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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How To Control Infection From Spreading From The Nose Pierced Area?

I have a nose piercing infection - the skin around my nose is red and inflamed. I had my nose pierced around a month ago, and a small bump formed a few days ago. I've been using a salt water solution of half a mug full of boiling water mixed with half a tea spoon full of rock salts. My stud is made from titanium metal. Do I have to remove my stud as my skin is reacting to a foreign body? Can I leave my stud in? Apparently Flucloxacillin is good for this kind of thing - have I definitely got an infection? It bled yesterday but I've seen no sign of puss. Any advice on how to control this infection without worsening it? Thank you
Fri, 2 May 2014
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Infectious Diseases Specialist,  's  Response
Thank you for your query.

There are two possibilities:

1. Your body is allergic to titanium; hence it is causing a inflammatory reaction.

2. The nose-stud was not sterile i.e. it had some bacteria already on it; hence the infection.

In the first case, you need to replace the titanium stud with a relatively inert metal such as gold. In the second case, you need to apply an antiseptic cream such as neomycin at least twice daily till the wound heals.

I suggest that you do both.

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How To Control Infection From Spreading From The Nose Pierced Area?

Thank you for your query. There are two possibilities: 1. Your body is allergic to titanium; hence it is causing a inflammatory reaction. 2. The nose-stud was not sterile i.e. it had some bacteria already on it; hence the infection. In the first case, you need to replace the titanium stud with a relatively inert metal such as gold. In the second case, you need to apply an antiseptic cream such as neomycin at least twice daily till the wound heals. I suggest that you do both.