so, I got my rook pierced a little over a month ago. my best friend from home, who is a professional piercer, pierced me in her home with sterilized jewelry and all. essentially, she followed standard protocol.

since then, it's never completely healed properly. initially, it was just sore.  because I didn't take care of it, it got really infected.  as of late, I've been rinsing it with water and antiseptic (which, she said was alright to use) at least twice a day, and the swelling has gone down immensely.

 still, it's irritated and swollen.  I know it's probably because I touch it too often.  should I use the old faithful remedy of salt soak?

 HALP!

Since you've only had it for a little over a month, it's not likely it's going to be healed yet, especially since a cartilage piercing tends to take much longer to settle down.  Antiseptic is entirely too harsh to use; that might be the cause of your irritation. Sea salt soaks and leaving it pretty much alone otherwise might help. What kind of jewelry do you have in the piercing?

srsly? huh.

it's a 16ga captive bead. 

In my opinion, CBRs are entirely inappropriate jewelry for an initial healing of a rook. Mine would not heal until I swapped them for curved barballs, which is why healing took about 15 months. After the healing process, CBRs look great in place.

Antiseptic is a horrible idea, I'm surprised that a professional piercer would have suggested this as part of a healing routine.

These are my suggestions:

Go to another piercer who will fit you with the proper jewelry. Use sea salt soaks twice a day. Avoid getting shampoo/lotion/fragrances in your piercing. Don't rotate the jewelry, as this can irritate the area by bringing dried lymph into the healing tissue. Most of all, don't touch the piercing unless you have just washed your hands well. Any bacterial contamination can set back your healing time. You can expect cartilage to heal between four and six months, as it varies between each person. Good luck. 

i got mine pierced in may and it was still a little stiff feeling if i slept on it all night by december. i washed it at night and in the morning in the shower with dial soap. i never used anything else on it and it healed fine. i eventually cut it down to just in the shower. i also had a curve barbell in and and still do.

I got my rook pierced with a CBR while visiting a friend a few months ago. It wouldn't heal, I showed it to my piercer back home, he switched it to a curved barbell, and with the help of sea salt soaks, it's been doing much better. Maybe switching the jewelry would work for you too?

i got my rook pierced last august with a curved barbell, i did SSS on it 2-3 times a day until i ended up taking it out in march. it never healed, and always hurt. i really loved the way it looked, but hated the way it felt.

 i would suggest sea salt soaks and not touching it or sleeping on it. maybe your ears are just like mine and just dont like having a rook piercing...

i wish you luck