Nipples usually take 6-10 weeks to heal; they usually heal without any problems. The nipple will be slightly tender for several days after the piercing, and a little swollen, this gradually goes away. However, your nipples will always be more sensitive so don't be too rough with them during sex. Panadol tablets (a gentle form of pain relief) may be taken 4 hourly if needed.
Until the scar tissue develops fully, the piercing can easily be torn, the ring will never be actually torn out, just a very small tear usually occurs on the side of the wound. If this happens after the piercing is healed, you will have to treat the piercing as a new wound again, or you could develop an infection. The signs of infection will be any excessive pain, swelling, a large lump in the breast, thick yellow pus coming from the wound, or any excessive redness around the wound. If you think there may be an infection, return and see me or see a physician immediately.
DO'S & DON'TS TO HEAL YOUR NIPPLE PIERCING
THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR INFECTION IS TOUCHING AND PLAYING WITH THE PIERCING, ONLY TOUCH THE PIERCING WHEN YOU ARE CLEANING IT!
Wash your hands with antibacterial soap before touching the piercing.
DO use a mild antibacterial soap (like Protex or Dettol), in the shower (once a day only!). Cup your hand under the piercing and soak it for 1-2 minutes.
Make sure all your shampoos, soaps, moisturisers and tanning oils are washed thoroughly from your piercing.
DO dissolve half a teaspoon of sea-salt or table salt in a quarter of a cup of boiling water. Let this cool a little, then place in a clean glass or medicine cup and lie down with it upturned on your nipple for 10-15 minutes, once or twice a day. You can also use Saline solution (available at any chemist). Rinse with fresh water and dry thoroughly with a clean tissue afterwards. This process is the best way to promote healing, and the more you do it, the quicker your piercing will heal.
We recommend cleaning your piercing with studex solution morning and night
DO make sure, when washing, you remove all the crusting, if it's not cleaned off properly it can concrete around the ring and tear the inside of the wound when the ring moves, this is painful and can lead to infection. Secondly, if its not removed bacteria can feed on it and infect the wound.
DO make sure that you dry your nipple thoroughly after cleaning; this should be done with a paper tissue; as towels can harbour bacteria.
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DO use the cleaning solution after going swimming in the ocean or public pools, but remember no swimming in a public pool or spa pool for at least 2 weeks after your piercing. Baths are not recommended for a month following a piercing.
DO make sure that you wash the piercing carefully after exercising or sweating, as sweat acts like acid and can cause the wound to become aggravated.
DO give the piercing some sunshine as it helps the body produce Vitamin D which helps promote healing. It also helps dry the wound and minimise infections.
DON'T pull your nipple up to look at the piercing, as this will aggravate the wound. It's there for other people to see. If you want to see it look in the mirror.
DON'T turn the ring in the piercing for the first 3-4 weeks, move it very gently and only enough to remove the crusting, after that you can turn it enough for cleaning. Moving the ring constantly aggravates the wound and delays healing.
DON'T use Methylated Spirits, or alcohol on the piercing as they are very astringent and can damage the wound, don't use Hydrogen peroxide because it will destroy the cells that form scar tissue, don’t use creams or ointments as they keep the wound moist and hamper the healing process.
DON'T wear very tight bras, because they can cause the piercing to grow out, which means that the piece of flesh taken by the piercing gradually diminishes until the ring finally comes out; after the piercing is healed you may wear anything you like. Avoid synthetic fabrics that don't let the wound breath, try to wear clothes that give the piercing as much fresh air as possible. A bra worn at night can be more comfortable.
DON'T remove the ring during the healing phase because you will lose the piercing.
DON'T hang chains or charms off your nipple ring until the piercing is fully healed, they can get caught and tear the wound and hamper the healing process. Wait at least a month.
DON'T try to remove the ball from the ring yourself, you need circlip pliers to do this and if you attempt to do it yourself you will probably damage the ring or not be able to get the ball back in the ring.
A handy hint when changing your jewellery is to lubricate it with some antiseptic gel, this enables the jewellery to slide through easily.
BREASTFEEDING
In my experience most women prefer to remove the jewellery to breast feed successfully, they get a little milk leaking out from their piercing site at times but this is normal and doesn’t affect breastfeeding.
for more information on breast feeding with a nipple piercing
http://tattoo.about.com/cs/piercefaq/a/110603a_2.htm
