Conch Piercing for Chronic Pain (A brief guide)
By
PsychReel
In this brief guide, we will look at the subject of conch piercing for pain, as well as other subjects related to pain and conch piercing like conch piercing healing stages and conch piercing aftercare.
Conch Piercing for Chronic Pain
There have been some reports that conch piercing for chronic pain is a good remedy that does not involve any medicines or repeated treatments that someone might have to engage in for things like acupuncture, but you should also know that there have been no studies on this subject in particular.
Conch piercing for chronic pain has become somewhat popularized because some people believe that this piercing is done in the same location that most acupuncturists think of as a spot that aids muscle relaxation, which is obviously related to the sensation of pain in general.
Similar to conch piercing for chronic pain, there are also reports that other types of ear-related piercings can relieve pain sensations, like daith piercing, for example, seems to relieve migraines in some people.
Conch piercing has been associated with easing both chronic and acute pain, and while the piercing itself has not been researched, the specific acupuncture points in the ear that can reduce pain have, and it was found that there is definitely some ground in that.
In fact, when talking about conch piercing for chronic pain, it may be worthwhile to talk about a small 2017 study that showed an association between ear acupuncture and neuropathic pain relief in people with spinal physical damage, but again, this study was a standalone one and the small sample size does not bode well for the generalizability of this concept.
A recent group of researchers has been exploring the concept of “battlefield acupuncture” as a way of quickly relieving soldiers’ pain, and it involves needles made of a specific metal going through the conch area of the ear, which has been shown to be quite helpful.
This method has been suggested for working in combat or after returning home from deployment, which means that it can help with both acute pain and chronic pain.
Another thing to remember is that while battlefield acupuncture has shown promise, it also involves five other acupuncture points in both ears, which means that a combination of all of them is likely required to actually work.
Conch Piercing Aftercare
If you have gotten a conch piercing for chronic pain, you need to also know the proper conch piercing aftercare, which will involve appropriate cleaning and checking for possible infections or other complications of the piercing.
The cartilage in the conch area of the ear is a thick and avascular tissue and it may often not be very receptive to puncture wounds and because it does not have good blood supply, it can take longer to heal, which makes conch piercing aftercare that much more important.
Conch piercing aftercare is most important to prevent infection during the long healing time and therefore any and all the aftercare directions given by your piercer must be followed, which may include the following:
- Clean your piercing at least twice per day for at least three months.
- Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, or sanitize with an alcohol based sanitizer properly before touching or cleaning your piercing.
- Find a store-bought saline solution or dissolve 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of non-iodized sea salt into one cup of distilled or bottled water.
- Gently wipe the area around the area with clean gauze or paper towels saturated with saline.
- Don’t rotate your piercing during cleaning or at any other time.
- Give your piercing a sea salt bath once per day by putting warm saline in a mug or shallow bowl and tilting your head to dip your ear in the solution for three to five minutes.
- Do not remove your jewelry until your piercer says it’s OK.
Conch Piercing Throbbing Pain
If you are experiencing throbbing pain in your conch piercing, you need to see a doctor right away because throbbing pain at a site of puncture anywhere in the body is a sign of possible infection.
Along with throbbing pain in the conch piercing, here are some possible symptoms that might be indicative of an infection at your piercing site:
- Red and swollen skin around the piercing
- Tenderness
- Fever, chills, or nausea
- Red streaks
- A pulsating feeling in the ear
- Feeling a pressure like sensation in the ear
- Ear feeling warm
- Nodule like growth at the conch piercing site
- Yellow or green discharge coming from the piercing
- Symptoms that are getting worse or that last longer than one week
If you think that your conch piercing throbbing pain is due to an infection, you need to remove the jewelry you have in the piercing as is, because trying to remove it could lead to an infected abscess.
Conch Piercing Benefits
Here are some common conch piercing benefits people usually report:
- They look nice
- They may help with chronic pain
- They may help with migraines
- They have been seen to help with anxiety symptoms in some cases. If you’re facing this, it may be a good idea to seek the help of a therapist or other mental health professional. You can find a therapist at BetterHelp who can help you learn how to cope and address it.
Conch Piercing for Chronic Pain: Reviews
While it can be great to read about conch piercing for chronic pain, because there is no scientific evidence of this concept, people mostly depend on reviews by other people who have done it, so here are some of the most informative ones:
“I suffer from chronic pain, due to a permanent back damage. I also have a conch piercing, I’ve not noticed any change in my pain level. Except on the days when I struggle to bend, it can be difficult to do a sea salt soak (I submerge my ear in a cup of warm water).”
