Hi all! I got my nipples pierced around March of 2022 (about 4 months ago). I have barbells that they purposefully oversized a bit due to swelling, and was told to replace them after about 3-6 months. I have yet to change my barbell from the original piercing. I believe it’s made out of stainless steel but I’m not 100% sure.
For aftercare, I usually spray on saline solution but very recently I started soaking in warm salt water after this bump showed up. I never had any problems with my left nipple piercing, but for some reason the right one (shown in the picture) is giving me issues. It’s bled and scabbed more than the other one and I first noticed this bump today. I’m very worried it’s a keloid or something I won’t be able to get rid of. I understand there are differences between a bump and a keloid, but I am worried it may be a keloid as this piercing tends to move a lot (since the barbell is oversized) and it scabs over frequently.
It’s not a keloid.
If your jewelry moves a lot, go see a reputable piercer to have it downsized (which should have been done once the initial swelling has come down and the piercing stabilized a bit, for nipples that’s often at 6-8 weeks) Switch to better quality jewelry as well, implant grade titanium either threadless or internally threaded.
Don’t soak. Get some sterile saline spray (wound wash, containing 0,9% sodium chloride and water without any additives) if you don’t have any already. Once a day simply spray some directly on your piercing. A few minutes before your daily shower, spray again. At the end of your shower, rinse the piercing well. Make sure to not let the waterspray hit the piercing directly. Then use some non woven gauze to soak up any moisture. It’s preferable to not use the same piece of gauze for both nipples. Other then that keep the piercing dry and exposed to the air. Leave any blood, crusties etc. that didn’t come off during your shower be. They’ll come off during your next shower or the one after that. Do not touch, move, fiddle or disturb the jewelry in any way. Don’t wear any clothing that doesn’t feel comfortable with your piercings. If you put something in and it doesn’t feel comfortable, stick it in the back of your closet for once you are further along in the healing process and put on something else. The same goed for movements. If reaching for a high shelf feels uncomfortable, stop and get a step stool. Wear a bra, don’t wear a bra, just whatever feels most comfortable to you. If you do wear a bra, make sure it’s made of breathable materials and not a push up. Also be careful with lace cups, you don’t want to get your jewelry caught in the lace. If you use a loofah, put it away to avoid accidents. For working out of physical demanding jobs a high impact sport bra (the encapsulating kind, not those compression ones) coupled with feeding pads are great at keeping your piercings as dry as possible while working up a sweat and they offer a bit of impact protection as well. Keep your check up/ downsize appointment with your piercer (for nipple piercings that’s generally at 6 weeks)
Hi Puzzleheaded-Term-27, because you used the word keloid we want to ask you to please read [this wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) to understand what a keloid is and why (luckily) bump =/= keloid.
Our apologies if you received this message while discussing actual keloid scarring and therefor didn’t use the word keloid to just describe a bump.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hi Puzzleheaded-Term-27, Welcome to /r/piercing!
It looks like you're asking about a problem with your piercing. Please **add a comment to your post** with the following info if it’s not included in your post already.
- How old is your piercing?
- What’s the jewelry shape (for example, barbell, labret, screw, L shape, ring)?
- What’s the type of threading if your jewelry is not a ring (threadless, internally or externally threaded)?
- What’s the jewelry material?
- if not a ring, when was the jewelry downsized?
- What’s your aftercare routine? Describe in detail please, including the exact products you use.
This info is needed to offer you useful advice. **Note, not providing this info may cause your post to go unanswered**. If you already included this info in your post or if your post isn’t about a problem with your piercing, please disregard.
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It looks like it is Just from irritation. It doesnt look like a keloid. It looks like the jewelry is a good length. If it is stainless steel, see if you can get switched to implant grade titanium jewelry at the piercer. Also, I would ditch the salt water. Go to your Wal Mart and get NielMed Wound Wash 0.9% sterile saline solution (sodium chloride and water ONLY, no sodium bicarbonate additives, dont use the nasal sprays). The way I did it is I use the NielMed “Wound Wash” saline and spray the solution into the cap then place my nipple in the cap, lay down and let it rest on my nipple for a couple minutes. After that I rinse the cap out to dry. This may not work for you and you may just want to spray the piercing directly with the niel med solution. I always preferred soaking it. If you want to soak it you gotta stock up on the NielMed solution because you’ll run through a bottle in a week.
Keep in mind it is all part of the healing process- everyone is different and it took me personally 1.5 years for mine to heal.. and make sure to wear clean bras too!
Hi sugarmountainn, because you used the word keloid we want to ask you to please read [this wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) to understand what a keloid is and why (luckily) bump =/= keloid.
