Give Up on Cartilage Piercing?

I've had an ear cartilage piercing that I got about four and a half months ago that still isn't healed. I've read that the can take horrendously long to heal, upwards of a year even, so I wouldn't think it is strange, but it still hurts and it is incredibly odd compared to my other piercings.

All of my ear piercings have been done with a gun, not a needle (two in each lobe, two in my right cartilage, and this one with the issues in my left cartilage) and have always healed quickly and with minimal complications. Even my other cartilage piercings were healed within two months. With this one I actually have taken a lot better care of it than I usually do. Generally I have just sort of neglected them, cleaning them only if I started having an issue and let them do their own thing in the past (I know, not necessarily ideal), but this I have been sure to keep clean.

It still is almost as tender though as the day I got it done. It doesn't bleed, but every once in a while it gets a sort of crust on it that looks sort of like the stuff in the corners of your eyes in the mornings. It seems to have stopped that within this last month though. There isn't any bump around it, there's no swelling, no heat, and it isn't red at all. I don't sleep on that side of my head. I currently have a stainless steel stud in it, but it is sorta long and seems to me like it has plenty of room to breathe.

I'm just getting annoyed at how uncharacteristically long it is taking to heal. I'm not so much worried about it healing quickly because there isn't any reason to take out the piercing, but I wish it would stop being so tender. So judging by the information I have given, would you say to just give up on it and take it out (which I'm not entirely opposed to, wouldn't break my heart to lose one piercing), change how I'm taking care of it, or just tough it out a little longer and see what happens? Sorry for the long post, and thanks for any help!

 

I took my jewelry out of my cartilage piercing after 3 1/2 years. It still hurt to sleep with that side of my head in the pillow.
The upside is that the hole still exists after a year and I can put jewelry in when I want to even though it's a little more narrow now.

 

mine was the same, where exactly is it??
I have my conch done, it took about 6 months to heal! same as you it got crusty and was really sore... It wasnt AS bad when i got a shorter bar in it...
and hopefully it was done with the right jewellery and not something that will keep aggravating it

 

I think you should stick through it for a bit more longer. If there isn't any bump around it, swelling, heat, or redness, it honestly sounds like it's getting close to being healed. Give it a couple more months and see where it goes from there. It'll pull through and the results will be so worth it.