Is it ok to wear second hand pierced earrings?

Chemgirl

Just bought a gorgeous silver necklace and earring set from a local charity shop and was going to give it as a present (or keep for me as it's very nice) but I just thought, is it ok to wear second hand pierced earrings?
I haven't got pierced ears so it's not something I know alot about, should I sterilise them? Could I boil them in hot water or would that ruin them? I think they're silver or silver plated.

Another question.. the necklace is one of those torque style necklaces and it seems quite big, and stretchy, is loose on me (I'm a size 12/14) but my cousin is bigger (I think she's size 18) and was wondering if anyone has had problems with this type of necklace being too tight.

PurpleDuck

The earings I'd wash gently in hot soapy water then wipe all over or just the posts in surgical spirit (depending on how delicate they were). You can buy it from a chemists and will kill all germs and nasties. I wipe my own earings posts over from time to time anyway to keep them nice and clean.

Smiley_Mum

I'm sure if you placed it all in surgical spirit for a little while it wouldn't cause any problems. Just to be sure you're rid of any bugs/germs etc on the jewellery.

See this link about cleaning silver jewellery.

http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/household/jewelry.html

This is easy and fast, and all natural! Get a tin pie plate and line the bottom with aluminum foil. Sprinkle some baking soda on the tin foil, and lay your necklace on it. Boil a little water and pour it over the tin foil. Voila! Your necklace will be shiny in seconds. at least I learned something in chemistry!

Ken-Dodds-Hairy-Knodule

Surgical spirits won't be enough to properly sterilise body jewellery. You will need to autoclave it (as most people don't own a autoclave a pressure cooker works just as well) for 20mins.

Silver plate wouldn't stand upto that though and would probably fall apart - I'm not sure if silver would survive.

I personally wouldn't wear jewellery that someone I didn't know had worn without sterilising it properly first.

15lsp

Wash both necklace and earrings in washing up liquid and water then put them in a cup/bowl of boiling water to sterilise both items and make them shiny. This will not harm them and is the easiest way to sterlise other than putting into a sonic. I worked in a jewellers and jewellery gets very dirty under the lights so we had to clean everything every couple of weeks by doing the above.

If the necklace is silver it will be ok to gently bend into shape to fit the person. SIlver is very soft.

juno

You do need to autoclave them. A pressure cooker is not as good as an autoclave!

Generally, people do wear other people's earrings, but I really personally wouldn't. A piercing is a wound really, although it has hopefully healed by the time the other person wore those earrings. But would you reuse someone else's plaster?

Chemgirl

Thanks for all your help. I think for my own piece of mind I'm going to replace the posts, it'll probably cost me less than buying surgical spirts anyway! Any idea where to get them from?

15lsp

You do realise jewellers sell second hand earrings dont you?? Boiling water is all you need! An autoclave is not needed!! Yes every jeweller's has one of them dont they...hmmmm

Take them to a jewellers and they will clean them for free or a small fee.

lellie

An ear piercing is not usually a wound - if it's healed then it's just like touching someone's skin -there should be no blood or anything - and no you don't know if the person had healed ears, but they should be ok.

I'd clean it with boiling water and not worry too much..

however if you wanted to replace the posts - try somewhere like hobby craft or ebay.

rjh090384

i did the same and used dettol on mine.

Savvy_Sue

Someone was asking on our local Freecycle for spare new earring posts, it wasn't any of you was it?

And no, I wouldn't wear secondhand pierced earrings. (Not that I've got pierced ears!) You just don't know where they've been, and the things which you might conceivably catch that way are so nasty! On a formal risk assessment scale, the likelihood of it happening may be very very small, but the consequences of it happening are rather horrible!

But I am, I admit it, a wimp! :rotfl: