I got my cartilage pierced 4 days ago. The stud they used always tangled my hair and caused incredible pain. My brother convinced me to put a hoop in instead. After an hour of prying off the stud and inserting the hoop it seemed to feel a bit better. All day today I have been miserable! I can't even graze my ear without wanting to scream. I know it's not infected but I'm not sure if I can stick the pain out. I have tried lidocaine to numb it and heat and ice. Even taping a peroxide soaked cottonball to my ear over night! When will the pain subside? Is there something else I can do to relieve the pain or should I just take it out???

Cartilage Piercing (http://bodypiercing.ygoy.com/cartilage-piercing-procedure-and-healing/)

Try not to touch it so much. Just clean it once a day. It takes a while to heal and the more you mess with it the more irritated it's going to be.