Cartilage piercing horseshoe earring question?

I got my cartilage done about a year ago...Friday night i decided to put a 14 gauge in my cartilage this morning when i went to check it...it was all oozy and there was some pus. my mom did the same thing and said it was no big deal to clean it with alcohol, my dad said it was because it's stretching the hole out..can i still leave it in? what should i do besides clean it?