Question about ear piercing

[Stormthorn]

I got my ear pierced today.

And they told me to keep it in for 6 weeks, which for the most part i can do. But in two weeks time i have to go to work for up to 10 hours (4-10 hours with almost no way to tell how long beforehand) and my dress code doesnt allow me to have the earring in.

Is their some method i can use to prevent the hole from closing up in that time?

[Groundhog]

Okay, how large is the earring? Because if it's small enough, you could cover it with some sort of makeup.

[Jack Squat]

If it's a small-ish one, you could always put a band-aid over it. That's what people always did at a school I went to.

[Krade]

Hate to be cold about this, but it needs to be said:

Hmm... as I typed that sentence I realized that it is much more likely that you didn't realize you had to keep it in so long instead of knowing and got it pierced anyway... so nevermind then.

That said, unknown alternatives aside, I think the proper way to describe your situation would be... SOL?

[reorith]

logistically, this was an issue you should have addressed before allowing a stranger to punch a hole in your ear with a piece of metal.

or, claim it has religious significance.

[Groundhog]

Okay, enough beating around the bush. The fact is, you can't take it out that early unless you want the hole to close up. You're going to have to find some way to hide it.

[Perenelle]

would an ear piercing close up that quick? when I had my ears pierced I could take them out after 2 weeks and didnt have much of a problem, as long as I put them back in before the day was over.


you could try the band aid thing. I knew some people that did that when playing sports or to cover it up for certain events.

[SDF]

Just put in a clear plug.

[Froogleyboy]

or, claim it has religious significance.

This! They said something about my Tattoo (which I have no idea how they saw it, seeing as it is on my butt) and I said that it was to promote [insert religious deity they haven't heard of here]

[xPANCAKEx]

you can get "retainers" (i don;t know the industry term for them) to hold a piercing open without being too visible

if your work still kicks up a fuss well then i guess you'll just have to take it out and suck it up

[Stormthorn]

I was thinking that since our policy isnt against having pierced ears, but rather against having something in them, i could place a cleaned prism-shaped glass bead in during work and then slide it out with a needle.

If i really have too, i will just go without the earing and then re-open the hole with a needle at home. The family had to do that with my sister once when she was little and she didnt have earing in for too long.


logistically, this was an issue you should have addressed before allowing a stranger to punch a hole in your ear with a piece of metal.

I was getting this piercing come hell or high water.
I got this weekend job in early spring this year right before i planned on getting pierced and dying my hair (got tired of how i looked) but i couldnt do either thanks to the new job. This two week gap in my work schedual is the single longest break im going to get until next Christmas at least and even then it will just be another two-week break and not any longer. (unless i get lucky and i get called off a week. Unlikely tho)
Interestingly enought, i did go through hell to ge tthis piercing. The only place i knew that did them was at our local mall and from the turn into the mall to the parking lot took me 20 minutes and three traffic attendants thanks to all the last-minute-shoppers from the entire antelope/roseville/rocklin area.

[Vagnarok]

Just put in a clear plug.This is a good idea.

Ok, durring my 10 years of reffing soccer I have told tens, if not hundreds of preteen girls that they can either take out their new earrings or sit out the game. Almost all of them sat out. :/ Seriously, your body does NOT have magical regenerative properties that will cause the hole to heal in the course of 10 hours. What will happen is that the hole will fill with crusty stuff. It hurts a bit to put the earring back in, but it's not like you have to re-pierce your ear every time you take out your earring.

When I got mine pierced I had to take them out daily for tae kwon do and they're fine 5 years later. Just be very careful to clean your ears and rings with hydrogen peroxide & a Q-tip, otherwise you risk a quick infection that could very well force you to leave your earrings out for a couple of weeks. That would make them close up.

[Nameless]

I got my ear pierced today.

And they told me to keep it in for 6 weeks, which for the most part i can do. But in two weeks time i have to go to work for up to 10 hours (4-10 hours with almost no way to tell how long beforehand) and my dress code doesnt allow me to have the earring in.

