Ear piercings can smell for a variety of reasons. Bacteria buildup, poor hygiene, and not changing the earring often are all common causes. To prevent this from happening, clean your piercing regularly with an antiseptic solution and change your earring every few weeks.
You should clean your earring hole and jewelry regularly to get rid of the bacteria from the sebum and dead cells. You can do this by simply washing your earrings and earring hole with warm water and soap. If the smell doesn't go away, you can use an antibacterial cleanser instead.
Infected ear piercings sometimes smell bad. Pus, dead skin, and other drainage from the infection can stick to earring posts and backs. This can cause a bad smell to linger. Cleaning the ears and earring posts with either rubbing alcohol or a special ear piercing solution might help.
Your skin secretes a natural oil called sebum which can mix with the dead cells in your piercings and cause a buildup. This buildup serves as a great environment for bacteria to thrive and hence you end up with a foul smell.
Unless your piercing is infected, the smell will go away with regular cleaning or after the piercing is fully healed.
Gently wash your piercings with a mild, fragrance-free soap and water at least once a day. Thoroughly rinse your piercings after washing them. Using petroleum jelly that comes in a squeeze tube, gently apply a thin coat around each opening. Keep an eye on your ears.
Poor Aftercare
One of the most common causes of a smelly nose piercing is poor aftercare. Remember to clean your piercing twice a day with saline solution or warm water and soap. Avoid using harsh chemicals, alcohol, or peroxide on your piercing as this will irritate the skin around your piercing.
Most septum pierced people experience that smell at one time or another, Or at least enjoyed it in their healing process. Being known as “septum funk” or “septum stench” that smell is very common with other body piercings as well.
The gunk you're referring to is sometimes called ear cheese. It's a mixture of dead cells, bacteria, sweat and oils that accumulate because of natural bodily processes and a lack of exfoliation in the area.
If you are wearing the same pair all the time, it's good to clean your earrings weekly. If you are switching between pairs, you can clean them monthly or as needed. If you have sensitive ears, you'll want to try to clean your earrings more often.
It is advisable to take your favourite earrings off from time to time to let your ears “breathe”. The reason behind this is that your earrings could trap dirt and bacteria (or shampoo) if you leave them on 24/7, which can lead to infections.
Cleaning Solutions
Packaged sterile saline (with no additives, read the label) is a gentle choice for piercing aftercare. This is often labeled as “wound wash saline” and is available on most first aid aisles. Contact lens saline, eye drops, and other saline products should never be used on a body piercing.
Avoid irritating your piercing with products such as hair spray, shampoo, soap, perfume or cosmetics. Clean your piercing and piercing studs with your Ear Care Antiseptic after using any of these products.
Crustiness, on the other hand, is the buildup of seepage that results from the body trying to heal the piercing as it would any other wound. Typically these are light or near-colorless and should reduce as the piercing, and healing process, matures.
You might recognize the description even if you are not familiar with the term: ear cheese is the icky, brownish-gray gunk that builds up on your earring posts and backs, especially on the rubberized backs or clear plastic bit over the backing. “Ear cheese” is natural and is just a part of having pierced ears.
Signs of an infection
Your piercing might be infected if: the area around it is swollen, painful, hot, very red or dark (depending on your skin colour) there's blood or pus coming out of it – pus can be white, green or yellow.
DO NOT pick the crusties off—that's just introducing your dirty hands to a healing piercing and can increase your risk of infection. The best way to clean them is to soak the piercing in warm saline solution, softening the crusties which then come off easily.
The most attractive spot for a piercing is the belly button. The least attractive is a tie between the nose and the nether regions. That's right: Men apparently don't like sexual piercings, or won't admit they do.
Conch piercings are one of the most attractive types of ear piercings. Named after a shell or a 'conch', these types of piercings are done in the center part of your ear.
It is important to clean your piercing to ensure proper healing. These sterile saline wipes are an easy way to gently cleanse your piercing without stinging or irritation. We recommend applying to your piercing twice a day until it has fully healed.
We suggest cleaning no more than once a day. On average, most piercings will need to be cleaned over the next 3-4 months (unless otherwise stated by your piercer). It is vital that you do not over-clean the piercing. If it has been longer than four months, do not clean the piercing anymore.
To help speed up the healing process, Bubbers recommends wearing earrings made of implant-grade metal so your body will form a healed layer around the metal. You also should avoid going any longer than 24 hours without wearing earrings for the first six months of a new piercing to prevent the hole from closing.
The single best thing you can do for your piercing is to keep up a regular regimen of salt water soaks. These flush out the piercing, help to draw out discharge, stimulate blood circulation, and soothe irritations. We strongly suggest soaking your piercing at least twice a day—more often if healing is difficult.