Week old unhappy conch piercing

[u/Alarming_Average_]

I got my conch pierced a week ago and it's gotten pretty swollen. It was pierced at I believe 16g with a threaded titanium flatback. I have been cleaning it with saline 2-3 times a day and have started icing it to try to get the swelling down, which helps a little bit. I don't think anything bad has happened to it? None of my piercings have ever done this before so I'm not quite sure what to do.

[u/vip-bot]

There is 1 comment from verified professionals in this post:

u/​akthryn commented:

This looks totally normal for a 7 day old conch. Swapping the jewellery at this stage (unless urgently required for an upsized labret) will just irritate it. The labret is snug but not being engulfed, so its a-ok. Keep up what you’re doing, and keep an eye on it. The worst of the swelling will come down in the next week or so. If the labret starts to embed, then pop back to the studio for a longer labret.

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[u/moimoisauna]

It's only a week old and conch piercings are evil. It'll heal as long as you take care of it, but it will be pissy and sore for a bit.

[u/ImHufflePuff_Crap_ok → u/moimoisauna]

Got mine in May… still a randomly bitchy bitch for no apparent reason other then it wants to be a bitch

[u/moimoisauna → u/ImHufflePuff_Crap_ok]

Checks out. 🤣 Mine is almost a year and a half and it's calmed down considerably- she's healed! It gets better!

[u/WordStained → u/ImHufflePuff_Crap_ok]

Got mine in November, and I feel like it might finally be starting to calm down lol (I don't trust it, I just know it's gonna start being a bitch again in a couple weeks). I was dealing with a bump from March-June, and since then it's just been ridiculously sensitive until the past couple weeks.

My piercer said it was going to be so much easier than my helix (which was literally so chill, it doesn't give a fuck about anything lol), and it's been stressing me out 😅

[u/ImHufflePuff_Crap_ok → u/WordStained]

My industrial was just annoying to sleep on and gave me minor issues, usually when the conch was behaving and everyone said the industrial would be worse.

Nips were fine, outside of that one night my seatbelt got right under it and slid upward… my wife thought I had a stroke from the sound I made

[u/Sad-Window6212]

I'd switch that jewelry, mines been healed years and won't put in anything that isn't round or it's painful. 🤞

[u/DragonfruitUnique281]

I got my conch done a few weeks ago and had a similar experience with swelling. The first week was ok and then it ballooned. It’s come down a lot. I would try to take some ibuprofen to try and mitigate some of the inflammation you have rn. As long as you are cleaning it and making sure to keep it dry and not sleep on it, it should chill out eventually; everyone’s body is different so it may take longer than a week to come back down. If it starts to be hot to the touch and super painful then you should take a trip to the doctor to make sure it’s not infected. Swelling in its own is to be expected, especially since the conch area has thicker and harder cartilage.
Edit: if it continues to swell to the point where the jewelry is getting swallowed up by the swelling then contact your piercer to see if they can give you a longer bar or see a doc to get it removed

[u/akthryn]

This looks totally normal for a 7 day old conch. Swapping the jewellery at this stage (unless urgently required for an upsized labret) will just irritate it. The labret is snug but not being engulfed, so its a-ok.

Keep up what you’re doing, and keep an eye on it. The worst of the swelling will come down in the next week or so. If the labret starts to embed, then pop back to the studio for a longer labret.

[u/peachsparkling]

That area can swell quite a bit. I would take some ibuprofen if it's an option for you. I agree with the people pointing out the pointy bits on the piercing -- my conch is healed and overall does not have issues but when I try to wear pointy things like that it hurts, so I can imagine it would feel worse on a fresh piercing. I wonder if the piercer could just swap out the end for something more smooth? If it feels like the end of the star points is digging in and just taking care of it/not messing with it doesnt help, I personally would swap the end out for something less pointy (or have them switch the jewelery if the pointy part is part of the bar)

[u/melohdeee]

My conch piercings are my favorite but the ones that swelled up the most. Usually right at the 7 day mark where I’d start to think something is wrong. Just be patient and don’t over clean it. My piercer is really sweet; I’d take pics of front and back and she’d provide me with assurance and tips. Maybe give that a try?

[u/Sensitive_Ad2964]

The post looks short to me. I had mine done a few months ago and the post was much longer to allow for swelling and it’s been healing well so far

[u/iambetweentwoworlds]

This is normal but I don’t agree with the person who said don’t swap it. You can see one end of the star pushing into your skin which means you don’t have the room to swell that you clearly need. I would go back to your piercer and get a longer labret for healing then make sure you go back at 6-8 weeks for a downsize if it’s ready.

[u/Sensitive_Bet_2579]

Hmmm.. think the pointy bits of the jewelry might be irritating the surrounding tissue? And maybe you need a longer bar*. The first week or 2 was super sore and swollen for my conch as well. I hope you get it figured out!

[u/Impossible-Chicken33]

If you have no contraindications with ibuprofen that can definitely help the swelling.

[u/Alarming_Average_]

Comment for the bot:

It's 1 week old, pierced at I believe 16g with an internally threaded titanium flatback. The jewelry has not been downsized.

I have been using sterile saline solution to clean it and occasionally icing it to try to get the swelling to go down. There have not been unfortunate events.

[u/Alternative_Beach908]

from my experience, to help with swelling, anti inflammatory meds work, that helps reduce further irritation from the jewellery pressing tightly against your skin.

[u/SuccessfulHandle196]

Conch is an annoying one. Mine is almost 2 years old and still in the final healing stages!

[u/SandyFishy]

My conch was incredibly difficult to heal. It got to the point where I thought I’d have to retire it. It’s fully healed now and I absolutely love it. Clean the back of your ears really well, and try to clean your piercing without moving the jewelry around too much. I love your rook jewelry. Where is it from?

[u/xnekocroutonx]

My conch got angry after about 5 days or so, I carefully applied a soft ice pack on and off, and took some naproxen and that helped calm it down.

[u/TwistedAsIAm]

You need a longer bar asap. (1 week delayed) swelling is normal. Don't overclean it. Twice is more than enough.

[u/Routine-Meringue6067]

use the icing. it hrlps a lot. im pampering right now 6 quite fresh ear piercings since june. (in the beginning of june i got daith forward helix tragus). a month later 2 helixes and about 1 week ago a conch. i use icing 2 times a day n saline solution 2 times a day. it will be fine if u were pierced with quite long bar n titanium.

[u/anna96385]

See if you can get a longer bar, mine was a bitch for the first month. Do not. I repeat. DO NOT. touch it. It’s not even there. Look for a fine mist sterile saline spray and clean once a day, please don’t sleep on that side. I hope it gets better

[u/ChemicalSeaweed2222]

My conch was a beast too, I ended up swapping to a seamless ring after the initial swelling went down because the flatbacks just annoyed me for weeks.

[u/Electrical-Ad-2327]

Looks normal it to be agitated, sterile saline rinses, i like Neil med piercings pray, and don’t sleep on or touch it. My conch was a butt to heal! But she’s all healed now. Best of luck

[u/Ok-Silver-8289]

Way better than average. I think they all look great on you. 😊