Expert: Brian Skellie - 11/6/2007

Question
Hi.
I have several piercings on my tongue and I've had them for years. Just tonight, I looked at my tongue (which I normally don't do) and I noticed the second piercing in the middle of my tongue developed a keloid... It's big, and I have no idea when it started growing since the last time I looked at the piercings, nothing was wrong. This piercing is not new, it's about 3 years old and has been fine up until now.
My question is what should I do about it? I've read a bunch of things about treating a keloid, and also about tongue keloids. I even read this in terms of treatment: "Aspirin (oral piercings only). Crush one regular strength aspirin into a fine powder and add one drop of water. Apply this paste to the keloid. Rinse it off after five minutes, and do this once a day."
Is that safe, or will it even work? Also does it apply to "new" or "old" keloids? Should I get the keloid removed before starting any sort of treatment?
Thank you!

Answer
If you think that a bump on your tongue is growing, see a dermatologist or oral surgeon for advice. An oral abscess from damage to the piercing is more likely than a keloid, and should be treated by a medical professional, because it tends to form from deeper infection. Sometimes an abscess or cyst is painful, others it is not. It may need to be drained or excised.

The aspirin [salicylic acid] treatment is a chemical peel, like Compound W for wart removal, and is aggressive and can leave large scars if you are not very careful.

I suggest that you do not attempt to treat this at home because of the length of time that you had the piercing before it appeared, and the gravity of infection that could result from an unattended oral abscess.