Your efforts in caring for your healing ear piercings may not be good enough, and your earring may still get stuck in the ear. So, what do you do when this happens? And what even causes the earrings to be stuck in the first place?
In this article, we’ll take you through the things you should do if your earrings get stuck and also what you need to do to prevent a reoccurrence of such a nasty and painful experience.
So, why do earrings get stuck in the ears?
Sometimes your stud earrings get stuck in the ears, and this often happens after getting a new piercing. What usually happens is that as the piercing hole heals, fluid is produced as this happens, the skin tightens, which makes it even harder for you to remove the earrings.
When this happens, you need to be very patient, calm, and gentle. It can be very scary to be in this position because you may think that you may lose an ear, but being calm in such scenarios will allow you to tackle the problem and take out the stuck earrings safely.
You don’t want to be aggressive around this because it will cause serious injury and increase the risk of infections.
There are cases where earrings are stuck in your ears because the earrings are the screw type, and the threading might have been done incorrectly, which means that it might be a challenge removing them.
In other cases, the screw-back earrings get stuck when there is rusting around the post and the screw-back, which makes it harder for you to remove the earrings. So, they may need extra coaxing, and at other times, you may have to use a pair of pliers to get them to loosen up.
How then do you remove the earrings from your ears?
What to do when your earrings get stuck?
1. Simple home remedy – warm water cotton swab
If the earring is stuck, but there is no blood, redness, or pain, you can work on slowly removing the stuck earrings from home.
First, you should wash your hands using clean water and antibacterial soap, then dry your hands thoroughly. You have to do this because it will prevent infections, especially when you’re dealing with a healing piercing.
Remember that your hands are always in contact with different surfaces, and they will carry bacteria from these surfaces, so you need to clean the hands first.
Now that you have washed your hands, you want to swab down the ear very gently using the cotton swab that is soaked in warm water. Just swipe down the wet cotton piece around the back and the front of the earring post.
You could also soak a clean cotton swab with disinfectant, then rub it on the front and the back of the ear carefully while making sure that you reach beneath the front side of the earring post as well as the clasp if you can.
Now, try grasping on the clasp by pinching the post from the front side, holding the earlobe with your other hand. In this position, very gently try to run the clasp in a circular fashion around the post as you try to loosen it.
Then work the clasp back and forth in a very gentle seesaw motion until the clasp loosens and works its way toward the tip of the earring post. Now tug on the clasp gently, then release it.
With the clasp out, get the cotton swab that is soaked in warm water and use it to clean the area around the earring, and gently clean out the crusty or sticky gunk as you remove the earring.
If this fails and it feels like the skin has healed around the clasp, post, or back, then you should go to the doctor.
If not, grab the front of the earring post with your fingers post, and then gently twirl the post in the hole until it spins freely. You could then swipe the back and the front of the lobe using a warm water-soaked cotton swab before tugging on the earring post until it slides from the piercing hole.
Again, you have to be very patient when doing this because it may take longer than anticipated, especially when the piercing hole is rather tight.
Once the post is out, you can now wipe down the earlobe on the back and front using clean, warm water and the recommended piercing disinfectant. Once it’s clean and there is no more gunk on the wet cotton swab, dry the earlobe using a soft, dry washcloth.
Treat the earlobes using an antiseptic ointment, especially if the lobes are swollen or reddish, and let them breathe. Don’t put in new earrings just yet.
2. Removing stuck screw-back stud earrings
If your stuck earrings are made with an internally threaded system, you should know that you can open the earrings easily by holding the earrings’ back end using your fingers, then use your other hand to hold the front of the earrings. Then gently, keep rotating the earrings’ front end to the left side until it is released completely.
Note that you may have a hard time removing the earrings if there is gunk that has dried around the back or the front. And if this is the case, you should soak the front and the back of the earrings using clean, warm water-soaked cotton swabs.
3. Just get it out (if the back is not stuck)
This might not be the approach that works for everyone, but you could try it, as long as you are sure you will not pass out and if there is no sign of infection.
To do this, take a deep breath in them, grasp the earring’s front end and also the back, and pull it gently but firmly, filling any gap between the front of the earring and the earlobe with your fingers, but make sure that the back doesn’t follow through. Stop if the earring back is also stuck, especially if it’s embedded on the back of the ear.
4. Visit the piercer
If you are not sure about what to do with your stuck earrings, you may want to make an appointment and a trip back to the piercer. This is a great option for you, especially if you are squeamish.
Well, you could also go to that friend that doesn’t really ever get squeamish. But we still think that going to your piercer is the best thing to do because there is a high chance that the piercing is also swollen, painful, and possibly infected.
The piercer has certainly dealt with many such cases in the past, and they will know what to do to safely remove the earrings and also to prevent infections and even heal the piercing.
Seek professional medical help
If your earring is stuck and the ear appears swollen, bloody, and red, you should stop all attempts to remove the stuck earrings, especially if you are dealing with a new piercing or a healing piercing.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, the safest way for you to remove your stuck earrings is to gently coax the earring backs and post.
Don’t ever be aggressive when removing the stuck earrings, and if it proves too difficult, let the professionals handle it.
Read more useful tips here or here!
Stephanie is a jewelry lover when she was a teenager. Her major was fashion design when she was in college. She is a jewelry designer at SOQ Jewelry and other design companies. Now she is also a writer for our website. She writes a lot of designs&brands posts with very actionable tips.