Advice or stories needed

Hi I hope this is the right place to post this, and if not, please let me know.

I’ve had my only piercing (besides my ears) in my nose for about 5-6 years. I recently went to the ENT because I was having throbbing pain, redness, and irritation on the left side of my nose. I initially thought I might have some kind of sinus infection.

The doctor said he didn’t see anything wrong inside my nose and didn’t think it was a sinus infection. He thought the nose stud itself could be causing the irritation, redness, and pain and recommended that I take the piercing out for a few weeks.

I was pretty shocked because I haven’t had any major issues with the piercing recently and I haven’t really been touching or messing with it.

Last night, I took it out for a few hours, but put it back in before bed. It was already a little difficult to get back in and felt like the piercing hole had started to tighten up pretty quickly.

I’m also currently applying an antibiotic cream that the doctor prescribed. i have the nose ring out as of this evening because I felt having it in was causing a little more discomfort. I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar or can provide any insight or advice. Has anyone had a nose piercing suddenly start causing irritation after having it for 5-6 years without major problems? And if you’ve taken yours out, how quickly did the hole start to close/tighten?

It seems like mine closes up really quickly, so I’m worried that if I follow the ENT’s advice and leave it out for a few weeks, I may end up having to get it re-pierced later. Has anyone dealt with this?