The Daith Piercing: Everything You Need To Know
Aftercare
Since the daith piercing is a little difficult to access, it can be hard to keep the area clean. There are a few options for optimal cleaning, and you can choose the best one for you.
Use a piercing aftercare saline solution compress. Soak a paper towel with a piercing aftercare saline solution and hold the paper towel to your daith for 3 - 5 minutes. Once completed, you can pat the area dry with a paper towel or use the low setting on your hair dryer to blow it dry.
Use a piercing aftercare saline solution fine mist spray. To clean your daith in this way, simply spray each side of the daith piercing with the saline solution fine mist and let dry.
Don’t move the jewelry. Cartilage is more easily damaged than softer skin, so you need to be extra careful not to move your daith piercing jewelry as it heals. Damaged cartilage can lead to piercing bumps, jewelry rejection, and other issues. To avoid these complications, leave the jewelry alone. Furthermore, you want to make sure that you don’t put pressure on the piercing. Try not to sleep or lean against the piercing as it heals. This could pose a challenge, especially if you get both daiths done at the same time.
Don’t use earbuds as you’re healing. Earbuds will touch and move the jewelry, causing trauma to the piercing site that could lead to jewelry rejection or piercing bumps.
Keep any non-piercing product away from your piercing, including tea tree oil. The only product that you should use on your healing piercing is saline solution. Any other product contains chemicals that will irritate the piercing, leading to piercing bumps and other complications. It’s a common misconception that tea tree oil is good for your piercing, and even some piercing aftercare products contain tea tree oil. In fact, tea tree oil is quite caustic, in spite of its antimicrobial properties, and tea tree oil will irritate your piercing and potentially cause piercing bumps.
Stay away from standing water. This includes hot tubs, pools, lakes, baths, rivers, and oceans. Because the daith takes so long to heal, consider any upcoming vacations that may be impacted by your healing daith piercing.
Common Daith Piercing Side Effects
Side effects of a daith piercing are the same as any other piercing and can easily be avoided through proper aftercare practices. Make sure that you are wearing appropriate jewelry materials (titanium for your starter jewelry, then you can switch to a 14k gold piece after initial swelling has gone down), clean your piercing daily, keep your piercing safe from trauma, and avoid irritating chemicals, and your piercing should be just fine.
Common piercing side effects include:
- Piercing bumps:This is the most common side effect, especially in cartilage piercings. Bumps are usually either hypertrophic scars as the result of trauma, rashes from irritation, or pustules from poor hygiene. If a piercing bump appears, visit your piercer for diagnosis and treatment. The good news is that the vast majority of piercing bumps go away on their own with proper care.
- Piercing rejection:This happens usually after a massive trauma to the piercing, like a big snag. Signs of piercing rejection include red, flaky skin around the piercing site, a growing piercing hole, or noticeable movement of jewelry. If this happens, have a piercer take a look, but be aware that it likely means that you will have to let the piercing heal, and you can try to re-pierce it later.
- Piercing infection:While piercing infections are less common than you might think, they are important to note. Failure to treat a piercing infection could lead to serious medical side effects, so you must keep an eye out for infections and visit a doctor as soon as one is suspected. Signs of a piercing infection include bright yellow or green discharge coming from the piercing, excessive bleeding, excessive swelling, especially weeks after the initial piercing, a feverish feeling around the piercing, and development of a fever. A piercing infection is usually the result of very poor hygiene practices, but it’s good to keep an eye out for the signs, nonetheless.
A note on daith piercing keloids:A common misconception surrounding cartilage piercings is that keloids are something that commonly appear. While keloids can appear on a piercing, they are the result of a genetic disorder that affects only around 10% of the worldwide population. These bumps, which are a serious medical issue, appear as the result of any trauma, including small scratches or bug bites. If you have never grown a keloid before, or you don’t have a family history of keloids, then you are highly unlikely to develop a keloid.
Daith Piercing Cost
The cost of the daith piercing varies by location. In the US, you can expect to pay anywhere around $60 - $100, not including jewelry. It is a difficult piercing to conduct, and it can be a little uncomfortable, so you should choose your piercer based on experience rather than cost for the most enjoyable piercing experience.
