I got my cartilage pierced exactly a week and a day ago. On the 5th day of having it pierced I ended up sleeping on it and it was supper irritated and swollen. Form then on I have been having issues rolling over on it in my sleep and 2 days after it being swollen and super painful to the point of thinking it was infected I got the swelling to go down and it returned to normal. Since then I’ve been getting some white puss which I’ve read is normal for healing piercings. For my cleaning routine I soak it to soften any crust that may be on there and dried up, then I will take a q tip soaked in saline to wipe off the crust or puss that may be on there, lastly I will pray some h2ocean spray on the piercing and wipe off the excess around the piercing. However, since sleeping on it and getting the puss/crust I’ve noticed my barbell not wanting to stay in an upright position. Could it be from my “updated” aftercare routine such as cleaning the crust off and moving the q tip around the jewelry. When I clean it the jewelry is slightly moved because of the q tip, so the saline solution could get into the hole and loosen it up. Tonight I moved the barbell in an upright position because it is easier for me to see to clean it that way and I noticed seconds later it falling back down.

This is how it stays most of the time because like I said it won’t stay in an upright position like before. I have also noticed the hole in the back looking larger. Is this normal?

I’ve looked up the migration/rejection of piercings and don’t think that is what’s happening, but I’m confused at to why my piercing feels so loose I guess and also why the hole looks so big🤷🏼‍♀️. My piercer is an hour away and I went to a local piercer and he said it looks fine but I’m still a little worried. Has this happened to anyone else?!?