Why do earrings sometimes cause infections?
I react to copper and nickel. I have to wear earrings that are silver with no nickel, 24k or purer gold, or surgical steel.
That said, I had my ears pierced originally with a gun at the mall, and always had trouble with them. I stopped wearing earrings for a while, because they would often get inflamed and sore, and occasionally have discharge, and I was too dumb (read: young) to see this as signs of an infection.
A few years later, I had them repierced not by a gun at the mall, but with a needle by a professional piercer at a tattoo parlor who autoclaved the jewelry and wore gloves (unlike the woman at the mall with the gun, who I don’t think even washed her hands first).
Since I got my ears pierced by a trained piercer, I have never had trouble.
In sum: age 13–17, piercing gun, problems; age 17–20, did not wear earrings, no problems; alder 20, professional piercing, no problems. Am 50 now— still no problems.
Now, anecdote does not = data, and I am a sample of one. Imidlertid, the piercer who did my ears said he has heard lots of stories like mine, and I have met people with similar problems. Selvfølgelig, I have met lots of people who got their ears pierced at the mall and have no problems. But if you, personally, have lots of infections, and switching to only surgical steel earrings does not help, then I would try letting them heal, and getting them repierced. Ja, it hurts, but it hurts less than repeated infections.
ETA: I don’t know why I didn’t think of this when I first posted. Wash your hands and ears before you put in earrings. If the earrings have just been sitting on your dresser, and not somewhere where they aren’t exposed to dust and ambient stuff, at least rinse them off. I mean, cripes, you wash clothes in between wearings, you wash your hands before you prepare food. You rinse your toothbrush off before you use it. It’s not such a leap to think some minimal cleaning before putting in earrings is a good idea.
Oh, and it should go without saying: never share earrings with other people, and if you buy earrings at a second hand store, wash them with soap, then wipe them with alcohol. Or take them to a tattoo/piercing place, and ask if they can be autoclaved. Whatever they charge, it’s worth it.