When cleaning your piercing it's good to gently move it around to prevent your skin from healing to the rod/bar. Belly button piercings require extreme care and cleaning for quick healing. If you do go in one rinse your piercing with clean water once you get out. I did it myself. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. (As it cools, you can soak the compress again in the warm water and reapply. Stick to antibacterial soaps instead. When you’re about to end the bath, wipe the skin around the belly button and inside their belly button with a clean wet washcloth and some gentle baby soap. Apply for approx. The pain is totally worth the end result which makes your belly look completely amazing. ", "I loved this article and learned a lot on how to clean it and everything! Speak with your doctor or ask the original piercer for advice. Choose another answer! Hi, i got my belly button pierced about 2 hours ago and i love it! Use a cotton swab or Q-tip lightly dipped in warm water to remove the dirt. Not quite! Make a cup of your palm and place it just below your belly button. After washing your hands with soap and water, clean the area with warm water. Don’t use anything that you wouldn’t use in your eyes, like certain oils or ointments. While you want to avoid applying hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol to your new piercing, it is for one of the specific reasons mentioned above, not all of them. How to Clean a Belly Button Piercing. Click on another answer to find the right one... That's right! wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. You can also buy tea tree soap. Not quite! ", "It was very helpful reading all the things to do and not to do. The piercing will be red and sore for about two weeks at most. Then use a cotton swab and your cleaning solution to gently wipe the area around your … It's a perfectly normal part of the healing process and nothing to worry over. Belly button piercings can take months to heal, and in some cases, it can even take a full year. A navel piercing can be an eye-catching personal style statement, but it also has its fair share of complications. Don't use a cloth towel, as these can harbor bacteria. After you have finished washing the area with soap , rinse it off with running water. Pat dry using a clean towel. This video is all about how to clean a belly button (navel) piercing. Dry the area thoroughly after soaks. In the middle of the piercing it hurts so I want to know what is the cause of it. Preference would be to clean it with soap and clean water. If it extends past two weeks, see your doctor. They should be done once or twice a day while the piercing heals. Also covered are the best ways on how to clean an infected piercing. 4 Answers. This should remove any discharge or crust and allow you to gently move the jewelry through the piercing. It should be natural, organic, or biodegradable. Recommended: get a shot glass and lay back. After cleaning, pat the area dry with a paper towel. Use the most basic soap you can find. 5. Stick with soap and water. Not exactly! Correct! If this occurs, see a doctor and report your piercer. Tea tree oil is a very effective anti-bacterial and it smells nice too. Correct! Rinse with plain water. all you have to do is get your hands soapy and then go around your belly button in a circular motion. Gently rotate the ring or move the barbell up and down to make sure the lavender oil reaches inside the piercing. Also, soak your piercings once or twice a day in a warm salt water mixture. Before cleaning, use a cu-tip soaked in warm water to gently remove any crust that may have formed around the ring. Try using chamomile. We explore how to clean belly button piercing including cleaning it up when it is infected and how to clean new belly button rings while already inserted and before insertion into the piercing. … How to Take Out a Silver Hoop Belly Button Ring; How to Remove a Labret Piercing; How to Put in a Captive Bead Lip Ring ; How to Remove Pierced Earrings From Your Ear; How to Remove a Captive Navel Ring; Sarah Jones/Demand Media . You may also want to cover your navel piercing with a large bandage when playing contact sports and in bed, when there is an increased risk of tugging or pulling on the wound. Mix two parts of warm water with two parts of white vinegar. After the area dries, douse a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol and apply to your navel and the jewelry to further sanitize the area. General after care instructions. Twice a day, at least 10 minutes the first time and 5-10 minutes the second. ", "This article is great, I wish I'd read it before the piercing, but it helped me know how to take care of it. We have all the info you need to ensure that your belly piercing heals as quickly and well as possible, including how to clean a new belly button piercing, what types of clothing to wear while yours is healing, the best types of jewelry for a healing belly button piercing, what to do if you suspect you have an infection or other piercing issue, and more. thank you, (there is dry blood behind the top bar aswell) it won't sting or anything. You have to wait 4-6 weeks to swim in pool water and 6-8 weeks to swim in lake water. Avoid removing the piercing as well. New Navel Piercing Care: Keep it clean: It's important to keep any piercings clean and there no exception when it comes to belly buttons. That's it! Discusses proper aftercare and explains cleaning methods to heal belly button piercings most effectively. Pat your baby’s stomach and belly button dry with a clean, soft, dry towel. Your piercing can close up in just a few minutes, so you don't want to remove the barbel until it is completely healed. First is to get in a low rise pants or shorts and then take off your top. If the crust around the piercing is left to build up, it can harden around the ring, tearing at the wound when the ring moves. Bactine is great if you have an infection. True or False: You can change out the barbel when it no longer hurts to touch. Nope! Do I need to use sea salt to clean my piercing? Avoid direct application of soap to the area or piercing as it may cause infection. An infected piercing may secrete yellow, green, or red fluid. There are other reasons to avoid hydrogen peroxide. Yes you can use a Q-tip and it is normal for it to itch since it is new and your skin isn't used to it. 3. Rinse the area with warm water to get the soap off. The pictures also help a lot.". You may experience some pain or tugging with tight fitting clothes, so it is best to wear loose clothing. You actually want to avoid swimming in any body of water while your piercing is healing. