones. Try getting some clear silicone ones, they're much more gentle on your ears. Also, wear them as loosely as possible; plugs with a groove for o-rings help because it's usually close to the end of the plug and doesn't touch your ear.

You also might even be over-cleaning them. Antibacterial soap is really unnecessary for the piercings themselves, although it should be used to clean your plugs.

[mouse2cat]

The clear o-rings sounds like a possible solution, but if you continue to be allergic.... I would go for some single flares and... Would it be possible to make a hypoallergenic "washer" that you wear against your ear and then put the o ring behind that? Like a little flat donut. Then there is no risk of contact.

[corenna]

Oh, when I say I went up to a 6g I did it gradually. I didn't skip any sizes. My ears are naturally a 14g, right now I'm at a 12g. When I tried to put in a 14g, it fell out. So it's definitely not a size problem.

Good to know about the soap though. I only do it when I'm in the shower, the rest of the time I'm using H2Ocean to clean. I also switched to hoop tapers without the rings. They're kinda prone to falling out but so far I've noticed a huge reduction in pus and redness over the past few days. Clear rings and guards sound like a great idea too.

Thank you for your help!