So this is my first catilage piercing, i got it done Sept 15th and it was sore to touch for the first couple days then about 3 days ago it started to get more sore and swollen. I did go to Dollywood and rode a couple rides and some things hit it while i was there, i cleaned it with saline the moment i left. I was putting saline on it twice a day and stopped and started using sea salt soak for 5 min. My question is, is swelling and real tenderness normal for such a fresh piercing? Im trying to not be paranoid.

The best thing thing you can use for cleaning is antibacterial soap. Wash and rinse thoroughly (any leftover soap can cause an irritation). After washing, use a sea salt solution to remove inflammation (1/4 tsp to 8 ounces of warm water).

The most important rule to remember is NEVER, EVER touch a piercing, unless you are cleaning it. Just think of what you touch that hundreds of other people touch before you come in contact and then to touch the piercing without clean hands is just inviting germs to a party on a fresh wound.

Industrial piercings can take longer to heal because you have two or more piercings trying to heal at the same time with only one piece of jewelry joining them; any trauma to one will certainly affect the other. Yes, it will be sore for a while. It is only a week and a half old and industrial cartilage piercings do take a while longer to heal than a single cartilage piercing.

Hope this helps you. :D