Really itchy and dry ears

[ast.riske]

It could be a fungal (not bacterial like I said before. d'oh!) infection. You could try using an antifungal cream on your ears and see if it helps. Be sure, if you decide to try this, to clean your plugs REALLY well every day. Boil them, if you can spend a few minutes. Fungus is hard to kill.

Also, you can try buying some PTFE tape and throwing a couple layers around your plugs to put a neutral barrier between the steel and your ear. I would suggest you try each of these ideas separately or you'll never know which it was. LOL

[raptorjesus]

Thanks for your advice.

About the fungal infection - I recently developed a really random, small rash on my hand and I've been to doctor a few times to determine what it is but after about 5 sessions, she still doesn't know. However, she thinks its either a type of eczema or as you said, a fungal infection (however, recently there has been development that leads us to lean towards eczema). Anyway, I don't have the right cream right now but I'll give it a go when I go to doctor next time.

Also, about the titanium plugs. Would titanium anodized over surgical steel be fine or do I need pure titanium?
The reason that is ask is because I've always bought jewellery from reputable sites (e.g. arka-shop or bodyjewelleryshop.com) however I recently discovered that e-bay can be vastly cheaper.

For example, this was the titanium plug that I inteded buying - http://www.bodyjewelleryshop.com/online ... 086179.cfm

or this is/was another option - http://www.bodyjewelleryshop.com/online ... 940404.cfm

but then I discovered something like this - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-Titaniu ... 279wt_1163

or

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Titanium-Anod ... 251wt_1163


Uhh, almost forgot. Merry Christmas everyone.

Which is just a fraction of price however it specifically states that it is titanium covered surgical steel while the top hat doesn't.

[ast.riske]

For just about everything, ebay is hit or miss. It depends on the seller. If you are willing to chance it, go for ebay. Sometimes you can do well. If you want to be certain, I would buy from a reputable seller.

Also, merry Christmas. : )

[raptorjesus]

A little update. Ended up plucking for the titanium coated plug from e-bay. Came really, really quickly considering the festive madness and is top notch quality. Will definitely buy from them again if my ear doesn't fall off.

I've just put the plug in but will wait a couple of days before making any judgment as to if its helping.

[ast.riske]

Cool. Keep us updated. : )

[raptorjesus]

Well, so far the progress has been great. This plug combined with Holey Butt'r has worked wonders. Itching has subdued greatly and the ear is healing nicely so far. If all goes to plan then in about 2 or 3 days my ear should be like new.

Only downside is that this plug is shorter in length and so I have to use o-rings as otherwise it will fall out.

[raptorjesus]

First of all, apologies that I haven't been on for nearly a month but I've been busy and lazy at the same time.

Anyway, turns out that surgical steel (or nickel to be more precise) was not the problem and it was indeed the fungal infection*. So, I kept away from my ear until 2 weeks ago when I went back to my doctor and she gave me the cream which had helped before (but I had ran out of it and forgotten its name). And so, voila, rub it on and the itching was gone within 2 days. Ever since, my ear has been fantastic and I've been putting on the cream when necessary. In fact, it has been so well that I went up to 8mm (0 gauge, I believe) and that went well too.

Overall, I'm happy for now because even though the cream may not be a permanent solution, it works for now and that's good enough for me.

* - There is a lengthy story behind this but in short, the doctor is uncertain whether it is a fungal infection or something else and we have been trying to reach a conclusion for a few months now.

[lilyphem]

Hey,

although it totally sounds like you've sorted out the problem; if you need the name of a good ebay seller I can suggest one for you. I'm allergic to heaps of metals, and so have to use good quality jewelry. They are in Australia, but they are well priced and sell plenty of titanium, stainless steel and glass stuff, from tapers and plugs to spirals and hoops.

Just pm me if you want to know more