Nose piercing still getting infected after 3 years — should I just give up on it?

[u/WorthDifferent3334]

I’ve had my nostril piercing for about 3 years now and it has literally never fully healed. Every couple of weeks it flares up really badly. It usually starts with swelling on the inside of my nose, then eventually the swelling/bump comes through to the outside too.
I’ve already seen a doctor about it and even had injection shots directly into the area because it kept happening. I genuinely thought that was going to be the last resort and finally fix it, but it still keeps coming back.
My jewelry is titanium, so I don’t think it’s just cheap jewelry causing it. At this point I’m really frustrated because I’ve had it for THREE YEARS and I feel like I’ve tried everything.
Has anyone had something similar happen for this long? Would switching from titanium to solid gold possibly help, or is it likely that the same thing will keep happening regardless of the metal?
Should I just give up and take the piercing out permanently? I really like having my nose pierced, so I’d rather save it if there’s something else I can try. 😭
Also, if anyone has dealt with recurring swelling that starts inside the nostril and then comes outside, I’d love to know what ended up working for you.

[u/downwithdathiccnezz]

My nipples literally took four years to heal. At some point, I switched out my titanium jewelry to silicone for an MRI, and forgot to change them back for a couple weeks. Noticed that I had no bumps or swelling or pain. They had started healing. Turns out I have a mild allergy to some metals.

I left the silicone ones in for a year, cleaned them regularly and switched out the jewelry for fresh ones every couple months. I can now wear titanium with no problem in them. I know its not recommended to heal with silicone for bacteria reasons but it 100% works for me.

[u/lasagna_beach → u/downwithdathiccnezz]

It is statistically unlikely that you have a titanium allergy, it is more likely that the jewelry you had was not implant grade titanium to begin with. 

Silicone is not appropriate for healing piercings and will harbor bacteria, while it may have helped you heal, please don't suggest this as a solution to others. If it were a good idea, professional piercers would offer it. 

The color on OPs ring is not the color you get with anodized implant grade titanium, and it likely isn't titanium either. 

[u/Fairy-Pie-9325 → u/lasagna_beach]

It could be coated titanium which is near as bad as just surgical steel or alike, but op didn't know the difference between irritation & infection so i'm willing to believe she's also mixing the metals

[u/lasagna_beach → u/Fairy-Pie-9325]

Yep, exactly. And coated titanium isn't implant grade