<p>My 16 year old daughter would like to get her cartilage in her ear pierced. I am interested in hearing any experiences or advice on the subject. For example…She is a runner and cross country season is coming up. No jewelry can be worn during competition. How long is the healing time for this? Are there any other issues? Thanks!</p>
<p>My daughter did this.
When she was six or seven.
With a post earring.
On both sides.
She actually did a pretty good job, but I made her take it out & it grew back quickly.
Generally I am guessing healing time would be about 4-6 weeks- but in sports if they can’t take it out, can’t they just tape it up?
That is what they did for soccer.</p>
<p>Cartilage piercings can be tricky, and it depends a lot on location in the cartilage, the gauge of the piercing, how quickly you personally heal, and whether it gets knocked or irritated a lot while healing. Some of my friends have had them heal in the 4-6 week time frame, while others’ piercings have taken upwards of a year to heal completely. </p>
<p>My biggest piece of advice is to NEVER get a cartilage piercing done with a gun. A couple of the friends who have had extended healing times had this issue because the act of shoving a pretty blunt edge through brittle tissue caused their cartilage to shatter. From their accounts, it was very painful. I also have no trust for the people who are “trained” to perform these kinds of piercings. Go to a reputable tattoo/piercing parlor and you will have a much better experience with a cartilage piercing, though you will probably have to go one above the standard post earring size, as post earrings are about 20 gauge and they will usually use an 18 gauge ring for the piercing. </p>
<p>I have a 14 gauge ring through the conch of my ear that was done with a needle, and getting the piercing wasn’t very painful, though my ear became “angry” with me about a week after because it realized what I had done to it. 
My healing process has been somewhat extended but that is because I have a boyfriend and brother who can’t remember not to hit/squish/touch that ear.</p>
<p>The only safe place to pierce is the soft tissue of the earlobe. If the cartilage is pierced and the opening ever becomes infected the infection can be very difficult to control and severe disfigurement can result.</p>
<p>In our pediatrics practice we performed piercings of the earlobe on request, but I don’t know of any physician who wound approve, much less perform, piercings anywhere else and certainly not through cartilage. We have seen the results when infections occur.</p>
<p>D1 recently got a cartilage piercing, and would second the advice above to go to a reputable tattoo/piercing parlor. I believe she said that the piercing (upper ear) has to remain in place for 4-6 months before it can be safely removed. </p>
<p>Care is more involved than for ear lobe piercings. She uses a sterile saline solution that must be kept refrigerated, then heated and held on the ear. She’d methodically planned for how to manage this at several upcoming events, but forgot about one week-long cross-country trip during the summer. There was a bit of a scramble to ensure that she’d have a mini-fridge in her hotel room, and she had to brainstorm some ways of heating and transporting the saline solution.</p>
<p>A more high maintenance saline solution is not always recommended by all piercers. Mine recommended a slightly pricey product called H2Ocean, which is a sterile seasalt solution in a convenient spray bottle. She recommended that I spray it on a Q-tip and gently wipe it around the edges of the piercing, though a friend’s piercer advised spraying directly onto the piercing. I’ve also been told that bactine is fine to use.</p>
<p>My daughter has done this twice, both times done at a clinic that exclusively does piercings. One she has kept, the other she removed and is letting close up. I didn’t like the idea but she is 18 and it is her body. Both were hardly noticeable. It is my understanding that athletes are allowed to put tape over earrings that have not yet healed and cannot be removed.</p>
<p>Depends on the sport - would not be allowed in our lacrosse league. Girls can’t even wear metal bobby pins or hair bands with metal in their hair.</p>
<p>I got one a little over 1.5 years ago from a tattoo/piercing parlor.</p>
<p>Make sure she gets it done with a needle, NOT a gun. A gun can shatter the cartilage and cause a lot of problems.</p>
<p>Also, make sure she understands that while they may “heal” fairly quickly, they may be sore/sensitive for a long time. Mine just stopped being sensitive a few weeks ago, and I’ve had it, as I said, for about a year and a half.</p>
<p>I have a “captive bead hoop” and it looks good, and I definitely enjoy having it. I’m thinking about getting the other side done to match.</p>
<p>My daughter has had the following piercings over the years: Nose, Cartilage, Lip (twice) 1 stud one captive bead, and Eyebrow as well as 18 guage captive bead second ear lobe piercings. All were done at a piercing parlor. The only one that ever caused her issues was the cartilage. She said it was painful to sleep on, her hair used to get tangled up in it, and it never really healed properly despite her following the proper healing instructions and her familiarity of previous peircings. </p>
<p>I don’t think it would be practical to expect her to be able to take it out for sports. They are fiddly to get in an out, would need to be left in for 4-6 months before they heal, and the hole would close quite quickly if the jewelry was removed.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your responses. I will have my daughter read this thread and the other one begun by Irishdoctor. Anyone else want to weigh in?</p>