The advice that a mall place gives you is dead wrong. Go to any tattoo/piercing parlor's page and look at their aftercare info. If possible always get piercings done with a needle, not a piercing gun. Piercing guns are not sterile. The people aren't educated in blood born pathogens or even how to do anything sterile. They use te same marker for everyone's ears. Earrings in a piercing gun cause blunt force trauma by ripping a hole through the ear and damaging the inside of the hole. Needles slice a clean hole that an earring can slide through. Ok now that I sound preachy and annoying, I'll get off my soap box.
as for piercing guns? people survive having their teeth pulled with plyers too, but that doesn't make it optimal.
TCD is right. i've had more than 25 piercings, (some with guns <<shudder>>). with regard to aftercare, advice even among the pro's will vary, but there are standards that all professionals should be following.
if it were my kid, i'd try the following:
1) BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, I'd replace the current jewelry with thin gauge, surgical stainless steel jewelry. a nice small barbell would be good because it doesn't move much. stop taking the jewelry out.
2) soak it with a salt water solution. put a small cup of it over the ear to form a seal against her head. let it sit for 1-2 minutes. use a solution of about 1 tbsp of sea salt per 6 oz of water. TCD is right - DO NOT spin or rotate the jewelry...soak it and rinse it thoroughly. if necessary, use a q-tip or something with some saltwater on the end to remove any visible debris.
3) keep it clean - only once or twice a day, use a mild, fragrant free soap in the shower. lather up a small amount, soak it into the piercing and leave it for no more than 30 seconds. rinse it very thoroughly. pat the area dry with something clean and disposable.
4) i hesitate to say this part, because you should use it so judiciously, but if it's really bugging her or is "stuck" you could put a tiny dot of neosporin on the shaft and work that through the hole....that's way better than peroxide and it can be a lubricant if used very, very sparingly.
5) this part might seem extreme...but honestly, if my kid's ears didn't completely turn around in two weeks with surgical stainless barbells, i'd let the holes close and get them done by a professional piercer. i'm not sure i'd wait actually, i'd probably just start over. it just creates a more natural, better healed, usually better placed adult piercing.
check this site out from the Association of Professional Piercers:
http://www.safepiercing.org/piercing/
[This message edited by stretch13 at 2:00 PM, May 16th (Thursday)]
