Infected eyebrow

[Bob]

so my eyebrow piercing is infected, and I want to keep it. the problem is my family can't afford the couple dollars it costs for disinfectant and neosporin. were in a real tight spot. anyways do you guys know of any way to help clear it up besides showering regularly and cleaning it with antibacterial soap a couple times a day?

[EveofAbyss]

Well, you probably know all this already, but here is what I can come up with (I've been in the same situation as you, used to have my eyebrow pierced, but it migrated out). Anyway, here is what I can suggest (via Adorn Body Art):

More often than not, people who think they have an infection, really have an irritation. Contact your Piercer as soon as you feel something is wrong. Signs of an infection are pain, excessive redness and/or greenish discharge, swelling and heat. Do not panic! In addition, do not remove your jewelry. This will not end an infection and will in fact make matters worse by eliminating a passageway for the discharge of puss and matter.

Mild salt-water soaks are strongly suggested to accelerate healing and minimize discomfort and irritation during the healing process of your piercing. Salt-water soaks help to drain and dry up the piercing and stimulate air and blood circulation. Soaks are particularly beneficial when you are experiencing discomfort or before you do anything active as it will remove the crusties and allow the ring to move more freely. Use either a generic low-cost contact solution or a self-made mixture of non-iodized sea salt and distilled water. Note: Epsom salt and table salt are not the same as sea salt.

When taken care of properly, infections or irritations are unlikely. When they do occur, it is usually because the piercee has failed to follow their aftercare instructions. Chemicals WILL NOT help your body to heal faster! Quite the opposite in fact.
Chemicals of any kind will upset the balance within your newly forming skin cells, creating a condition in which your piercing will heal tremendously slowly, if ever.

DO NOT USE: Rubbing Alcohol, Hydrogen Peroxide, Bactine, Hibiclens, Neosporin or any other over the counter antiseptic or antibiotic unless specifically prescribed by a physician or recommended by your Piercer.

Do not put any oils, lotions or ointments on the piercing. They will block the oxygen supply, killing cells and providing an ideal environment for bacteria to grow. Consequently, it is also a good idea to avoid Band-Aids and synthetic fabrics that will prohibit air circulation. ALWAYS CLEAN YOUR HANDS THOROUGHLY BEFORE TOUCHING YOUR PIERCING!! This is the single-most common source of infections. Everything that touches your new piercing should be clean...this includes sheets, towels, clothing and other items, (e.g. phone receivers).

AVOID: Hot tubs, public pools, Tanning beds, and sunbathing or any other activity that would cause the delicate tissue around your piercing to burn, freeze or be subjected to foreign bacteria.

Wear your piercing jewelry at all times, for at least the first 6 months! If jewelry must be removed for a short period of time it is most likely, your piercing will close.

Hope you get it taken care of!

[jaybug]

Gee, and I was just in Death Valley the other day, I could have brought you lots of salt.

Good Luck.

Hmmm, is anyone else having that phrase "in a pigs eye" pop in their heads? No?!? oops. nvm.

[Bob]

Thanks!!!

[Blackstar]

Bump I hope it is better by now

[DancingTofu]

awdfsdgasdfa

You people need to stop necroing threads!  I thought Bob was back on the forums. :[

[KogaRyu]

awdfsdgasdfa

You people need to stop necroing threads!  I thought Bob was back on the forums. :[

Arrrghh My thoughts Exactly!!! I got all excited!! And then saw this crap.

[Hazuza]

awdfsdgasdfa

You people need to stop necroing threads!  I thought Bob was back on the forums. :[

Is an auto-lock for old enough threads (from the latest post, not the start) possible?

[DancingTofu]

I think threads auto-lock after, like, 6 months.  We sometimes go through and just lock up old threads periodically as well.

[JeffT]

The forum doesn't have a feature to automatically lock old threads, but every so often I do it using some low-level database SQL queries.

[DancingTofu]

Ah.  I remembered you saying something about some kind of automated process a while ago, and I wasn't sure exactly what it was.

[Blackstar]

This was the oldest one I could bump. All the onces below this was locked

[JeffT]

This was the oldest one I could bump. All the onces below this was locked

Yeah, this is actually why we started locking older threads--because bumping old threads is discouraged unless there's a very specific contribution that needs to be made in the old thread.