Actually, the word you are looking for is "pusy".

Jake :rolleyes:

"a white volcano in the back..."

This sounds a lot like a Keloid, but Keloids are almost always darker in color, not lighter...so I'm going to guess that you're dealing with Hypertrophic Scarring, which does go away once the pressure causing it is relieved.

does piercing at a large guage always cause this? How can I prevent it?

Pretty much. Heavy cartilage is difficult to pierce and difficult to heal.

If dermal punching were legal, that would be the best option.

Anyway, time will tell. With enough time and the correct jewelry, most of these will heal and look good.

I just wanted to let everyone know, the volcano has gone down a lot, and I've looked up hypertrophic scarring. it was never hard, and it wasn't really a thickening around the piercing, it looked more like a little bit of skin was swallowing the ring, but it's almost gone now. I stopped rotating, except when I am soaping it, which I don't mean to do, but when I try to clean the crusties I accidentally drag the ring through. So I wash it with Dial and rub the crusties off with that 2-3 times a day with a cotton ball soaked in really hot water. I take Vitamin C and Motrin. I stopped using alcohol and bactine, when I read someone say "you keep the outside clean, and your body will do the rest." Whoever said that, thanks for making so much sense. They're both healing great now.