In the middle of the piercing it hurts so I want to know what is the cause of it. Take a gentle basic liquid soap with no dyes and squirt a drop or two into the palm of your hand. ", https://www.safepiercing.org/aftercare.php, MayoClinic.com: Piercings and how to prevent complications, http://uhs.berkeley.edu/home/healthtopics/bodypiercing.shtml, Mantenere Pulito il Piercing all'Ombelico, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Lather it up, then apply the lather to the piercing and the suing, preventing infection and promoting healing. 3. Belly button piercings are one of the most popular forms of body art. You can, if you want to. Dissolve the sea salt in the water and never use common table salt. Correct! When your piercing no longer hurts to touch, you can change out the ball, but keep the barbel in place for as long as the piercer instructed. General after care instructions. My piercer didn't have the cleaning mixture because he was sold out. ", "It definitely gave me reassurance for when I get my belly button pierced! If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. But what do you use to clean a belly button piercing? Leave it for about 15 minutes. There are 17 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. Dry the area well. Belly button piercings should always be kept clean. Yes. ", "How to clean it and how to take care of it if it gets infected was helpful. Expect to see some discharge around your piercing, but pay attention to the color. 7 years ago. Is it okay to use a Q-tip to clean a piercing? Try to stay away from pools and hot tubs. … To make a salt soak, dissolve a teaspoon of sea salt in half a cup of boiled water. A: Bactine is not a great cleanser for new and healing piercings (it even says on the bottle not to use on puncture wounds). I would call the piercer again and get some clarification. Discusses proper aftercare and explains cleaning methods to heal belly button piercings most effectively. However, you. Nope! cleaning your belly button ring (: how to; brand new freshly pierced. Not quite! References After the area dries, douse a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol and apply to your navel and the jewelry to further sanitize the area. This post contains information on how to clean a belly button piercing and how to clean the belly button ring. To prevent and treat an infection, you should clean your belly-button piercing with warm water and soap twice daily. Your belly button, though often covered by clothing, can still collect bacteria. Switch to a milder soap if you notice red bumps around the navel area and experience tenderness. Here are some short steps to follow on how to keep it clean and avoid infection. Note: To tighten the balls, remember twisting to the right tightens and twisting to the left loosens. Learn more... Everyone has insecurities about getting their belly button pierced, especially since there’s always a chance it’ll get infected. Thank you. Will bactine hurt my new belly button piercing if i use that to clean it? For piercings that are difficult to submerge, such as a belly button piercing, you can do a hot compress by simply soaking a clean towel or paper towel in the solution. then move the ring up and down, so that you can clean it. wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. 4 Then, grab your saline solution and pour a few squirts over your belly button. New Navel Piercing Care: Keep it clean: It's important to keep any piercings clean and there no exception when it comes to belly buttons. Read on for another quiz question. If you have a navel piercing, you’ll need to pay special attention to your belly button. How long do I have to wait before I can go swimming? When not taken well care of, it may develop a scar, result to bleeding or even acquire infections. Then hold the compress against the piercing for five to 10 minutes. How long before I can change my belly piercing? There are other ways to determine if you are already fighting one. What kind of soaps should l use to clean my piercing? i havent touched it yet though, the place i got it odne recommended i buy witch hazel to clean it with so i have, but i have no idea how to clean it and will it hurt? Nope! Is it normal for a navel piercing to be red and sore after the first week, even if it is washed daily? Cup your hand under the piercing and allow clean, warm water to run over it for a minute or two. Take care of your new piercing and it most likely won't get infected. Your skin just experienced a trauma, so it's very common to feel tenderness or pain near the piercing site for the first few days. The cleaning process only requires a few minutes out of your day and will ensure that your piercing looks good in the months and years to come. How to Clean a Belly Button Piercing or Cleaning Belly Button Piercing. This article was helpful and insightful about how to care for, "I just pierced my belly button and I didn't know how to clean it. Approved. The piercing will be red and sore for about two weeks at most. Pick another answer! To clean your piercing, soak a q-tip or cotton ball with a saline solution and gently wash your piercing holes and belly button twice a day. Then hold the compress against the piercing for five to 10 minutes. Use a cotton swab or Q-tip lightly dipped in warm water to remove the dirt. This article has been viewed 1,252,034 times. Bactine is great if you have an infection. Your piercing needs oxygen to help it breathe and heal. If you just had your body pierced and you start to notice a crusty material around the piercing site, don't worry. No, you have an open wound that needs to be kept free of bacteria. You can use the same saltwater solution mentioned above: Wet a clean cloth in the solution and apply it to the area as a warm compress several times a day. To create this article, 101 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. Then use a cotton swab and your cleaning solution to gently wipe the area around your … Is it okay for new piercings to rub against your clothes? Guess again! Gently rotate the ring or move the barbell up and down to make sure the lavender oil reaches inside the piercing. Learn about dirty belly buttons. Antibacterial soaps are bad for piercings and can irritate them. We explore how to clean belly button piercing including cleaning it up when it is infected and how to clean new belly button rings while already inserted and before insertion into the piercing. ", "I loved this article and learned a lot on how to clean it and everything! A navel piercing can be an eye-catching personal style statement, but it also has its fair share of complications. My friend pierced my belly button last night, and I wanted to know what I could and couldn't, "Learned to use sea salt spray on my piercing to make sure it stays clean and doesn't become infected. Pain or tenderness whenever the area is touched or the jewelry moves. Yes you can use a Q-tip and it is normal for it to itch since it