Signs of Infected Belly Button Pericing

Sometimes it can be hard to tell if your piercing is infected or just irritated. You want to pay close attention because an infection can worsen, whereas it may just take a little time to sooth an irritation. Careful and proper aftercare should prevent an infection, but sometimes people are just more prone to complications than others.

Keep in mind that it can take 6 months to a year to heal a navel piercing. Depending on how your body heals, it may heal in a shorter time frame, or a longer one but 6 to 12 months is about average. During this time, you will have a higher risk of infection, especially during the first few weeks or month after initially getting the piercing.
Common signs of an infected belly button piercing include:

By Shanay, Brooklyn

Pain around the piercing (expect some bruising and sharp pain after getting the piercing, but you may have severe pain caused by an infected piercing)
Burning sensation
Swelling around the piercing area
Greenish- yellow discharge (A clear to yellow colored discharge is normal in a healing piercing, but dark yellow to a greenish- tint is pus, which is caused by an infection)
Foul odor
Warmness around the piercing
Redness around the piercing
An abscess may form if the infection is not treated in time (abscesses can be fatal if not treated)
Abdominal pain, abdominal infection, and food poisoning (if the infection spreads to the entire abdomen)

Navel piercing infections don't go unnoticed. If you think that you have an infection, you need to check out the below treatment options.

Treat Infected Belly Button Piercing

If you think that your belly button piercing is infected, don't ignore the symptoms and hope the infection goes away on its own. You want to get the infection treated before it develops into an abscess or spreads to your abdomen.

Clean the piercing with saline or diluted sea salt. You want to treat the piercing as though is is a new piercing so that you can help kill the bacteria causing the infection.
DO NOT remove the jewelry, especially if you are experiencing drainage. If you remove the jewelry, the piercing will not drain properly, which can cause the an abscess to form as the hole closes up.

Consider using an antiseptic cream for a mild infection. You don't want to leave any of the ointment or cream gobbed around the piercing, as this can attract more bacteria, but you can put a little on the piercing, wiping away the excess. Try carefully pushing the jewelry in and out so that you can get some of the antibiotic cream into the piercing.
If there isn't any pus, consider using a hot compress to increase blood circulation to the area. (Make sure the disinfect the compress with hot water and table-salt.)
You can try using hydrogen peroxide to help drain the pus and clean the area, but NEVER overuse hydrogen peroxide and do not use it as an aftercare option, as it can dry out and irritate a new piercing. Use peroxide just once a day so that you don't overuse it.
Have a physician look at the piercing. You may need antibiotics, especially if the infection is starting to spread, or has spread.

Prevention

The best way to treat an infected belly button piercing is to prevent developing an infection. In order to do this, you need to consider proper aftercare of a new piercing. Always wash your hands before and after cleaning your new piercing!

Take good care of a new piercing. Use saline or diluted sea salt (not table salt) to soak the piercing twice a day for the first few weeks, and at least once a day until healed. Do not fiddle with the jewelry or change the jewelry until the piercing is healed. Avoid tight clothes and activities that can cause friction or damage to the piercing.

Avoid tanning beds until the piercing is healed, and avoid wearing dangly belly button jewelry at any time during the life of your navel piercing; dangle jewelry and other heavy jewelry can cause irritation. Avoid using CBR's and other round rings, as this can irritate the piercing and these will snag much easier than a banana barbell (snagging will irritate and may tear the piercing depending on how hard it was pulled).

Most importantly maintain proper hygiene is the best way to avoid an infection, as once bacteria gets into the new piercing, infection will set in.