If a client visits a nonprofessional to perform a lip piercing or neglects to take care of the piercing, an infection can occur. Bacterial infections in an oral piercing can lead to abscess, which may lead to surgery or a hospital stay. A piercing client can avoid infection and treatments by adhering to the aftercare guidelines and only allowing a professional, licensed piercer to perform the procedure.
Oral Antibiotics
Oral antibiotics are the most common form of treatment for a lip piercing infection. When a professional piercer observes a healing lip piercing that is exuding odorous, gray or green fluids along with extreme swelling or pain, the piercer will direct the client to a physician, for the lip piercing is infected, according to the Association of Professional Piercers. The piercer will also explain to the client why the infection is present and how to prevent problems in the future.
Physicians that are familiar with piercing infections will prescribe oral antibiotics and instruct the client to not remove the lip piercing jewelry while taking the bottle of antibiotics. If the client removes the jewelry, abscess is possible, for the piercing channel will close and trap the infection inside the skin. The client must return to the physician's office a second time to ensure that the oral antibiotics worked to eradicate the infection and an abscess is not present.
Topical Antibiotics
Use of topical antibiotics to treat an infection in a lip piercing is rare. Applying a topical antibiotic to a lip piercing channel, on the inside and outside of the mouth, generally does not work to remove the infection from the skin. The client, during eating, drinking or rinsing the mouth, removes the topical antibiotic from the inside of the lip piercing, rendering the antibiotic useless if reapplication is not thorough. Topical antibiotics trap the infection inside the piercing instead of allowing the fluids to drain due to the consistency of the ointment, according to the Association of Professional Piercers. Petroleum-based ointments also prevent oxygen from reaching the lip piercing wound and do not allow for proper cleaning of the wound. A physician may prescribe topical ointments if the lip piercing contains an infection such as Staphylococcus aureus.
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Intravenous Antibiotics
Hospitalization may be necessary for a client with a lip piercing infection, due to the infection becoming systematic. When the infection from the lip piercing spreads in the body via the bloodstream, the client may be diagnosed with a condition known as endocarditis. If the infection in the lip piercing is traveling through the client's bloodstream and infecting the heart, endocarditis is a possibility and can be fatal for a client if left untreated, according to Dental Gentle Care. A hospital stay, intravenous antibiotics and surgery--to excise the skin surrounding the lip piercing channel--may be necessary if the client has an infection that is systematic or abscessed.
