right? it was ridiculous. there wasn't even that much blood, just a few drops. it's not like it was pouring down my face. and if it were, I would've needed more than a bandaid lmao.

I'm going to second what said though - the hoop you have right now seems too thin. thinner diameter jewellery is usually harder to heal with, and you definitely shouldn't have jewellery that falls out easily either. BUT I would say it's also probably not a good idea to change the jewellery again since you've already had to do it a few times :/

Don't take it out, those doctors don't know shit about piercings. -.- It's just a little infection, I got plenty when my piercing was healing on my lip, and they go away when you treat them right. Listen to your piercing artist. You're not going to need plastic surgery on your nose later unless you leave it infected and don't treat it. Deep breaths. Just try to calm down and make sure you clean it. Don't use too much of the treatment because it will dry out. Never touch it without washing your hands first. I don't recommend touching it at all when you can help it (obviously you have to touch it when you clean it.

My nose piercing never got infected, and I'm not gonna lie, I barely remembered to use the salt solution (I bought the spray bottle kind) once a day. But I also was veeeery careful to not bump it or touch it. My lip piercing however, hurt like a bitch for a few months, because it got infected more than once. I got a couple keloids, and I'm not prone to them either. You'll be okay as long as you just follow your piercer's instructions and call/visit them if anything else happens or gets worse. They will always know what to do, where a regular nurse or doctor won't.

Try this These are what I used to have for my liprings. You can pick the size of the gauge and the length of the hoop, so that should help with the "sticking out" nonsense. Plus they're hella cheap. :3

[edit] LOL I TONGUED MY LIP RINGS ALL DAY EVERYDAY ORIGINALLY (okay no I still do that I'm a liar). INFECTED FOR SURE. But it went away.

This is what it looks like today

Looks like they definitely used a loop that was slightly too small. They did that to me to. It heals just fine though, you don't have to worry about scarring. n.n

I do it too. So bad omg. I also sometimes still bite it with my teeth and that's soooo bad. xD

My nose looks gross n.n I had such bad anxiety the other night, it wasn't funny. I had to call my mom just so I calm down.

but, that's an infection, right?

yeah, that looks like a boil aka localised infection to me. Mine finally healed when I just decided to leave it alone - eventually it stopped crusting and bleeding like that, healed over, and the bump receded as well. If it makes you feel better to clean it every day or at least every other day, don't do a salt paste. just dissolve a little sea salt in warm water and if you can breathe through your mouth and are fine with submerging your nose in the water, mix the salt water up in a bowl or something you can put your nose in without bumping the piercing, and just let it soak for 5 minutes or so. then just gently pat the surrounding area dry. you can also do that soak if it's feeling a little dry/sensitive - the sea salt soak will help soothe it.

lmao when I got my helix piercings I started twirling them around the instant the swelling went down enough for me to be able to move the curved barbells without it hurting. my poor ear. I definitely made it swell back up several times lol, I just couldn't resist!

I have studs now, and I chew/suck on the right one so much I can actually pull the stud all the way through my lip c_c welp.

I DID THAT WITH MY TRAGUS. THE PAIN. TRAGUS NO MORE.

omfg there's like boobage going on in that photo, i'm so sorry i'm terrible What I used to do for my hip dermals was make a salt water solution, like said, soak it up with cotton balls, and just lay there and let the cotton ball(s) sit on the piercing for a few minutes. Plus it'd probably be easier than putting your face in a bowl of water :3

You can see my boobs in that photo? I hope not lol. yeahh... I took my top off.. ok, so you can see the tan line on my boob XD

yeah... I'll give it a good soaking tonight after I come out of the shower. I'll also apply tea tree oil

make sure you dilute the tea tree oil! otherwise it'll just dry up your boil and make it hurt on top of the crusting/bleeding :(

I understand if you decide that you want to take it out, but I really wouldn't worry. It has happened with every cartilage piercing that I've had. When I had my nose pierced the same thing happened. I ended up taking it out for unrelated reasons. I have the same thing happening on my ear right now though. They go away eventually.

I find that it's just how my body deals with healing after a piercing, especially when the cleaning routine dries it out too much. This time around I have decided to just wash my ear with water and occasionally soap and it has been the smoothest healing process yet. Saline should only be used once every other day if you really need it or else it can really irritate your body.

It definitely is, and it's really not uncommon. You'll be fine! And when it's healed, it's totally worth it, trust me. ;D

Haha I actually had to take my lip piercing out for a while because of a job (they stopped caring though lmao) and the hole receeded in size by like 2 sizes, but I still can wear all my old jewelry just fine. I think probably because I play with it too much. xD Man, I would never get the other side done though, after going through all that with the one side. I couldn't eat anything but soup and applesauce for so long. x.x Not to say that I don't wish the other side was pierced too, but the one side was already $70 for the piercing and the jewelry, and I wanted to save the rest for my nose piercing and my tattoo. xD

It's completely normal, dear! I've had my left and right nostrils pieced and both of them had those bumps. The reason they are appearing is from "aggravation". Technically, you're not suppose to sleep on the side of your face with the piercing, because it's going to catch bacteria and put pressure on it all night. Unfortunately, I had them on both sides, so I was out of luck. It's not harmful, and won't do any damage c:

So, I called the piercer today. She told me to use polysporin for three days and to come to the shop to see her. She said depending on what she thinks, she'll take the piercing out.

That's good! Definitely do whatever she tells you to do. She knows her stuff. n.n

She said even though it's not recommended to take it out with an infection, she's worried about how sore my nose is. I can't even touch it.

She said to keep making salt pastes and use the polysporin

Yeah, it's usually not recommended to take a piercing out while it's infected because the wound can close while it's still infected and be dangerous. But if your body is rejecting the piercing, they might not have a choice. In that case, they would need to remove it for you.

I'm kind of torn. I want to take it out because it might be better for my health. At the same time, I don't want to take it out because I like it.

Something random... it smells like KFC and there's not one around.

Here's what it looks like now P.S. Guess it's time to trim the stash XD

I wouldn't suggest taking the piercing out. It can trap the infection inside if you take it out and it closes. I've had a lot of infections when it came to my piercings, which happened the first few months after I got it. It's normal. Don't stress yourself out. Take care of it. I do recommend you using the tea tree oil though. They had said a keloid was forming on my piercing location as well (this was a few years back) but after I started using the tea tree oil it went away. After awhile your piercings don't get infected anymore. It's just those first initial months. You just have to stick with it if you want a piercing.

I should take a picture of my nose and show you what it looks like now. It's almost healed since I've been using the polysporin. My mom told me I spent $100 on it (including the jewellery since it had to get switched out), so I better let it heal and leave it in lol

Edit: Just when I thought it was healed, I have a new bump forming.