Clean hands

Wash your hands with soap and water before you touch the piercing, the jewelry, or the skin around it. Do not let other people touch the piercing.

Saline care

• Use sterile saline wound wash (0.9% sodium chloride, no extras) to clean the piercing as directed on your printed sheet — typically a spray or soak once or twice a day.
• Let it air dry or pat dry with a clean, disposable paper towel. Do not use cotton balls or swabs that shed fibers into the fistula.
• Do not use alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, ointments, oils, or harsh soaps on the piercing unless your printed sheet and a physician tell you otherwise. Those products can delay healing.

Leave the jewelry in

Leave the jewelry in for the full healing time. Taking it out early can close the piercing or trap an infection. Do not change jewelry until the piercing has healed, unless a physician or the shop that pierced you directs you to. If a physician needs it removed for treatment, follow the physician.

Do not over-rotate or play with jewelry

Do not twist, spin, flip, or play with the jewelry. Extra movement irritates the fistula and can push bacteria in. Sleeping, phones, headphones, and tight clothes should not snag the jewelry.

Avoid pools, lakes, and hot tubs

Stay out of pools, hot tubs, lakes, rivers, and the ocean until the piercing is healed. Hotel spas and splash fountains count. Soaking in dirty or treated water raises the risk of a bad reaction.

What healing can look like

• Mild redness, tenderness, and swelling are common at first. Itching and a small amount of clear or pale-yellow crust (lymph) around the jewelry can be part of normal healing.
• Healing time depends on placement. Some piercings take several weeks; others take many months. Use the duration on your printed sheet. Do not assume it is healed just because it feels quiet.

Infection signs and when to seek medical care

• See a physician if you have spreading redness, red streaks, increasing pain or heat, swelling that worsens after the first days, thick yellow or green discharge, fever, or a rash that is more than ordinary healing itch.
• Do not remove the jewelry on your own if you suspect infection — closing the hole can trap the problem. Let a physician decide.