Infected Helix
My helix piercing is about 2 months old. I was just getting ready to make an appointment to get the long post downsized, but this week my piercing started to swell up and get "angry". I know that helix piercings are tricky and can swell from time to time, but after caring for it by doing the normal saline spray and leaving it alone, the swelling continued. Today it was hot to the touch and had yellowish green drainage. Even though it's red and swollen, the jewelry is not embedded.
I was just at urgent care to get it looked at. The doctor came in and looked at it for about 5 seconds. He then said "the earring will have to come out" and that I'll be prescribed a round of antibiotics. When I acted surprised that I would have to take it out, he said that "the earring is harboring infection" and that was it.
Now, everything that I've seen about cartilage piercings is that you're not supposed to take out the jewelry so it can drain, so abscesses won't form, etc. I guess I'm just confused about his treatment plan. Any advice out there?
Edit: Spelling