I first had my cartilage pierced at Tattoo Lou's in St. James, NY when I was 18, and then after having lost the earring and having the fistula close, had it re-pierced at Addiction NYC when I was 20.
At A Glance Author the greatest liar this side of the moon Contact the greatest liar this side of the moon@bme.anon When Two years ago Studio Tattoo Lou's/ Addiction NYC Location St. James, NY/ NY, NY The first time went smoothly but required a good deal of attentive care for the piercing to heal properly. The piercer pierced my cartilage in such a way that the CBR entered into the outer top of the helix and then exited into the crease which the helix forms in its 'folding over' on the cartilage. This crease has a fair amount of wax buildup, and wax gathers bacteria. Most cartilage piercings I have seen which have not become infected position the CBR so that it goes around the helix and only through the cartilage. I suppose it is personal taste for any positioning, however.
I cleaned the piercing three to five times a day using sea salt and bactine. I prefer to use sea salt because it is a simpler process that gets some of the best results. However, the sea salt did not do the job once the piercing became infected. One or two curious lookers became curious touchers, and one of those then grabbed my piercing as and gave it a tug. This was not even a week after the piercing.
A microtear formed and quickly became infected. A keloid then followed. Other than the pain, I was concerned with the horror stories I had heard of keloids. I was adamant in not becoming one of those stories. I then cleaned the piercing five times a day, soaking it in sea salt-water and covering it in a cloth soaked in near scolding water. This brought the infection to a head. I then used bactine soaked q-tips to run around the CBR, which drew blood from the keloid. Doing this a few times a day resulted in the keloid rapidly losing size. I would cover the piercing in bacitracin a few times a day to fight the infection, but would wash it off after an hour because the petroleum jelly of most bacitracin products can gather dirt in the same way the wax of the crease in an ear can.
To my surprise, the piercing was well-healed within a month of the piercing. The keloid was gone and the fistula was well formed. After about two months, I was able to switch out jewelry. Unfortunately, I would at times take the ball out of the CBR for a few days so I could easily switch jewelry. A night of rough sex led to the CBR falling out and surely enough, the hole closed up. It hadn't been the full six months of healing, so I suppose that is why.
I later had the piercing re-pierced in the same spot. I wouldn't recommend to anyone that they go to Addiction NYC, but I did not have the meager 10 bucks more to go to Whatever Tattoo just a few shops down. The piercer went through the scar tissue of the old piercing. I do not believe I saw him use what was a convincingly sterile needle (the entire shop doesn't seem sterile).
Again, someone grabbed my piercing in a fit of curiosity and I walked around for the next five minutes before I was told I had blood streaming down my neck. It took me about five minutes to get the bleeding to stop. This time, it was the winter, so I had to put a bandaid over it every time I had to wear a hat (and take it off after I took the hat off, as I prefer open air healing).
Once again, I used the tried and tested procedure of hot-cloth soaking and bactine cleaning. The bacitracin was more useful this time because the scab was more pronounced this time around. Eventually, all was well even thought there was an apparent raised bump still remaining. That went away within a week. Within 1 1/2 months I could switch jewelry.
I do not have this piercing anymore because a MRI forced me to take it out. I am sure I could have gotten it back in after the MRI, but the CBR was lost. I haven't had it re-pierced and it is not a priority on my list of piercings-to-have-done.
I would recommend to anyone interested in this piercing that they are careful when putting on clothes, so as to not snag the piercing, or that they put a clean, dry washcloth on their pillow every night to prevent bacteria buildup in the piercing (if you even sleep on that ear). Also, one must be attentive, as with any piercing, of cleaning it a few times a day. Don't despair if you get a keloid, but make sure it becomes your primary responsibility, as it can become a growing health and cosmetic problem, literally and figuratively.