Earstretching.net

I was talking to my mother, who's roof I currently live under, about getting an industrial piercing on my right ear. She said that Most people don't keep there cartilage pierced because it gets infected real easy. I don't really see why, as long as you took care of it. She is against all piercings except the lobe, and she is against all stretched piercings. I think she might just be biased and doesn't want me getting anything else done, but her house, her rules. I'm only here for another week though :p!

While cartilidge piercings don't get infected any more easily, they do take longer to heal, and they can get IRRITATED and HT scarring more often (esp industrials)
But a bit of patience and it'll be fine

Are you sure your mother isn't thinking of gunned cartilidge?
Thats when people start having lots of problems (and people are forever seeing irritation, assuming the worst and panic its infected)


My mothers gone past caring tbh >.<
As long as I don't get massive visible tattoos, she doesn't care. She doesn't like them though

Actually, I just went and got a tattoo on my leg. It's not huge, and won't be visible unless I wear shorts. She doesn't care about that. But on piercings, its one hole, one ear. I plan on getting my eyebrow pierced and maybe a snakebite. I've even thought about an industrial. Just ideas for now.

Meh, some people just have weird logic >.<

Yeah,I think she has weird logic, she thinks I do.

I think it would be true only because it takes longer to heal. Since it's a longer wait, there's more time where you could make a mistake which leads to an infection. I don't think a professionally done cartilage would be inherently more likely to get infected, it's just you have many more months where you could be the cause of an infection. Industrials are probably worse in that aspect because of the jewelry. Any injury to one piercing usually affect the other, that's part of why they're harder to heal, so even more time where an infection could set in.

But if you're responsible and reliable and know what good aftercare is and don't go jumping into lakes in the first few months, I wouldn't say you'd be much more at risk of getting an infection from cartilage than any other piercing. It sounds like a mom excuse, just a way of saying she doesn't want you to do it.

I think it may just be ignorance. The only way I was allowed to get a piercing was my left ear, one hole, and it had to be gunned. Also, if I get it in october-november I really doubt i'll be jumping into lakes until at least May...maybe March if I'm crazy. (Which I am )

Infections are pretty rare in all piercings... I think people who don't really know any better say "OMG it's infected!" no matter what problem they have with their piercings. So since cartilage piercings can get irritated easily, people think they can get infected easily.

The three cartilage piercings I've had (double helix and conch) have all been pains in the ass, but I've never had any kind of infection. Just be prepared for bumps and soreness and no sleeping on that side for about a year.

That's cool, I sleep on my left side, I would get my right pierced with a double helix. I'm tempted to get it done, but I'm going to wait. I think my eyebrow will get done before a double helix.

Sea salt soaks will help cartilage heal, I would often soak my industrial and cartilage piercings for 5 minutes twice a day. Also, try using a travel pillow to sleep with. Lay it on its side and sleep with your ear in the hole of the pillow (where your neck would go if you were using it to fall asleep sitting up), and make sure you are wrapping the travel pillow in a normal pillow case. This way you can still maintain clean bedding while the piercing is healing.