Hey, I'm Sam and live in the UK - I had my conch pierced 2 weeks ago last tuesday. It's always been something I've wanted done and I finally decided to go for it!
At A Glance Author sammylou Contact sammylou@bme.anon When It just happened I went to my usual place where I get all my piercings (I have my tragus, anti-tragus, 6 holes in each ear, labret, belly button, tongue, eyebrow and nose) and have had no problems with any of them piercings, no infections, hardly any pain so I thought this one would be exactly the same.. ooooh I was wrong...
I went in, did the usual form signing procedures and Alan (my piercer) went through all the aftercare procedures, then he marked where he was going to do it, sterilised the bar, put on his gloves, got a new needle out of a new packet and everything was clean and sterile.. he numbed where he was going to pierce it and then just did it, it didn't hurt that much - it took a while to get through my cartilige though (felt like it was hours!) but everything was fine, no bleeding and after the needle had gone through I didn't feel any pain - great!!
I left the studio, and went up to the cafe where I'd arranged to meet my mate from work for a drink, everything was fine. I went home, cleaned it, everything fine. I went to bed, I didn't lie on the side I'd just had pierced though incase it aggravated it but everything seemed to be fine.. I woke up the next morning and I was actually lying on it and I didn't feel anything, even forgot I'd had it done!
The next 2 days I carried on cleaning it reguarly, and turning it and it just wasn't hassling me at all. A few people had warned me about getting there pierced as they said it was really painful and had to take thiers out after a few days because it was so sore, I thought I'd gotten away with it!!
Then I went to bed on the third night after having it pierced, it had starting aching a little bit by now, so I took a couple of painkillers and went to sleep - when I woke up the next day my ear had swollen up like nothing I'd ever seen, my ear was noticably sticking out much more than the other ear and my ear was totally covered in what looked like blisters, and oozing with puss. I cleaned it all and took some more painkillers, but didnt really think that much of it and just went to work.
At around lunch time that day, the inside of my ear started hurting - alot. It felt like an ear infection, I know because when I was younger I had alot of ear infections, it started to affect my balance and in the end my boss told me to go home and get to the doctors. So I did.. I went to the doctors on the friday, he said I had a middle ear infection and gave me anti-biotics and painkillers and told me to just keep an eye on the blister like things on my ear around my piercings. So I did, went home took my tablets etc and just trusted that that would work.
By the next tuesday (exactly a week after I'd had it done) the pain was just too much, my ear was sticking out sooooooo much, my hair couldn't even hide it!! I went back to the doctors, but at this point I still didn't want to take the piercing out, he doubled my anti-biotics and gave me a cream to put on the blister things (which had now popped several times and come back) so I did, but by the friday (last friday) I really couldnt take anymore of it, my ear was throbbing, I was being sick it was that painful and couldnt sleep because of the pain. I tried desprately to get the piercing out, at this point I wanted it out badly it was that painful - but my ear had swollen so much I couldnt get at the balls to unscrew them and take it out and the balls were stuck inside my ear and the skin around them had started to heal ontop of the balls - OUCH!
My mate came around, took one look at it and took me straight down to Accident and Emergancy in hospital - I went straight in to see a doctor, and I said I really wanted it out, he said even if I didn't want it out it would have to come out anyway. Hurrah! He tried to get at it but it just wasnt moving, and it was so painful I fainted when he was trying to get at it.
He had to lance it (drain all the swelling) then he thought he could get at it because some of the swelling would of gone down, but nope he couldn't - it was just way too painful! In the end, I had a local anesthetic but he said he wasnt sure if it would work as well because it was cartilige - it did numb it a little bit and after 35 minutes he eventually got it out! Thank god!
I thought that would be it then, the swelling would go down and it would be much better, he gave me different anti-biotics and told me everything should be fine within 2-3 days - it wasnt! The infection had spread to the other piercings in my ear, and when I was 5 I had my ears pinned back because they stuck out and the infection has got in to my scars so I'm still a bit nervous incase my ear will always stick out from now on. I still have a middle ear infection as well, which had so much pressure behind it my ear drum's ruptured - very painful!
I don't know why my ear went like this, everything was proparly sterilised, and I took good care of my piercing after it was done. I have had never had any problems with any other of my piercings, but I think that this one, was just not meant to be!
Please think carefully before getting your conche pierced, I wouldnt wish the pain I went through and am still going through on my worst enemy! But if you do decide to go for it, make sure you get everything checked out and look at the risks of it going wrong. I've got several piercings and thought that this one would be just like the others, but boy I was wrong!
Pleeeeeasssseeeee be careful! It really isnt worth all the pain and sleepless nights if it goes wrong!! Plus I now have no piercings in my right ear because this piercing went so horribly wrong!
Take care,
Sam x