[Rhonda9164]

Back in August of 2007 I took my 10 year old daughter to have her ears pierced.
About 3 or 4 weeks after piercing she discovered a large scab that was developing behind her ear next to the hole that was pierced. It was gross looking. I mentioned to her about contacting the pediatrician but she didn't want me too. She was afraid he was going to have her remove the earring and her hole would then close up. So I waited until November. It really looked bloody and so I called the pediatrician. He said it looked like a skin tag. So he basically put a small suction device over the tag and it very easily fell off. However it did bleed quite a bit so he applied a cotton swab and had her hold it at the site until the bleeding let up. He told me to keep the area clean and use neosporin. He did say she could put the earring back in but to wait a few hours. So we did exactly what he said. Everyday I asked her to show me the back of her ear but I was noticing that it was forming a scab again. I said to her it looks as if this thing has not gone away and is reforming. She insists and to this day claims its just a scab. Well I'm looking at it now and it looks exactly the way it did when I took her into the Dr.'s office back in November. I have no problem taking her back to her pediatrician but she is begging me not to. She is terrified. She thinks he's going to make her lose the earring for good. I do feel bad a little bit because this is her second experience with having her ears pierced. We tried a few years ago, but we had to take the earrings out because she said they hurt. So I just don't know what to do at this point. I've been surfing through different websites trying to find similar scenarios but have been unsuccessful. This is why I'm asking the question. Can you please give me some insights into what you think this could be and any suggestions you my have regarding this particular case. Thank you for your time regarding this matter.

Sincerely,
Rhonda

[charlottethedinosaur]

On average. A lobe piercing takes 3-4 months to fully heal, during that time a fistula is formed (A skin tube), and if it was improperly pierced, some scar tissue may form, which may make the skin a little less stretchy, but near the end of healing the ear should regain a lot of it's elasticity. It could possibly be a Keloid formation, though highly unlikely. Or a hypertrophic scar, which is basically a cartilage lump, and are sometimes easy to confuse with Keloids. Keloids are overgrowths of tissue, usually accompanied by needle-like pain or severe itchyness. And hypertrophic scars are raised scars that do not grow beyond the boundries of the original piercing or wound. They often fade over time.
You may want to visit the original piercer and have him/her take a look. And be sure they used an autoclave on all equipment, unless they used a piercing gun, which usually cannot be autoclaved. The use of an autoclave reduces the chance of infection, most places are required to have one.
Hopefully this helps.

[nauticalstar420]

Scar tissue does not usually bleed. Has she been picking at it? Or has her ear been injured (that you know of) at all? Maybe she bumped it or snagged it?

I understand that you feel bad, but this cannot be allowed to go on forever. If this problem has already been taken care of once and it is still not better, I suggest that she just takes the earrings out, or at the very least sees her pediatrician again to see what he thinks should be done. I know it would probably break her little heart, but the fact that this growth, whatever it may have been, grew back, that's not a good sign.

What are her lobes being cleaned with? I suggest cleaning them with antibacterial soap twice a day. Don't let her touch them, and keep her hair pulled back so it does not get caught in the earrings. Since you describe it as a giant scab, you should also put a thin layer of neosporin on it after cleaning.

You should take her back the pediatrician and see what he has to say. I know she will probably get upset, but remember that her health is the most important thing. Good luck and I hope all goes well! :)