I have had a scaffold piercing since october last year(2012) and I don't think it's healing very well I clean it 2-3 times a day and twist it every now and again but it just keeps going red and saw I'd there anything I shoud do (btw I'm 14 and I live in the UK near London area?)And neither do I have keloids and it also scabs up a little still and hurt and burns, I use salt and water in a mug and clean with cotton buds.
Scaffold is a cartilage piercing and cartilage piercings need 1 full year to fully heal if treated properly for the whole healing period. They are nothing like other piercings, they are not easy to heal and they have their ups and downs while doing so. They can stay irritated, swollen and painful for long, bumps can be formed around them which also can get infected. All this goes away after proper care but can happen again days or even months later. So you need to be extra careful with it and follow your piercers after care instructions by the book if you want to keep yourself and the piercing healthy. You need to do sea salt soaks 2 times a day for the whole healing period and never stop. How to do : Warm water (8oz) + non iodized salt (1/4 teaspoon) mixed in a cup. Soak the piercing in for 10 minutes, 2 times a day. Use a q-tip to clean around the piercing thoroughly, rinse with water and pat it dry with a paper towel. Until the piercing is fully healed don't : Touch it, twist the jewelry, play with it, sleep on it, change the jewelry or take it out but only touch it with freshly washed hands to clean it. Do not twist the jewelry. If a piercing is freshly cleaned it can easily slide in and out with the slightest push. Some kids mistakenly think that if you don't twist the jewelry it will somehow get stuck to the skin and never move again. This is a bad myth and can never happen. If you keep twisting the jewelry the crusties that are naturally created and attacked to the jewelry will keep scratching the inside part of the piercing ( the actual wound ) causing trauma again and again, irritating the piercing and dealing the healing process. A new piercing , especially cartilage ones need cleaning, time to heal and avoid touching.
