So as I wait for my incision to heal and sit out the three-month period before I can get my ear lobe re-pierced, I did some investigating. Ear piercing has been around for centuries and practiced in many cultures. Over time the custom has grown in the Western world with around 90% of women currently adorning at least one ear with jewelry. Along with this increase in popularity has come a rise in the number of complications, 35% according to one survey of 452 hospital nurses, most of those infections.
It’s not unusual to develop an infection as a result of piercing. Although infections are most often localized to the skin, if left untreated, they can lead to more serious illness including abscess, septicemia (an infection of your blood) and endocarditis (an infection of the heart lining and valves). Earrings may also become embedded in the lobes of children and require surgery. The risk appears to have an association with the practice of using ear piercing guns.
The most common problem experienced is contact dermatitis—from an allergy to nickel used in inexpensive earrings—which occurs in about one out of ten people. Keloids, growths that extend beyond the natural boundaries of scars, are more common in people who have a family history of the condition, and in African Americans. There is no cure for these disfiguring lesions and surgery appears to make them grow back even larger. Permanent disfiguration may also result from upper ear piercing, a more recent fad. Because cartilage lacks blood supply, numerous bacteria have been implicated in infections including abscesses in this area.So what can you do to minimize the risks? Here’s my advice:
—Orly Avitzur, M.D., medical adviser, Consumer Reports
Photo courtesy of Katie Tegtmeyer
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