is new and your skin isn't used to it. For routine cleansing, use baby oil, water, or hydrogen peroxide. The fact that many people have one may trump you to believe that it is an easy and uneventful process. I also use neosporin to keep my belly button moist, because your belly button gets dried out very easily. Cool packs and over the counter medication will help mitigate this symptom. You have to commit to spending the time to actually do it. There are other reasons to avoid hydrogen peroxide. Clean with salt water. Remove any crust on the piercing with a cotton swab or Q-Tip. Thank you! Moving the jewellery around while cleaning is very painful at first, but necessary. Twisting the ring also means that you are touching the piercing more than necessary, which increases the risk of bacteria from your hands being transferred to the navel and causing infection. Follow the instructions given to you by your piercer. Pat dry using a clean towel. They should go away in a few days. Don't change your navel ring until your piercing is totally healed. You’ll just need warm water and a quarter of a teaspoon of sea salt. New Piercing Aftercare1) Clean your navel piercing twice a day for the next 3 days, once in the morning and again at night. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. The piercing professional should wash his/her hands thoroughly before putting on a fresh pair of surgical gloves. Please help us continue to provide you with our trusted how-to guides and videos for free by whitelisting wikiHow on your ad blocker. If this occurs, see a doctor and report your piercer. Do not use iodized salt, kosher salt or Epsom salts, as these can irritate the piercing. Choose another answer! After cleaning the area, rotate your piercing about 4 times. I just got my belly button pierced about a week ago, and it's red around the top hole, and I think I see a little white stuff coming out of it when I move it to clean with a qtip. According to Dr. Dean Edell, author of the book "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Healthiness," a belly button piercing takes anywhere from three to six months to heal. Take something like ibuprofen, which will not only take away the pain, but also help reduce the swelling as well. 5. 2. Last Updated: September 3, 2020 ", "When it talked about how it was normal to have redness for the first couple weeks, good info. i know there is a million questions like this but i wondered if i could clean my new piercing by putting the solution given to me when i got it done into a cup then put the cup onto my belly, like upside down, so the solution is all on my belly, would this clean the piercing enough? Here, this was off the website of the piercing parlor i go to. The oil dries the skin out and will bring bacteria to your piercing. I got my belly button pierced at about 7 PM last night, and the care instructions my piercer gave were a little vague. For piercings that are difficult to submerge, such as a belly button piercing, you can do a hot compress by simply soaking a clean towel or paper towel in the solution. I got my answer, "This has put my mind at ease about the secretion, as I wasn't aware that some secretion (clear or whitish) is, "Everything, including the do's and dont's, is very accurate. Even if you clean your piercing, an unsterilized piece of jewelry could still cause trouble. Your piercer may … If your piercer suggests you use soap and they don’t give you any (or they tell you Dial soap), i suggest you get a new piercer who will help you find “proper” soap for piercings and that will suggest soap that’s “okay” to use on a piercing; soaps that are suggested to clean piercings … A nice belly ring can draw immense atte Guess again! Avoid using alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or harsh soaps. Clean your belly button 2 times daily (no more, no less) with antibacterial soap. In case you have a new piercing you may be wondering how to achieve this. Read on to find out the do's and don'ts for cleaning a navel piercing, along with information on how to deal with infection. This video is all about how to clean a belly button (navel) piercing. Be careful with your body and treat the bruises with ice packs. Is it bad to strenuously exercise within the first week of getting it pierced? The pain is totally worth the end result which makes your belly look completely amazing. Don’t use anything that you wouldn’t use in your eyes, like certain oils or ointments. Discusses proper aftercare and explains cleaning methods to heal belly button piercings most effectively. During the life of the piercing, cleaning the area twice a week should be fine. Avoid direct application of soap to the area or piercing as it may cause infection. If you ignore this rule, you’re asking for an infection. but make sure that you RINSE it really well. The compresses are good from drawing “goo” from the piercing and keeping it clean. After you have finished washing the area with soap , rinse it off with running water. This post contains information on how to clean a belly button piercing and how to clean the belly button ring. Not quite! Correct! When your piercing no longer hurts to touch, you can go ahead and change out the ball on the barbel. You should always go to a professional. This can be painful and delays the healing process. This article has been viewed 737,384 times. … Hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol are too strong to apply to your new piercing. ", "I found wikiHow very helpful! You can, however, place a bandaid over the piercing before you go to sleep for the first week or two. They should be done once or twice a day while the piercing heals. Tea tree oil is a very effective anti-bacterial and it smells nice too. Read on for another quiz question. Yes, hydrogen peroxide will prevent your new piercing from scabbing, but that's not a bad thing. With the exception of the tongue, all other piercings should be cleaned in the shower. Try to avoid getting soap or other cleaners into or around your piercing as this can lead to infection and drying of the skin around the piercing. It’s actually pretty simple. And its itchy about 1 inch away from my belly button. Rest the edge of the glass beneath your navel piercing, then quickly flip it over, pressing firmly to prevent any water from leaking out. Pat your baby’s stomach and belly button dry with a clean, soft, dry towel. Clean it twice a day but not more often because that could cause discomfort or infection. Your piercing can close up in just a few minutes, so you don't want to remove the barbel until it is completely healed. By using our site, you agree to our. Close! Your piercing may bleed a little when it is first healing, so don't be alarmed. Even if you clean your piercing, an unsterilized piece of jewelry could still cause trouble. Two or three times a day I'm soaking it with salt water, other than that is there anything I can do? 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