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Navigate: FAQ Home Page > Piercing and Tattoos > Belly button piercing
Posted on: 06/21/2006
Question
I had my bellybutton pierced and a couple months later it ripped off. It was always infected. It would get better and a week later get infected again. It was a painful process, and it never really healed. So by it ripping off, it left an ugly scar. The scar has gotten a little lighter, but its still an ugly scar to show. Do you have any thoughts of what I might use to take the scar away? Also when I feel the spot now, which is cured, I feel like a ball inside when I rub around the piercing spot. Can you tell me if thats OK, or if I should show my physician? And can I ever get it pierced again?
Answer
I'm sorry to hear about your problems with the piercing area. Unfortunately there aren't many effective topical treatments for scars. The good news is that sometimes scars get flatter or less prominent with time. If it is a small scar, you could try some of the over-the-counter scar treatments (I think that they are like clear bandaids) but don't expect miraculous results. If it's a large scar, sometimes a doctor can try injections of a corticosteroid into the area.
Most likely the hard "ball" inside is deep scar tissue left over from the previous infections. Also, in terms of getting it pierced again, I would be hesitant to do it -- the chances of it getting infected again and causing more scarring seem rather high.