While it's never inappropriate to see your piercing-friendly physician, a call to your piercer may save you a trip. If possible, visit your piercer and show him/her the piercing. Also tell him/her about any circumstances which may have led to an infection.

Please don't remove the jewelry! This may aggravate the problem by closing off the drainage for the matter. The effectiveness of an oral antibiotic depends on selecting the right one for the job. This should only be done by a physician! If you have used an over the counter topical antibiotic ointment before without adverse effects, it may be appropriate to use sparingly, for no more than 3-5 days. Many people are very sensitive to antibiotics, particularly neomycin; Bacitracin is the least problematic ointment.