I'm leaning toward removing my belly button ring but I want to be sure I know what the heck I'm doing first! I tried googling a bit but all I got was information on how to remove it when changing jewelry. I want to take it out and leave it out, while hopefully staving off infection and minimizing the permanent scarring.

So! What do I do? What do I use to keep this hole in my abdomen clean (alcohol, peroxide, salt, soap??!!)? Should I put a bandage over the hole or let it be open.

For what it's worth, I have never had any major problems with this piercing in the 2 years I've had it. But every other month or so I get some minor puss (infection?) that just goes away after a few days (I keep it clean). But for this reason, I worry it never fully healed and removing it will leave a big hole there for microscopic baddies to get me!

Thanks for reading.

I took my Navel piercing out for about a year, after having it pierced for a year. One day I wanted to put the bar back in it, it went straight in. A lot of the piercings I had are still 'open' even if I haven't worn the jewelry for years.