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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes A Blister On The Ear Lobe At Pierced Site On It?

I just got my ears pierced about 10 weeks ago and have noticed a blister on the back of my ear lobe where the second piercing is. I ve noticed bleeding and a little bit of puss. I m not sure what it is and I ve been cleaning it with peroxide. What could it be?
Thu, 11 Sep 2014
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ENT Specialist,  's  Response
Hi. It seems that you have an infection of the ear lobe around the site of ear piercing. The presence of pus confirms it.

It could have started as an irritation to the metal in the stud or the screw that sits behind the earlobe or during the ear piercing procedure, bacteria from the skin may have entered into the local blood stream around the earring to create an infection.

I would recommend that you remove your earring on the side where it is infected to allow healing. The presence of a foreign material such as an earring may not allow natural healing and will allow the infection to spread. You will probably also need a course of oral antibiotics and will need to apply an antibiotic ointment at the site of infection as well. Since there is pus, I would suggest you see an ENT specialist soon so that the infection is stopped from spreading to the cartilage in the ear which can be painful and lead to deformity. If there is a lot of pus then it may need to be drained.

One the ear lobe heals, you can wait for a couple of weeks before placing the earring back again.
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What Causes A Blister On The Ear Lobe At Pierced Site On It?

Hi. It seems that you have an infection of the ear lobe around the site of ear piercing. The presence of pus confirms it. It could have started as an irritation to the metal in the stud or the screw that sits behind the earlobe or during the ear piercing procedure, bacteria from the skin may have entered into the local blood stream around the earring to create an infection. I would recommend that you remove your earring on the side where it is infected to allow healing. The presence of a foreign material such as an earring may not allow natural healing and will allow the infection to spread. You will probably also need a course of oral antibiotics and will need to apply an antibiotic ointment at the site of infection as well. Since there is pus, I would suggest you see an ENT specialist soon so that the infection is stopped from spreading to the cartilage in the ear which can be painful and lead to deformity. If there is a lot of pus then it may need to be drained. One the ear lobe heals, you can wait for a couple of weeks before placing the earring back again.