Is their some method i can use to prevent the hole from closing up in that time?

Talking from experience, don’t take it out. At all. Best thing you can do is stick a plaster over it or something, that’s what I did once.

[742]

why not just ask your boss and explain the situation? or the band-aid thing seems fairly effective. or you could just ignore it and hope noone notices/cares. that works too.

[Dragonrider]

When I had my ears pierced, despite the fact that I cleaned them every day, the first three times I changed my earrings (at six weeks, three months, and five months) I got an infection. It's partly that I have extremely sensitive ears (I've had my first set of piercings for five and a half years and they STILL get fussed at me if I change them too often . . . I've tried only using gold, and it's not that, it's just they don't like being disturbed) but with my second set of piercings I left the first pair of earrings in for six months before I changed them, and those NEVER give me trouble.

Point is, taking out your earrings before the six weeks? You're for sure risking infection. Best bet is to cover them up.

Also, is the earring dress code thing just for men, or are women not allowed to have earrings, either? Because if it's gender based that seems sort of ridiculous.

[CurlyKitGirl]

My secondary school was really strict about multiple piercings for either gender, but by the time I was in my final year I had three piercings in both ears.
The way I got around it was for the first four weeks I wore the smallest studs possible (at least for the first year). A dull gold stud doesn't show up very much against my skin, but for paler skin go for a dull silver stud.

As far as worrying about infections goes if you decide to switch your earring in and out don't worry about them.
I actually got an infected piercing by following the Piercing Rules. So with my (home done) second and third sets I just went with what felt right: I was able to take them out after a fortnight and as long as you made sure no more than twelve hours had passed you could put the earring (or a new one) back in easily.
Best way to doubly avoid infection: warm salt water and tissue. First wash the area around your piercing with the water while the earring's still in the ear. Then take it out and wash both ear and earring separately.
And it really must be warm water. Cold salt water doesn't work as well, I know not why.

[Kneenibble]

very careful to clean your ears and rings with hydrogen peroxide & a Q-tip

I know this is the received wisdom, but hydrogen peroxide, and rubbing alcohol, the other oft-suggested cleaner for piercings, are both awful as they do as much damage to healing tissue as they do to agents of infection.

Curly has the right of it, warm (sea)salt water; an other effective and safe cleaner is witch hazel extract.

Another vote for the you just can't take it out until it's healed camp, and I dunno if you could get clear plugs small enough for an unstretched lobe that wouldn't just fall out.

[Em Blackleaf]

It may not work, but if you can't find a clear earring, you could bring the earring with you and poke it through the hole every now and then. I never took my earrings out when I first had them pierced, though. So, I have no idea how long they can be out without the holes closing.

[Zanaril]

It may not work, but if you can't find a clear earring, you could bring the earring with you and poke it through the hole every now and then.

This seems to be just begging for an infection. :smallannoyed:

[Stormthorn]

This seems to be just begging for an infection. :smallannoyed:

As opposed to just leaving it im my ears?

I have a bottle of commercial ear piercing spot dissenfectant that i can easily hide on my person and the place they mos toften stick me where i work i also have their stuff within hands reach.


Also, is the earring dress code thing just for men, or are women not allowed to have earrings, either? Because if it's gender based that seems sort of ridiculous.

Just guys.
Women can also dye their hair form one natural color to another but guys are supposed to do even that.
Their very high standards of being clean shaven also leads to razor burn a lot.

[Dragonrider]

Just guys.
Women can also dye their hair form one natural color to another but guys are supposed to do even that.
Their very high standards of being clean shaven also leads to razor burn a lot.

That's sorta ridiculous. :smallannoyed:

[reorith]

Their very high standards of being clean shaven also leads to razor burn a lot.

do you use rinse your razor between strokes? also try rinsing your face with cool/cold water if you don't already.