Helix piercing aftercare

[Angel]

I got my cartilage pierced today.

There's a small ball in the front, a flower as the backing. The earring itself isn't very snug so there's some room in the back.

So.
The piercer gave me a box of saline wipes to last me the week but now that I'm home, I realize I have a problem.

How in the world do I clean my piercing with the wipes?

The instructions tell me to compress it to the piercing area for 5-10 minutes, but how do I do that? The earring isn't very snug so attempting to compress it to the area results in pain. How does that help clean the front since there's a ball? And the back?!

For now, I've tried my best to gently wipe the area around the piercing and it looks clean. I'd just like to get some insight into this please.

AND PICTURE. I WISH I COULD TAG @EATY (hi Sarahh) IN THIS THREAD.

[Audacious]

I just soaked my ear in sea salt water (uniodized). Use like a half teaspoon and dissolve it into a cup or a bowl of warm wate,r and then just lean over and soak your ear in it. My friend aaron is a piercer and he says it also helps to just move your hair out of the way in the shower, and let warm shower water run over it for a bit to keep it clean. I put polysporin on mine righ tnow because it's got a small infection I think.

The wipes will be easier to use when it's less tender...It's going to be tender for a few days.

[Angel]

That's a relief to hear.

I just wasn't sure how to soak my piercing since it's in such an awkward place! I think I'll do that instead of the wipes for now. Thanks. :3

Ahh I can't wait until this heals.

[Audacious]

It's going to take a long time to heal. I'm having issues with mine where it gets better, then gets worse, then gets better, then worse. So I've been chatting with my piercer all night on facebook and she says that cartilage takes FOREVER to heal properly, so you have to just KEEP CLEANING IT.

[Nicole!]

Originally Posted by LoveisLouder

It's going to take a long time to heal. I'm having issues with mine where it gets better, then gets worse, then gets better, then worse. So I've been chatting with my piercer all night on facebook and she says that cartilage takes FOREVER to heal properly, so you have to just KEEP CLEANING IT.

Definitely keep cleaning it, I got lazy when caring for mine so now over 6 months later its still not fully healed
Good luck with your new piercing, it looks lovely
And sea salt soaks work wonderfully, I recommend them as well. You could also try soaking a cotton ball in it and then pressing that to your ear for a bit if you are finding it hard to get your ear in the solution.