Evening!
I'm trying to mull over in my mind how not to make this post boring, tedious and a general waste of time for anyone to read....since this will only interest readers that are A. interested in piercings and B. have a freshly pierced rook and are worried about what might be happening with that thick layer of cartilage. So, I shall start from the beginning (very briefly) and delve into the 10-12 month mark!
My rook was pierced sometime in February and as you can see I opted to not change my long barbell into the shorter barbell that the piercer suggested. So when anyone gets their rook pierced (I imagine) the piercer will advise that after 6 months the barbell should be changed for a shorter barbell to aid in healing and the overall "comfortableness" of having a rook piercing. Firstly, when the piercer says this, nod your head and say "uh huh" and never, ever, ever do it. I cannot stress enough and emphasize my words enough how detrimental this may be for your rook piercing. After 6 months your rook piercing will not be fully healed, it won't even be half-way healed. My rook still bled a bit after 6 months and was pink and irritable (like its owner) after 6 months. If I had changed my jewellery after the 6 month mark I'm sure I would of had to remove my rook piercing because of infection and poor cleaning.
Changing the earring to a small cuter one is, A. adorable and amazing and I can't wait to change my jewellery and B. impractical, especially after the 6 month period. Since the earring is shorter and there's not much room to try and clean with a piece of cotton wool or a clean earbud soaked in saline solution, it will get infected easily.
I am now at my in-between stage of 11-12 months and I'm still hesitant at this stage to change my earring to something shorter. I don't clean my rook piercing as regularly because I'm kinda in the clear now (the earring is not gong to get rejected and any infection that might occur can be easily treated with antibiotics without having to permanently loose my rook piercing). I'm in no way saying that after the 10-12 month mark you shouldn't clean it regularly it all depends on your healing time and everyone has a different pace at which their cartilage will heal. At one point I searched for "yellow crusty build up in rook piercing" or something like that because I thought I had an infection in my rook. Which is why I'm saying don't take my word for not cleaning it regularly, rook piercings on the whole like to be cleaned and taken care of like a well groomed cat.
I occasionally get tenderness in the area of my rook but nothing like a good clean fixes the problem straight away. If you suspect that you might have an infection in your rook piercing, I suggest going to see your piercer, which is a must and taking note of a few signs. Does the fluid smell? Is it green/brown/any weird color that shouldn't be secreted? Is your ear red/pink/looks irritable and agitated? And is it hot to the touch? If you are out of the 6 month period or in the 4-5 month period and you have any of these signs, don't fret your rook piercing can be saved without having to be permanently removed. What works for me is to clean it twice a day for a week and if the pain doesn't subside by then, drop by the piercer.
I hope these were some helpful tips and that it wasn't too long or tedious!
Till we meet again!
Bye Bye!
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Clickey!
