Dear Doctor: My boyfriend let a friend of his pierce his earlobe and cartilage, and both places got infected. He says things will get better on their own, but I’m worried. What should he be doing?

A piercing is infected if it is red, swollen, bleeding, and producing pus. To treat it at home, use topical antibiotics, a saline solution, and don't remove the piercing. See a doctor if the piercing ...

People have pierced their ears for thousands of years for ceremonial, cultural, religious, and decorative purposes. The oldest known example of ear piercing comes from “Ötzi the Iceman,” a man who ...

Not that we ever had an impulse to consider piercing anything but an ear, but if we had, the research that crossed our desk this week would pretty much have killed it. Two reports illustrate some of ...