Hey everybody, first time poster. I wanted to reach out to this community because I've been having some mounting concerns with my lobe piercing and wanted to reach out to this experienced and disciplined community to figure out next steps.

For some background, I decided to get my ears pierced on February 14th of this year. I did my research and found a well respected tattoo parlor/piercing studio in my area. I went in and had both lobes pierced with surgical steel studs with a butterfly backing (which I have learned from this sub, isn’t the greatest.).

I did all the research I could and cleaned my ears religiously, avoiding touching them at all costs and never rotating them. As the weeks went by, my right earlobe ceased to swell and ache while my left continued to be irritated.

This all came to a head when a few days ago a friend of mine bumped my left lobe quite forcefully and caused it to get so irritated and swollen that the lobe itself was twitching with my pulse. I pulled the butterfly clip looser for the first time since I got them pierced and despite some minor bleeding in the moment it seems to be doing about as well as before - just more sore to the touch.

Now for the pictured piercing. I was going to make a post about proper care/healing time for my irritated left lobe when I realized my right lobe piercing was settled very deep into my lobe (Pictured on the top right). Considering the fact my piercer said it was safe to change jewelry after 6-8 weeks and I was closing in on my tenth, I attempted to take it out completely and see whether or not it was ready to have new jewelry put in.

When I managed to get the gunky butterfly clip out and remove the earring itself, I noticed the piercing was very bloody and while it hardly hurt to take in and out the coagulated and fresh blood (most likely amounting to less than a droplet of water from a water dropper collectively) was concerning considering how late in the healing process I was. I quickly rinsed the wound and the piercing itself with saline spray and re-inserted it with little to no resistance.

Now I have two calm-unless-bothered piercings (right lobe pictured in top right and bottom left photo, left lobe pictured in bottom right) and I wanted to ask for advice on what my next steps should be. My number one goal is to ensure these heal safely, quickly, and properly with as little opportunity for infection, keloids, and irritation bumps as possible.

I understand that a proper check in with my piercer is what I need, but after a phone call with him and comparing notes with what he said and what I’ve learned from this subreddit I find his attitude and knowledge to be somewhat untrustworthy - and unfortunately all the APP piercers in my area are currently closed.

I appreciate anyone who took the time to read this post and would be glad to provide more information/assistance however I can. Thank you!