Originally posted by MrJonz And being so non-chalant about the possibility of a 'minor infection' if it doesn't work, would not boast loads of confidence from me on the clientele side.

+1

He can't help it. It's his personality.

The reason why anchors don't usually work when you push them back down is because the skin beneath the anchor is already displaced or in some cases already "healed" if the anchor has been pushing itself out slowly. By pushing it down, especially when there is inflammation or other issues present, your body could potentially absorb the jewelry, or you will continue to experience the "rejection" issues like fluid build up, redness, and migration.

As far as being "high and mighty", that would definitely be a perception and not my direct intent.

How about the possibility of gangrene for a reason??

The problem with ointment though... is that it doesn't actually help you heal. At all.

Have you ever had a cut, put ointment and a bandaid on it, and then pulled off the bandaid a couple of days later, only to find out that the cut was still there, and still open? And maybe with even more redness?

Ointment blocks airflow and keeps wounds moist, which doesn't really allow them to heal. Plus, basically anything that touches the ointment becomes a part of it. Like your sweat. And your dead skin cells. You want those things OUT of your piercings, not trapped in it. (It's also not water soluble, so it doesn't just rinse off if it gets IN the fistula. Your body has to push it out... which, to me, sounds like a way to PROMOTE rejection rather than stopping it.)

Edited by that1chick - February/15/2012 at 9:59pm

+1 to this whole discussion, but I would like to state the obvious, in how corticosteroid preparations used without care, or chronically can weaken the tissue above the anchor base, significantly increasing the likelihood of loss... I agree with removal and re-piercing, with OP being doubly sure to keep it safe and clean...

@Frrrky regarding Risk taking, etc... Personally, I think it's just fabulous that the method you suggested to OP worked in your case and you were able to save your anchor.  Yet like Cale said, you may have done things 'just right' for your body to work through the issue you had. Physiology and reactions vary greatly from person to person, as Bmod Professionals we are charged with a life or death responsibility of doing little harm as possible, and providing guidance which ideally carries zero risk.

To knowingly suggest a course of action that carried even the slightest risk to the person in need of help, in a forum like this, without being able to monitor their piercings' condition, giving guidance without knowing precisely which preparations the have access to and can/intend to use, the nature of and at what concentration the active ingredient (and inactive ingredients!) is that are being applied, what the frequency of application is, and ALL of the other elements related to successful corrective aftercare (for there are a fair few, that questions must be asked of the OP/Client/etc. to suss out...) is something a great many of us are entirely opposed to, and carry very strong opinions about.

TLDR; We do things every day that are plenty risky, no need to add to the pile. :-)