What should I do about my gauged ear?

I've been stretching my ears for little while, and so far it's been going fine. However, I recently moved up to 4g and I'm now having problems with my left ear. My right ear looks perfectly fine, not swollen or messed up at all, just a hole in my ear, like it's supposed to be. However, even though I was able to fit the 4g plug into my left ear, it was hurting a little more. I took it out today, and the plug had some blood on it. My left ear lobe looks swollen, the hole looks a little closed up, and it was bleeding a little bit. I don't want the hole to shrink or close up due to me not putting any plugs or tapers in, but I don't want to risk it getting infected. I put rubbing alcohol on my ear, and on my 4g taper (I couldn't fit the plug back in), because I think this could prevent an infection from happening. Is this the best thing to do? Should I just leave it alone for a little while, not do anything (except maybe put some rubbing alcohol on it), and let it heal, or will this cause the hole to close up? Just as side note, during the time I've been stretching my ears, I never skipped a size, and I always waited at least 2 weeks before moving up to a new size, so I think my left ear may just be resistant to stretching. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!