Earrings are beautiful and expressive, which is why most women and lot of men have their ears pierced. But there can be some nasty complications with this common accessory, like tears and entrapped earrings.
Some think of the earlobe as this indestructible part of our bodies than can pierced and changed at will. This is not the case. A variety of issues can occur when you put a hole in your body, even if it’s the earlobe.
Earlobe Tears
Whether it’s from a curious child, getting caught on clothing or something else, earrings can sometimes pull stretch, and even tear the earlobe. Often what happens is a partial tear. But instead of healing back together, the earlobe just maintains a larger, irregular hole.
Irregular and unattractive earring holes can also come about because of:
- Wearing heavy earrings often over time.
- Wearing gauges over time.
Earlobes can also tear completely, leaving a split at the bottom of the ear.
How to Fix These Problems
Earlobe tears and splits are repaired and reshaped with carefully placed stitches that bring the lobe into a natural shape. Dr. Myers will remove a small layer of skin around the site that needs repairing, so the skin can heal properly after the stitches are placed. This process usually has a healing time of about a week.
Watch Dr. Myers repair an earlobe here:
Entrapped Earrings
Sometimes earrings can get trapped in the earlobe. When this happens, removing the earring by yourself can be impossible. This problem happens for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, if you touch your earring too much and don’t clean the area often, infection and swelling can occur. Contact dermatitis can also result in swelling, entrapping the earring.
Dr. Myers will use one of several techniques to remove an embedded or trapped earring. An incision may be needed, as the earring can be entirely hidden.
