I believe I have a blowout, need specific advice

[Pratticus]

So my ears are stretched to 00g, and have been for almost a year now. However, while stretching to 00g, I skipped a few sizes and definately did not take care of my piercings.

I decided to stretch to 7/16" a few days ago to realized that, if I was gonna get those tapers in, I was going to have to shove, and it was gonna hurt.
Despite my use of Vitamin E oil as lube (I know, I should have used scentless soap), my ears became swollen and hurt intensely, so I went back to 00g. Only later did I realize that I had torn my left ear.

I have links to some pictures of my ear below.
My question is: what should I do?
It doesn't seem to be a blowout out the back of my ear, but it hurts, and looks very wrong. I de-sized to a 0g to help them heal, but I'm wondering if I should not wear jewelry at all for a while?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

[ickyvicki]

Honestly ouch! i suggest yew just clOse it and start again that loOks realli bad!poOr liddO ears. keep them clean toO yew dOnt need them getting wOrse ^.^

[HiMyNameIsMegan]

That does look very wrong but almost like the blowouts in the middle of you're ear instead of at the front or back maybe you should just downsize stay there and see if it gets any better sorry if i'm giving bad advice ^.^ But i just dont want to give you the wrong kind and make it worse :]. Just be patient next time.

[Pratticus]

thanks guys.
yeah I'm definately going to be patient from now on.

I think I'm gonna let my ears sit for a while with no jewelry in them, and use vitamin e oil a few times a day. Unless there is something wrong with that (?).

Hopefully this treatment will make the holes more healthy, and I can stretch again!

[ickyvicki]

is yer ear pussing any ickyness? i say dO sOme sea salt sOaks or like i did just use some antibacterial sOap (unscented) and water. just a tiny bit of sOap thOugh. i hOpe this helps lOve if nOt yew can message me and i will answer yer questiOns best i can ^.^

[StrickyCub]

Ouch, in the 2nd pic it almost looks like you have a blister inside your hole, which COULD be an allergic reaction or just irritation.
If I were you I would probably downsize to take some pressure off it and baby the ear.

Before stretching, were you doing regular massages with oil to keep your lobes healthy?
Either way, I reckon just downsize back to 00G, or even to 0G if it feels more comfortable and let your ear heal and take good care of it

[corazon_de_oro]

To be honest, your ear looks full of scar tissue, which is what can happen if you stretch to fast and is why you're having trouble going to 7/16". If your ear wasn't ready to stretch after a year it's probably not going to get much more ready. People who say they stretch too fast and are "fine" often don't realize they're creating scar tissue that can make it almost impossible to stretch bigger in the future.
Anyway, since your ear is sore I'd suggest sea salt soaks. Heat up some water (boil tap water or heat bottled/filtered water 'til it's cooled enough to put your piercing in but still hot) and mix in 1/8-1/4 teaspoon of sea salt per one cup of water (an 8oz cup, if you're using a 16oz cup use about 1/2 teaspoon or a little bit less). Soak for 5-10 minutes once or twice a day.

When your ears heal, I would highly recommend some oil massages. Vitamin E oil is good for breaking down scar tissue. What I do is get the Vitamin E pills, puncture them and squeeze the stuff out. Rub this on your ears for a few minutes after you get out of the shower and leave your plugs out for a little while so your ears can relax.

[Pratticus]

@ickyvicki
No, my ear hasn't been pussing. Unless you count the "blister" looking thing...
Too me it looks like a small protruding rip in the ear hole. It's not pussing, but its wet looking.

@StrickyCub
You're right, it does look like a blister in the picture. I'm almost wishing it was, because its actually a rip, and the ball like thing in the pic is skin coming through the rip. I have downsized. Actually I haven't been wearing jewelry at all.

@corazon_de_oro
Yeah, its definately scar tissue. This is why a few weeks prior to stretching I started using vitamin E oil to break down the scar tissue. Apparently it wasn't enough. I have been doing oil massages every day since the incident, and my ears have shrunk, but I think they're improving. With the sea salt soaks, to be honest, I'm kinda lazy to prepare all of that. I've been wondering what the direct purpose of the soaks is? I mean does it loosen and relax the ear tissue?

Thank you all for your comments. I will never again be impatient with my stretching; it's definately not worth it!

[StrickyCub]

@Pratticus, ouch!! that sounds even worse than a blister D:
As for the purpose of the sea salt soaks, it has several purposes.

1. The warm water helps to improve blood flow and circulation in your ear lobe, which promotes healing.
2. The sea salt draws out impurities and safely kills bacteria without drying out your ear and killing the "good" healing bacteria.
3. .... I actually had an answer for this and now I forgot what it was >.<

[Pratticus]

Ahh that definately makes sense.

On the subject of blood flow (I guess),

my lobes are pretty numb. As in, when I squeeze the skin (especially the lower part of my lobes), I can't really feel it. Is this normal? I probably need more blood flow...