How to Cure an Infection in a Belly Button Piercing

A belly button piercing, also referred to as a navel piercing, is a popular type of body ornamentation. The body piercing heals relatively quickly, comparable to the time it takes for an ear piercing to heal. However, if you fail to clean the piercing properly or immerse your body in water soon after getting a piercing, your belly button piercing could get infected. Infection is marked by swelling, redness and, sometimes, yellow-greenish pus.

Things You'll Need

• Salt
• Antibiotic ointment
• Q-tip
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Water

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Instructions

Instructions

• 1

  Keep the jewelry in. No matter how sore your infected belly button piercing is, you should never remove the ring. Piercings that fail to heal close up extremely fast, and you might not be able to reinsert the ring. If your piercing does close, it could result in an under-skin infection called an abscess.

• 2

  Make a saltwater solution and add two drops of peroxide. Pushing up your belly button piercing, clean the ring with a Q-tip with the saltwater solution. Remember to avoid getting the solution into the piercing because the saltwater will dry out the piercing.

• 3

  Take a hot shower and rotate the ring side to side and up and down to remove any bacterial buildup. While still in the shower, gently clean the pierced area with mild soap.

• 4

  Dry the piercing by gently patting it with a paper towel. Lightly apply antibiotic ointment to the infected area and let it soak in.