Okay so I got the sides of my belly button pierced almost a year ago. I’ve done everything I can think of to get them to heal. The right side (which has a bit more skin) is doing better day by day. The left side has a scab in the middle which falls off every few days then re forms. Today when I was cleaning it, the scab fell off and I noticed there is actually a hole there. Im really trying to not lose it but I’m not sure what else to do. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
The best option would be to go to a doctor, who will likely recommend that you remove it.
My sister had the same issue with her belly button piercing and it eventually got really infected and she HAD to take it out.
Do you know for sure you don’t have a metal allergy? A sensitivity to the metal in your piercing could cause it to do that.
Yes. I have the top and bottom of my belly pierced as well as my monroe with no problems what so ever.
Also, I don’t have health insurance, so seeing a doctor at the moment isn’t really an option. :smack:
I know you don’t want to hear it, but you know (or should, with the piercings) that navel piercings take the longest to heal, and sometimes they just don’t work out…
You may just have to remove the jewelry and let it heal. Remove it and treat it like any other infection - warm salt water soaks with a shot glass for example…
I know…I would like to see if there are other options though before going that route. I really would like to try to have it heal with the jewelry.
My top and bottom both healed within a year and Ive never had a problem with either since then.
Moved GQ --> IMHO.
Go see the piercer. Any decent one will want to follow up on his/her work.
Yes, see the piercer or find a $40.00 storefront clinic to get antibiotics if you need them. I wouldn’t suggest taking the jewelry out while it’s infected because sometimes the skin will grow over the active infection and cause more problems.
Have you tried epsom salt soaks instead of just regular salt?
I use sea salt for the SSS as thats what Ive done for every piercing Ive had previously.
What’s a “monroe?”
Piercing in the upper lip a la Marylin Monroe’s famous birth mark.
Belly button is only a surface piercing. They’re not typically permanent. I had clav piercings that migrated and had to be removed in 5 months, and you say you’ve had your belly button done for a year? It may just be the end of your run. I’ve heard piercing through scar tissue makes the piercing more stable and less likely to migrate, but it didn’t help me at all: the second time I got my clavs done they were on the way out in about 8 weeks.
And for the record: I have several (16ish- including a Monroe!) other piercings as well, and they’ve all healed perfectly fine. Surface piercings are just kind of a bitch 
Ive had the top pierced for 11 years and the bottom done 9 years. I didnt realize they were surface piercings and grow out. 