Do you have an infected septum piercing? What caused it and what are some of the symptoms to expect? How does an infected pierced septum look like (pictures and photos) and how do you treat such an infection? What if you have a bump?
Septum piercing, a piercing on the “cartilage wall between the two nostrils” is becoming popular, especially among the younger generation. However, it needs good care to avoid infections or getting hurt since even a minor brush or violet nose blowing can easily hurt it and cause bleeding.
In general your piercing on the septum will take about 6-8 months or up to a year to heal completely. During this time, you must take good care of your piercing or else risk getting infections. You can also get infections years after healing is complete.
Is my septum piercing infected? What caused it?
The main causes of septum piercing infection is bacteria and other pathogens. These bacteria or pathogens might be as a result of poor hygiene during piercing process (unsterilized needles), poor aftercare, and poor personal hygiene during the healing process especially by touching the piercing with dirty hands among many other causes.
You might also suffer from infections if you use the wrong jewelry in terms of its size and material. For instance, nickel is known to cause allergic reactions to most people.
Infected septum piercing symptoms
Some of the common infected pierced septum symptoms you are likely to have include the following:
- Redness around your jewelry that does not disappear after a 2-3 weeks in case of a new piercing
- Discharge from the piercing, especially yellowing or green pus like discharge
- Soreness and tenderness especially if you tried to touch the pierced site
- Bleeding in extreme cases after a few days for a new piercing or on an old piercing
- Bump on the piercing site
- Swollen and painful septum. This is normal for the first up to two weeks
- Crusting
I hope you now know what happens if your pierced septum gets infected and you can easily tell if it is infection or normal healing process for new piercings.
How to treat an infected septum piercing
Treating a septum piercing infection is not that easy due to its location. You might need to be a bit creative as you try treating it. So what are some of the recommended treatments for a septum nose piercing that is infected?
Oral antibiotics and ointments
If you have a severe infection, you need to see your piercer or a doctor for diagnosis and treatment. This is often recommended in cases where the infection seems to have spread beyond the piercing site. After diagnosis, the doctor might recommend oral antibiotics or ointments.
Never use any ointment on a septum nose piercing unless advised so by a doctor because it might affect normal healing and draining of the piercing and thereby result into abscesses.
Sea salt soak
The most common way to treat an infected pierced septum is using a sea salt soak. You need to add about a teaspoon of sea salt into a cup of warm water and use the solution in cleaning the infected piercing site.
A Q-Tip or cotton wool bud will be ideal for cleaning using a sea salt soak. Do this for 5-6 minutes, 2-3 times a day. Ensure you remove any hardened debris and crusts around the piercing since crusting is known to encourage bacterial growth.
Piercing solution
If your pierce gave you a piercing solution, you can also use it in cleaning the pierced site. Many people have reported H2Ocean solution, and H2O Sea Salt spray to be very effective in treating most of body piercing infections
There are other infected pierced septum home remedies you can try such as using chamomile teabags, using 1-2 drops of essential lavender oil, among others.
Infected septum piercing bump
An infected septum piercing bump can also affect you if you do not follow the correct aftercare procedure you are given by your piercer. The bump will be on either side of your pierced septum.
The most recommended way to deal with an infected nose septum piercing is to clean it using saline solution or sea salt soak. Chamomile teabags, tee tree oil and aspirin might also be of some help.
Infected septum piercing care
In addition to treatments, you need to ensure take good care of the infected piercing on your septum. This will ensure you do not suffer from future infections. Some of the good tips for caring for your pierced septum include:
- Not picking any crusts or scabs around your piercing with your fingers since this can worsen the infection or cause bleeding.
- Avoid playing with and turning your ring all the time. You should do this about 4 times only just after cleaning the piercing.
- Quick smoking and do not drink alcohol since they can slow down the healing process
- Never use alcohol or any product that has alcohol to clean your infected pierced septum
After your piercing process is complete, you will also be given some things you are supposed not to do and those you can do. Ensure you follow them to reduce any chances of getting an infection. Negligence can lead to a serious infection that can easily deform your nose.
Dangers of septum piercing
Some of the dangers and risks piercing your septum include fluid and blood build up if the septum is punctured incorrectly and some blood capillaries are broken. Furthermore, there is the risk or possibilities of complications such as nasal septum hematoma which can cause a stuffy nose or congested nose, impair with breathing or even cause a facial deformity.
The above dangers and risks will tend to affect people who go to unprofessional piercers and/or do not take care of their piercing as required. Did you know unsterilized and disinfected needles can also spread deadly diseases such as HIV-Aids?