“I have a daith (1.5 months old), tragus (3 years old), and conch (got it yesterday). I absolutely love them all! So far the only pain relief I’ve experienced is from my daith. It significantly reduced the number of headaches/migraines I get and the severity of them, but I think this is just a placebo effect (it’s a very powerful thing). So I would suggest only getting these piercings if you like the look of them, and not only for medicinal/pain relief reasons.
As for the pain of the piercings, they were all just a quick pinch, some pressure and them some tenderness afterwards. And as someone said before, how much it hurts depends on your pain tolerance, your anatomy, and the piercer.”
“I’ve not had experience with piercings for this reason, but any positive effects seem to be mostly due to the placebo effect. Though some people say anecdotally it does help, definitely primarily get them done because you like them not because you think they may help with pain.
Everyone’s pain tolerance is different as well, so how much it hurts depends on the person. I’ve had both a tragus and a conch piercing out of those three mentioned, and they were both minimally painful, maybe a 3/10. But the pain of the piercing is really quick. I don’t have any severe chronic pain, but I can say I have the same amount of discomfort in my body as before I got any of my piercings.
I’ve heard of daiths for migraines, but what’s the idea behind tragus and conch? Just curious haha.”
“The conch is supposed to correspond with joint pain and the tragus with thyroid stimulation. If it actually helps I’ll be thrilled, but I’m not too convinced they will. Oddly enough the conch is the one I’m most apprehensive about getting because it looks like such a finicky place to have pierced.”
“I was diagnosed with daily chronic migraines about 5yrs ago. I am on a combo of 3 maintenance meds that do a fair job of keeping the headache level to bearable. I had a great deal of success with acupuncture in tamping down flare-ups and so about 1 1/2 yrs ago I had both ears’ daith pierced. For me, it was a life changer. My quality of life is significantly better. I went from a daily headache pain level of 3-4 down to 1-2. The frequency of migraines where I need a rescue med have been reduced to about 1 every 6 mos. I should have done this a long time ago! I almost lost my life to these things!”
Conclusion
In this brief guide, we looked at the subject of conch piercing for pain, as well as other subjects related to pain and conch piercing like conch piercing healing stages and conch piercing aftercare.
While there are many alternative treatments for pain and there can be many ways in which management of pain may be approached, if conch piercing for pain is working for you then you should absolutely go through with it.
There are some people who suggest that conch piercing for pain may work in the same way as acupuncture, and if there is any truth to acupuncture therapy then this may be a good idea.
The important thing to remember about conch piercing for chronic pain is that one needs to ensure that a safe person does it, one who knows what they are doing, and adequate care must be taken afterwards.
If you’ve enjoyed the ”Conch Piercing for Chronic Pain” mentioned above, I would recommend you to take a look at ”15+ Mindfulness Tattoos” too.
If you have any questions or comments about conch piercing for chronic pain, or you have done it and found it to help, please reach out to us with your experiences.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Conch Piercing for Chronic Pain
What piercing helps with sinuses?
Daith piercing can help with sinuses according to some people, but one should not place too much stock in this alone, as this is not proven scientifically, and rests mostly in hearsay than actual facts.
What is the most painful piercing you can get?
Here are some of the most painful piercings you can get:
Genital piercing.
Nipple piercing
Nose piercing
Dermal piercing
How painful is a conch piercing?
The conch piercing doesn’t hurt any more than any other cartilage piercings. In general, cartilage piercings fall about halfway on the pain scale, and the conch is the same. It will hurt more than a lobe piercing, but it shouldn’t be anything that most people can’t handle.
What piercing helps lose weight?
While there is no substantial proof that piercing helps people lose weight, some people believe that ear stapling or ear piercings stimulate pressure points that control appetite, leading to weight loss.
These types of staples involve joining the inner cartilage of each ear, and they may be left in place for several weeks or even months.
What piercing helps anxiety?
There is no scientific evidence that any piercing helps with anxiety, but some people believe that daith piercing, which is done in the innermost fold of the ear, can help ease anxiety-related symptoms like anxiety related migraines.
Citations
https://mapleleafaussie.wordpress.com/2017/12/09/piercing/
