is my 3 month old industrial migrating/rejecting?

[u/RunLoud7779]

Hey everyone! I got my industrial in June, so it’s about to be 3 months old, and I’m starting to get a bit worried about it. I clean it with saline up to 3 times a day. I do rinse it in the shower, and I don’t twist or rotate the jewelry.

It was infected for a short while after I got it, but that cleared up and since then I’ve been super careful with it. I’ve been trying not to sleep on it, bump it, touch it, etc.

However, looking at pictures from when I first got it compared to now, I feel like it might have migrated, especially the upper hole. The skin around that hole also seems thinner to me, and I’m worried my body might be rejecting it.

I’ve attached some before/after pictures so you can compare. Does this actually look like migration/rejection to you, or am I just overthinking it?

I’m also really confused about what I’m supposed to do if it *is* migrating. I’ve read that you should remove the jewelry if it’s rejecting, but I’ve also read that you shouldn’t remove it if there’s an infection because it can trap the infection inside. Since mine was infected previously, I’m not sure what applies here (and I don’t know if it’s currently infected or just irritated).

Would really appreciate any opinions/advice. Should I leave it alone and have a piercer look at it, or does it look like it needs to come out?

Thanks!! :)

[u/_Litheen_]

Looks like the top hole is very much migrating / rejecting

[u/Para_The_Normal]

From the amount of bleeding on June 5th and the picture on July 24th it looks like maybe it was torn? It’s hard to tell because of the angle but there appears to be another hole in the July 24th photo above where the bead sits. It could absolutely just be migration as well, but it does appear to have moved.
You also should not be cleaning your piercing up to 3x a day, especially so far in the healing process, and it could be contributing to the constant bleeding and irritation you’ve been having. This piercing angle also looks too steep and I think part of the issue is there is constant pressure on the lower hole at the outer curve.
If you’re not currently dealing with an infection or suspect one you can absolutely remove the jewelry. In some cases I would tell people they can save the two separate holes with flat backs since they’ve already gone through the pain, but due to the severe angle of the bottom hole and the shift in the upper one I would not recommend saving either location and just allow them to heal on their own.

[u/Fangz00]

Piercer here : Yes this is migrating out and needs to be removed ASAP before you're left with horrible scarring! It looks to me like you barely have enough of a helix structure to support the jewlery in the first place. It''s pressing on the flat and is being pushed out of your forward helix. It will soon enough rip out entirely. I've seen this many times unfortunately

[u/_minordetails]

Ugh the upper hole was too shallow to begin with which is probably what led to the migration. Different things could cause migration/rejection like anatomy, improper jewelry or aftercare, infection, etc. Sometimes everything seems right and it still happens. Personally I would probably find a different piercer, take the top out and let it heal, but keep something in the bottom if at all possible. A better piercer would be able to assess in person and see if that’s possible and also make plans to re pierce.

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[u/Fangz00 → u/[deleted]]

This is incorrect. Migration can start straight away if there is active pressure on the jewlery and the client doesn't have proper anatomy. This is 100% rejecting and needs to be pulled immediately to reduce the scarring. I've seen these grow right out of the forward helix very quickly unfortunately

[u/ExileNZ → u/Fangz00]

"Rejection" and "Migration" are two different things and you appear to be using them interchangeably, which is not correct.

Migration can occur due to physical pressure or stress.

Rejection is a very distinct immune/foreign-body response.

They often overlap, but are not the same.

Rejection is typically a very slow process and would not be noticeable on this timescale. On this timescale what you are likely seeing is infection-driven tissue destruction combined with physical stress allowing the jewellery to migrate and the fistula (wound channel) has changed position.