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Removing a piercing

I've had my belly button pierced for about 6 years, and I've made the decision it needs to be taken out. I think its growing out anyway, if such a thing is possible, as the jewellery is now far too big for it, and I can't seem to buy any smaller ones. That and it catches all the time, is uncomfortable because of it and I never show it off.

Can I just take the jewellery out and then keep it clean with salt water, and it will hopefully heal up eventually? Or is there something special I need to be doing with it?
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Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    If its been done for 6 years it'll have healed so just take it out and it'll be fine
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ok, cool. Will it ever heal up, or will I have the hole there forever? I know I'm going to have a scar, as something went wrong with it a while ago and theres already a scar on it and has been for ages, I just wondered about the hole.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Umm I think it depends on each individual person. It may heal eventually, but I've heard of people leaving earrings out for like 20 years and then when they tried to put an earring in a little sausage came out and then it was open again. You've had it done a while so it will have healed inside so it will never go back to exactly the same as it was before, but I think the hole would shrink to barely recognisable.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Every piercing I've had I've just simply taken out. I never made an extra effort to keep them clean or anything and everythign healed fine without a trace of anything ever being there (except for the tongue... fuck that). Though, as Kangaroo says, everybody is different. As someone who doesn't know a damn thing about piercings, I'd say just take it out and keep an eye on it, if something starts going funny with it, then get it checked out :p
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    From what I have heard, if you leave a belly button piercing out for like 48hours of whatever it starts to heal up so I would have thought that (bearing in mind 6 years is a long time) it will heal. Mabye a couple of months and that, but I can't see why it wouldn't imo.

    You can't really relate it to ear piercing because ears last a long time before healing if they are left with no earing in. This is not the case for belly buttons.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    A bellybutton piercing is basically a surface piercing, which is probably why you suspect it's migrating. Surface piercings never heal properly in the way that other piecings do, so I'd say within a maximum of a month it should close up. Just whip it out - and try not to clean it too much if you do at all; it has to get at least a little dirty in order to close up. Keeping it clean stops the wound from scabbing over (as such - there won't actually be a scab).
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ashlee wrote:
    From what I have heard, if you leave a belly button piercing out for like 48hours of whatever it starts to heal up so I would have thought that (bearing in mind 6 years is a long time) it will heal. Mabye a couple of months and that, but I can't see why it wouldn't imo.

    You can't really relate it to ear piercing because ears last a long time before healing if they are left with no earing in. This is not the case for belly buttons.

    I can leave my lobe piercings out for a couple of weeks and get my earrings back in no problems. My cartlidge piercings, even the 3-4 year old ones start to heal after about 72 hours, and are a bitch to get back in after that time. I had to go back to the peircers to get the hole reopened once.

    As for the belly piercing, take it out, keep it clean, but dont do anything different and keep an eye on it for any infections. It might heal up completly or you might have a small hole left, it depends on your body.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I guess everyone must react differently because my first and second lobe piercings i could take out for ages and they never close up, but i took the third ones out about a year after getting them done and they closed up and bled when i tried to putthem back in a while later. my cartilidge piercing at the top of my ear never closes up and i rarely put an earring in it. i had my tragus pierced and it migrated and eventually just fell out, i have a red scar there now but my skin is quite fair and scars quite easily.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i took my belly piercing out and had no trouble didnt clean it with anyting. i took it out a year ago or more and the hole dosnt luk any smaller than what it use to
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I took my belly button piercing out about 5 years ago - having had it pierced for about 5 - 6 years previously and i can still just about get an earing through it but definatly not a proper belly button ring.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think it should close up by itself after some time.I read on http://www.fourseadiamonds.com that belly piercings can heal easily. Someone had hers removed or something.
    Belly piercings are quiet risky if you ask me. I dnt like it all that much, though a few of my friends do have it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I got my belly pierced on November , i took it off this morning and im wondering how fast it would close or if i would br able to do something to close, please help, need it to close asap
  • BubblesGoesBooBubblesGoesBoo Posts: 3,590 Community Veteran
    every surface kinda piercing grows out, eyebrows, belly buttons...
    ' So I put a bullet where I shouda put a helmet, and I crash my car cause I wanna get carried away, that's why I'm standing on the overpass screaming at myself 'hey, I wanna get better''  
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I don't think taking it out will do u any harm. If h do take it out then make sure u are comfortable taking it out as u have had that in for six years so maybe painful to. I would take care of the piercing for now on and clean in once and again. Make sure it's clean if u put it back in. I would maybe go back to the place u had it piercing done if u have any further problems but it should be fine.
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