6 weeks??? My holes stopped oozing in 48 hours and were solid in 5 days. In 10 days I changed out the earring carefully and there was never a problem. Make sure you follow the antisceptic procedures carefully for a few weeks but the healing process is really quite fast.
Yes, I had a few people make negative comments (like my father, even though I was 50...we never grow up, do we!) but after the first time that was it and life went on. Just keep the earring small and tasteful if you're concerned. After 2 weeks you could leave the earring out for a few hours at a time if you need to, really.
tina