It sounds pretty normal to me. Navels are one of the slowest and most troublesome healers. You can't just expect to "have the problem solved" lickety-split. Your body needs time, often up to a year, to heal in that area.

Keep doing your sea salt soaks. I hate the cotton ball advice! Immersion using a cup is much better. Pay attention to your general health, and protect it as much as possible from trauma and infection.

Assuming there are no issues from placement or type of jewelry, that's about all you can do.

The cotton ball will create more problems than it will cure. Small threads can and do get into the piercing and raise havoc. Use the soak method of using a small glass or a cup. A shot glass is probably to small, and as Cloud said they are not an easy or quick healer.

BTW, I just took a look at the picture, and it looks pretty snug. Remember, the bar needs to be able to encompass your flesh when sitting, lying down, etc. Did your piercer measure you in different positions or just slap you with a "standard" size?

Thank you for your help and advice. I don't think he measured me I know he made sure it was straight and that he took a little bit to pick a banana bar.. So maybe that was it? If I push it up a bit there is some room. I'm not sure how much room is really needed though/required.

Should I get a larger banana bar? This is so frustrating becuase I leave for college in two days and I don't want to be stuck in a new town with not knowing if I should do something more before I leave.

Thank you both so much!

Great.... So glad to know that now. Thank you! I have noticed they are not the fastest at healing...I hope once I get this cleared up somehow it will be ok. I hope the soaking methods will work soon!

Good Luck with this!! I had my navel pierced and it started to look good after about a month, then as it got closer to the end of the second month, my body started rejecting it. Keep up the soaks and treat it with the utmost of care!!

It looks ok to me. they can be annoying. When I had mine i remember it was hell annoying after 4 weeks and I nearly took it out, but then a few weeks after it calmed down a fair bit. With that piercing it seems like one step forward, 2 steps back , every now and again it will flare up. but as I said mine was never so bad after i got past the first month or so

QFT

I found that sometimes my jeans would rub up against the piercing and I had to wear low rise. Make sure you are wearing cloths that are out of the way. A wise Cloud also told me to LITFA, so don't touch!

Hey Cloud, still learning the lingo...QFT??

LOL! I had to ask that one, too. Quoted for Truth.

Well this old geezer just learned something

I've had my navel pierced twice, the first time it got ripped out. I think my body is starting to reject it though - it looks shallow! So I hope your body isn't going to reject it... I hate when that happens.

iv just had my belly done but its a ring and i dont no how to take it out i have tried twisting the ball but it dosnt seem to work what do i do

If you just had it done it isn't healed so you DON"T take the jewelry out. Healing is 6-12+ months. When it is time to change jewelry your piercer can assist you so that you do not cause damage.

Stop playing with it and let it heal!

Btw, on the forums is a "new topic" button to make your own thread.

On the Community home page there's a section about undoing jewellry, but as BK said, don't take it out or change it for a good few months.