After trauma to the flesh associated with body piercings or other wounds, a bump can often form around the piercing site or wound. These bumps can be one of two things: Keloids or Hypertrophic Scars. While the two are pretty similar, it is important to know the difference.
Hypertrophic scarring is the one most frequently linked with piercings. This type of scar appears as a small bump around the jewelry (or wound), and does not extend past the original spot. Keloids, however, can grow to be extremely large. They always extend past the original spot of the wound or piercing, and are typically hereditary, appearing most often in people of African, Polynesian, and South Pacific decent, or people who have disorders such as RTS (Rothmund-Thomson syndrome).
Fortunately, however, hypertrophic scarring can be easily self-diagnosed and treated.
Here are a few cheap and easy remedies:
Change of Jewelry & LITH
Hypertrophic scarring can be caused by having the wrong shape or weight of jewelry put into a piercing, and can sometimes be completely cured by a simple jewelry change. For example (in the image associated with this article) the industrial piercing (the bar) is a little too short for the location on the ear. Thus resulting in a small hypertrophic scar (bump) at the lower most end of it. The piercing doesn’t hurt, and the scar can sometimes go completely unnoticed. As long as it doesn’t bother you, you don’t have to do anything about it if you don’t want to. However, just going back and asking for a slightly longer industrial bar and using the LITH (leave it the hell alone) method may very well cause the bump to go away in a matter of days.
Aspirin
The Aspirin method is often suggested by piercers, but doesn’t always work completely for everyone. Basically, you take an Aspirin pill and crush it into a powder. Once it is finely crushed, mix it with a little water and apply it to the scar with a Q-Tip each night. Wash it off in the morning, and check your progress.
Chamomile Tea Bag Press
The chamomile tea bag press method is just what it sounds like. Heat up some water (as hot as you can tolerate) and soak a chamomile tea bag in it. Wring out the tea bag, and press it against the scar for 10-15 minutes 2-3 times a day.
Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is a type of oil that you can purchase in reasonable quantities from some grocery stores, most “wellness” or natural-goods stores, GNC stores, online, or places of the like. It’s great for a lot of things, so you don’t have to worry about paying for it and then having extra left over. All that is required is a small dab of tea tree oil applied to the scar with a Q-Tip 3 times a day.
Note: If one method doesn’t seem to work, or works and then stops making progress, try another. Sometimes just one will do the trick, and sometimes you need to mix and match. Everyone is different. Everyone scars differently. Everyone heals differently.
