So I noticed that just within the last 2 weeks my ear has decided to form a zit on my ear (or at least that's what it looks like). It's right next to the piercing, swollen, likes to bleed and leak yellow / clear, and I've been SSS'ing but it's not getting better at all. So whats hould I do? Keep SSS'ing or something else? Incase it's not an earzit, here's a pic

 If it's bleeding on its own, I'd say see a doctor. If it's bleeding after picking at it, I'd say leave it alone and sss till it heals and leave the jewelry in. Try changing the material you're wearing. It may be a reaction. Glass and titanium are pretty safe.

 chamomille teabag compresses may help.  followed by salt soaks.

could possibly be a boil.

what did your piercer say?

ok - i tried looking at the picture a couple of times, but i must admit im having trouble seeing/understanding...  is there NO jewelry in your piercing-hole and the zit is to the right, with some clear-fluid between the hole and the red-zit?  if so, and the red-zit is like the stuff that happens on MY body/skin...  the only real solution will be to have it removed, im afraid...

when i was a kid, my dad used to pick at a bunch of red zits on his arms that would leak/bleed and i thought he was stupid - and hoped that i would never get them...  as it turns out, as my skin has gotten older - i, too, have started to develop these red/raised/zits...  ive asked my gp/doc about them (ie is it a cancer worry?) and she said that no - it is just normal aging of damaged skin...  thankfully, i have not gotten any of these red-zits on my ears or face permanently...  for some reason, those areas (face in particular) seem to heal better...  however, i definitely get them on my chest and other random places (like the back of my hand as im looking down while typing) and the 'routine' seems to be...  1) get a regular zit  2) pick at it and it leaks clear 3) clean it and hope it goes away 4) redness 'underneath' starts to come in 5) pick at THAT and it leaks clear/bleeds 6) redness skins over and im left with either a red-mark or a completely 'raised' red piece of skin which will bleed every time i try to remove it and then just regrow a larger/more-raised red-zit again...  this 'routine' takes about 2 days to a week or so to get-thru, but ive gotten better about just not-picking at them and if they just get rubbed-down by my clothing normally - then the end-result is at least not a 'raised' red bump...

im sorry about this - but my 'guess' is that youre gonna be semi 'stuck' with the red zit if your skin is naturally predisposed to this condition...  maybe a full-fledged dermatologist would have more useful information...  i am just relating my personal experiences...  good luck, h.

quinnn:

what did your piercer say?

 I went back but the guy I had before wasn't there. It was some new guy who said peroxide. 

harold:

ok - i tried looking at the picture a couple of times, but i must admit im having trouble seeing/understanding...  is there NO jewelry in your piercing-hole and the zit is to the right, with some clear-fluid between the hole and the red-zit?  if so, and the red-zit is like the stuff that happens on MY body/skin...  the only real solution will be to have it removed, im afraid...

 In the picture I have the jewelry out (the hole is on the left), and the zit is the shiny part and to the right (there's no fluid, it's the zit and it's shiny).

 And I haven't picked at it. The other day I looked in the mirror and i noticed there was blood running down my neck, I think it popped somehow. It seems like every once in a while it will just spontaneously leak (though there hasn't been that much blood lately, just the first time with the neck there was a lot of blood like it was a blood blister or something).

macattack:

 And I haven't picked at it. The other day I looked in the mirror and i noticed there was blood running down my neck, I think it popped somehow. It seems like every once in a while it will just spontaneously leak (though there hasn't been that much blood lately, just the first time with the neck there was a lot of blood like it was a blood blister or something).

Go see your doctor if you are very concerned about it.

 sounding more and more like a boil to me.  i'm starting to wonder if that's what was on your conch too.

I used to get something like that all the time on my second lobe piercing.. eventually I went to a piercer and he told me it was an abcess that formed because my piercing was having so much trouble draining.  Basically, all the ear cheese and lymph gets clogged up in there until it starts to build a way out through your skin, just to the side of the actual piercing.  He lanced it for me, gave me a bar instead of a cbr to wear, and told me to take the jewelry out and do sss every night to make sure all the crap got out of the piercing.  It worked for me, I don't get them at all anymore .

 Take my advice with a grain of salt though, it may not be the same thing at all.  If it really bothers you, go see a doc.

I just got back from the doctor. He said it's a trapped infection and gave me some antibiotics to take and said I should remove them all together... although downsizing to 16g from 8g should be good enough I think.

rat:

If it is actually an infection do not remove the jewelry... It will just trap the infection more. Downsizing wont hurt though :)

It bothers me how clueless doctors are about piercing care. They always want you to remove the jewelry. 

Not all doctors, just most.