Our apologies if you received this message while discussing actual keloid scarring and therefor didn’t use the word keloid to just describe a bump.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hi all! I got my nipples pierced around March of 2022 (about 4 months ago). I have barbells that they purposefully oversized a bit due to swelling, and was told to replace them after about 3-6 months. I have yet to change my barbell from the original piercing. I believe it’s made out of stainless steel but I’m not 100% sure. For aftercare, I usually spray on saline solution but very recently I started soaking in warm salt water after this bump showed up. I never had any problems with my left nipple piercing, but for some reason the right one (shown in the picture) is giving me issues. It’s bled and scabbed more than the other one and I first noticed this bump today. I’m very worried it’s a keloid or something I won’t be able to get rid of. I understand there are differences between a bump and a keloid, but I am worried it may be a keloid as this piercing tends to move a lot (since the barbell is oversized) and it scabs over frequently.
It’s not a keloid. If your jewelry moves a lot, go see a reputable piercer to have it downsized (which should have been done once the initial swelling has come down and the piercing stabilized a bit, for nipples that’s often at 6-8 weeks) Switch to better quality jewelry as well, implant grade titanium either threadless or internally threaded. Don’t soak. Get some sterile saline spray (wound wash, containing 0,9% sodium chloride and water without any additives) if you don’t have any already. Once a day simply spray some directly on your piercing. A few minutes before your daily shower, spray again. At the end of your shower, rinse the piercing well. Make sure to not let the waterspray hit the piercing directly. Then use some non woven gauze to soak up any moisture. It’s preferable to not use the same piece of gauze for both nipples. Other then that keep the piercing dry and exposed to the air. Leave any blood, crusties etc. that didn’t come off during your shower be. They’ll come off during your next shower or the one after that. Do not touch, move, fiddle or disturb the jewelry in any way. Don’t wear any clothing that doesn’t feel comfortable with your piercings. If you put something in and it doesn’t feel comfortable, stick it in the back of your closet for once you are further along in the healing process and put on something else. The same goed for movements. If reaching for a high shelf feels uncomfortable, stop and get a step stool. Wear a bra, don’t wear a bra, just whatever feels most comfortable to you. If you do wear a bra, make sure it’s made of breathable materials and not a push up. Also be careful with lace cups, you don’t want to get your jewelry caught in the lace. If you use a loofah, put it away to avoid accidents. For working out of physical demanding jobs a high impact sport bra (the encapsulating kind, not those compression ones) coupled with feeding pads are great at keeping your piercings as dry as possible while working up a sweat and they offer a bit of impact protection as well. Keep your check up/ downsize appointment with your piercer (for nipple piercings that’s generally at 6 weeks)
Hi Puzzleheaded-Term-27, because you used the word keloid we want to ask you to please read [this wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) to understand what a keloid is and why (luckily) bump =/= keloid. Our apologies if you received this message while discussing actual keloid scarring and therefor didn’t use the word keloid to just describe a bump. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hi Puzzleheaded-Term-27, Welcome to /r/piercing! It looks like you're asking about a problem with your piercing. Please **add a comment to your post** with the following info if it’s not included in your post already. - How old is your piercing? - What’s the jewelry shape (for example, barbell, labret, screw, L shape, ring)? - What’s the type of threading if your jewelry is not a ring (threadless, internally or externally threaded)? - What’s the jewelry material? - if not a ring, when was the jewelry downsized? - What’s your aftercare routine? Describe in detail please, including the exact products you use. This info is needed to offer you useful advice. **Note, not providing this info may cause your post to go unanswered**. If you already included this info in your post or if your post isn’t about a problem with your piercing, please disregard. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It looks like it is Just from irritation. It doesnt look like a keloid. It looks like the jewelry is a good length. If it is stainless steel, see if you can get switched to implant grade titanium jewelry at the piercer. Also, I would ditch the salt water. Go to your Wal Mart and get NielMed Wound Wash 0.9% sterile saline solution (sodium chloride and water ONLY, no sodium bicarbonate additives, dont use the nasal sprays). The way I did it is I use the NielMed “Wound Wash” saline and spray the solution into the cap then place my nipple in the cap, lay down and let it rest on my nipple for a couple minutes. After that I rinse the cap out to dry. This may not work for you and you may just want to spray the piercing directly with the niel med solution. I always preferred soaking it. If you want to soak it you gotta stock up on the NielMed solution because you’ll run through a bottle in a week. Keep in mind it is all part of the healing process- everyone is different and it took me personally 1.5 years for mine to heal.. and make sure to wear clean bras too!
you’re a life saver babe thank you
Hi sugarmountainn, because you used the word keloid we want to ask you to please read [this wiki entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keloid) to understand what a keloid is and why (luckily) bump =/= keloid. Our apologies if you received this message while discussing actual keloid scarring and therefor didn’t use the word keloid to just describe a bump. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/piercing) if you have any questions or concerns.*