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Two or three times a day I'm soaking it with salt water, other than that is there anything I can do? Navel piercings typically take four to 12 months to fully heal, but if you take proper care of your piercing, you can make the process go more quickly and painlessly. Clean with salt water. Regardless of whether you are using hydrogen peroxide, if it starts bleeding a lot, consult with a healthcare professional. However, you. To prevent and treat an infection, you should clean your belly-button piercing with warm water and soap twice daily. My friend pierced my belly button last night, and I wanted to know what I could and couldn't, "Learned to use sea salt spray on my piercing to make sure it stays clean and doesn't become infected. To create this article, 101 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. To create this article, 29 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. A shower with plain old soap and water should remove lint, dirt, and some bacteria. Keeping your navel piercing clean is essential if you want it to heal quickly and avoid infection. 4. Can I remove my ring for a few minutes to clean it and then put it back? Making sure you know how to clean your new belly button piercing is a big deal. If your piercer suggests you use soap and they don’t give you any (or they tell you Dial soap), i suggest you get a new piercer who will help you find “proper” soap for piercings and that will suggest soap that’s “okay” to use on a piercing; soaps that are suggested to clean piercings … 7 expensive beauty products you can make yourself. Work slowly and don’t remove the ring at all during the cleaning process. Here are some short steps to follow on how to keep it clean and avoid infection. Switch to a milder soap if you notice red bumps around the navel area and experience tenderness. ", "I've always wanted to pierce my own belly button, and now I have. Learn more... Everyone has insecurities about getting their belly button pierced, especially since there’s always a chance it’ll get infected. cleaning your belly button ring (: how to; brand new freshly pierced. If I clean my piercing with only water and nothing else will that be effective in the healing process? You have to commit to spending the time to actually do it. Belly button piercings should always be kept clean. To clean your piercing, soak a q-tip or cotton ball with a saline solution and gently wash your piercing holes and belly button twice a day. ", https://uhs.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/piercingcare.pdf, https://www.safepiercing.org/docs/APP_AftercareMinors_Web.pdf, https://uhs.berkeley.edu/health-topics/body-piercings, http://www.skin-artists.com/piercing-aftercare-awareness.htm, https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/piercings/art-20047317, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/body-piercing/. Navel piercing. There are 17 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. Soak a cotton ball in the mixture and apply it on the belly button piercing wound. If the discharge is yellow or green or emits an unpleasant odor, you may be fighting an infection. Belly button piercings are one of the most popular forms of body art. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. References use the soap for it! Here, this was off the website of the piercing parlor i go to. Try again! ", "Very helpful. No, you have an open wound that needs to be kept free of bacteria. You can, if you want to. Your body is managing a fresh wound and bruising is a common response to that kind of trauma. Guess again! When your piercing no longer hurts to touch, you can go ahead and change out the ball on the barbel. The cleaning process only requires a few minutes out of your day and will ensure that your piercing looks good in the months and years to come. Do not use iodized salt, kosher salt or Epsom salts, as these can irritate the piercing. If it is an older piercing, then you may have re-inserted the piercing incorrectly and irritated it. If the piercing is new (one to six weeks), then no. Your piercing needs oxygen to help it breathe and heal. For piercings that are difficult to submerge, such as a belly button piercing, you can do a hot compress by simply soaking a clean towel or paper towel in the solution. No. Your belly button will be prepared by using a surgical scrub to clean and sterilize the area inside and around the navel. ", "The aftercare for my navel piercing was helpful. There is still a chance that it could close over. Should I put a bandage on it to prevent it from getting infected or irritated? {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/3\/30\/Keep-Your-Navel-Piercing-Clean-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Keep-Your-Navel-Piercing-Clean-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/3\/30\/Keep-Your-Navel-Piercing-Clean-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid15931-v4-728px-Keep-Your-Navel-Piercing-Clean-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"