What is Wet Ear? How can you prevent it?
What is it?
Did you know that if you have fully healed, stretched earlobe piercings, that you need to occasionally remove your jewelry for a bit?
Moisture can collect in the fistula, becoming trapped there by the jewelry itself. If the skin inside never has a chance to dry and air out, you can develop something that is (somewhat inaccurately) referred to as “wet ear”.
If you develop wet ear, your stretched lobes will start to feel uncomfortable and irritated. When remove the jewelry to discover that the skin within is red and possibly beginning to break down. This is a sure sign of moisture issues.
What to do...
remove your jewelry, at least for a couple of days until the skin has healed.
You may lose a few sizes on your stretches - an unfortunate necessity but you can always re-stretch your lobes once they’re healed.
The health of your earlobes far outweighs the size of your stretch.
How to prevent wet ear...
Don’t forget to take your plugs out periodically. Let your lobes breathe!
One of the best times to air out your earlobes is after a shower. This gives them a chance to fully dry out and catch a breeze.
This is incredibly important if you wear silicone in your lobes. Silicone is NOT meant to be worn 24/7 without some kind of break. The material clings so closely to the skin that accumulated moisture has no way to escape.
