Before I make this post, let me say that it will be graphic. I’m not the one who holds anything back, and I’m pretty descriptive. If your own imagination can’t make you sick, then be warned: I have, and will be posting, photos. Yes, it was a Kodak Moment when I cleaned my pierced ears and tossed out the earrings for the first time since 2006. I got the earring set to be worn on my wedding day. I have 10 holes that I cleaned out and tossed away a couple of barbelled earrings that turned my earlobes green. On top of that, there were other “treasures” that I discovered and may need antibiotics to clear up.
Still, if horror movies like Cannibal Holocaust, The Saw Sagas, or a little infection doesn’t bother you, proceed.
First, things first: I always intended to take out the earrings. Some of them had been in my ears since 2006, never removed. Last year, I bought some silver barbells from Claire’s that I wore for a couple of weeks before they turned from silver to cheap brass, and my earlobes turned green, much like the classic Skippers you see on eBay. I know it was dumb to leave the earrings in so long. I want to say that ‘life’ happened, but I’ve had the past three summers off, so there’s really no excuse for what I’ve done. It was all stupidity on my part. I used to take my earrings out to wash my hair and take a bath, while leaving them soak in an alcohol solution and then swabbed my earlobes with alcohol before putting them back in. I stopped doing that over ten years ago. It was too much like “work”.
Today I got a set of 10 18 gauge, 7/16″ screw-together barbells to put in my ears. I doubt that stainless steel will cause infection or my ears to turn green. With some alcohol, tweezers, a mirror, and my brave husband, we set out to clean up my ears.

******HERE’S WHERE IT GETS GROSS! SCROLL ON BY IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH!********
These are the three earrings from my left ear. Notice how the barbell is brassy? It used to be silver toned! The clumps on the backs is actually spoiled meat; the earrings were stuck together, and had to be nearly broken to be removed.

This is the ear I took them out of. Notice the lobe is green around the bottom hole:

That top hole used to be gauged to 14, but I let it shrink back up.
This is my right ear, with the top three earrings still as nasty and HUGE as they were when I put them in. I had to use a solvent to get them out. The bottom five came out pretty easily, and by now Dennis was able to screw the barbells in pretty good. He did drop one ball that we have yet to find, but I’m not worried about it.

The solvent caused my ears to turn bright red; it had some kind of acid in it, though it didn’t hurt. Dennis tugging on the earrings did, though. But we got them out! Note the infection.

My right ear with the new smaller barbells:

******SAFE POINT******
There are some space between the barbells now, and there’s room for them to move back and fourth, so I hope that after years of getting them pierced (I used to get one piercing on PoRo’s birthday every year), they can heal up and not be irritated anymore. I ordered some more of the little barbells because I have one that doesn’t have a ball on the back, and I’m worried I’ll fall asleep and lose it. Plus, I just know I’ll need extras. I’ll probably find the ball after I get the set, or before they come in. I know it.
My ears feel better. Eventually I’ll outgrow this phase, I believe. I need to play my Zelda games tonight to relax. Can you imagine that it’s been over a year since I played them? I’m lacking!