Please help me! I got my belly button pierced over six months ago. I changed the ring, it was fine. The ring I changed it into that this real piece of shit that turned my skin green/caused irritation. I went to the piercer, he took it out, cleaned it, changed it (into one that was really good) and told me that everything would be fine. Right after I got it taken out, it felt fantastic. Everything cleared up, no pain, sounds like a happy ending, but it isn't.

A few weeks ago, I noticed it feeling painful, but I kept cleaning it and taking best care of it. I clean it every single day I don't neglect it. But, yesterday, I was taking a nap and I rolled over and felt this agony in my my piercing. I have no idea what happened, but ever since then it's been bleeding and pus has been coming out. This morning I woke up and inside my belly button, the entire bottom is swollen and it almost looks like a white head to a pimple. It's bleeding all the time and just fucking disgusting.

Here's my question though. Is it worth going to see a doctor over? Or will it go away on its own if I keep cleaning it? Do you think it's a serious problem? :x

Are you using a cheap belly ring? If so, I'm pretty sure it is something that can cause irritation. I say see a doctor, and get put on some antibiotics, it sounds infected. I wouldn't say it's a serious problem, something that could get cleaned up over a few weeks. I say take it out for a while, and if your belly still hurts, see a doctor. This is coming from a 13 year old girl who doesn't actually have a belly piercing, so I could be wrong with some things. XD Good luck getting it cleared up!!

Not at all, I paid a pretty penny for this guy. After my horrible disaster with my skin turning green, I refused to cheap out on rings.

Then my piercing will probably close up. :P

I think that may have been a tad melodramatic. :P

Not at all, I paid a pretty penny for this guy. After my horrible disaster with my skin turning green, I refused to cheap out on rings.

Alright. :)

Then my piercing will probably close up.

Uhh, how long does it take for them to close?

I would definetely get that checked out by a professional. Anything that looks like that cannot be good. Dx I've never had any of my piercing get infected, so i'm not entirely sure. But you have to get it check out asap.

; if the piercing is infected, it'll close up right away. Any piercing will if it's infected.

I suggest going and seeing the person who pierced it... or any professional piercer near you. Normally they are really nice and will take a minute, if they're not busy, to discuss piercing issues with you and take a look at them without giving you hassle or making you pay/make an appointment (I know the people I go to are very nice with inquiries and problems). If you don't feel comfortable asking the piercer or don't think he-she will help you out, go and see a doctor.

You might have town the piercing when you rolled over, and then it got infected. That would account for the bleeding, at least I think so. I've never had a belly piercing, nor had a piercing become like that, so I'm not exactly sure. I hope it all works out for you though.

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT TAKE THE JEWELRY OUT, . (Internet equivalent of dramatically flinging my hand out and screaming "STOP!")

Oh god, that scared the crap out of me, seeing all of that crap advice.

If you take the jewelry out, the infection has nowhere to go. The nasty will get trapped inside, and you really will have a problem.

The only case where it is appropriate to take out piercing jewelry, without the opinion and advice of a professional piercer (and even then, they will often send you to a doctor for an assessment) is when a piercing rejects.

Right now, its likely a dermal tear, like said, just a little abrasion that got something in it. The bellybutton IS basically a filthy cesspool of dead flesh and sweat on our bodies.

What are you cleaning with, please? Warm salt-water soaks are really all you need to keep a navel piercing healthy, along with a little soaping/rotating whenever you shower. Being overzealous about cleaning your piercing can actually be as harmful as not touching it at all. You're scouring off the new healthy skin cells too, you know!

My advice is to get some all-natural sea salt and mix a couple of tablespoons of it into a Dixie cup of warm water and irrigate your navel twice a day. Or salt cleanser in a spray bottle, like H2OCean, works great. Your piercer will probably be able to fix you up with some of that.

If you're feeling brave, or have an adventurous individual on your hands, you could lance the outside of the abscess to speed the draining. It will probably hurt, a lot, but it could cut time from the nasty oozing pus stage.

Scrub up like a doctor, flame and alcohol swab a needle, and the affected area, pop, and squeeze. Don't overwork it, just bring the bubble down from a head, and really, really irrigate the wound thoroughly with salt water.

As always, I feel the need to make the statement that I'm not a professional, but I am well-modified, and I like to ask questions when I'm nervous, so I've gotten quite a bit of information out of my tattoo artist/piercer. The advice on lancing and draining a piercing-related abscess is backed by a professional, a RN who has been practicing for 30+ years.

Seal of approval, baby. :)

Belly button piercings are very fussy, because it is a piercing through the mucus membrane. I have had mine done twice, I had to take it out the first time when I was pregnant; my expanding belly forced it to migrate out of the mucus membrane and just stay where it was pierced through the skin.

The second time, I just took it out last night after I got home from work, wasn't going to heal. It has already started to look mildly infected, even though I wash it everyday and keep it clean. But it rubs up on the counters at work (I'm a cook so I'm constantly moving and I don't have time to stop and be like, 'Oww my belly button' or to slow down and be more careful. Gotta get that food out! :P)

But anyways, it sounds like it has been infected.

Go see your doctor or piercer. If they have you keep it in, make sure you watch it verrrryyy carefully. I'd suggest taking it out and letting it heal as soon as possible. It doesn't hurt at all to get repierced, when mine got done the second time around it just bled a tiny little bit for maybe.. 15 minutes lol

You should ALWAYS go see a doctor, since NONE of us are qualified to assess you, nor can we look at your belly button in person.

My best advice I can give you is go to a doctor as soon as possible. :)

I'm cleaning it once (sometimes twice, depending on how gross it is) with a salt water solution that my piercer recommended. It's actually the HcOcean stuff you mentioned.

I've been using Q-Tips with some of the cleaner (now I'm using an anti-septic wash that a pharmacist recommended) to try to "pop" it. Is that kinda the same idea?

I was hoping to get some good cleaning advice before I made the massive hassle of getting to a doctor. I can't drive so it's a pain in my arse to get there. :P

Thanks you guys. :) I've gotten it bandaged up atm so that it can't get more dirt/crap inside of it.