I just got a tattoo on thursday night, it is now sunday morning and it is still very painfull and oozing.?

Question

This is my 6th tattoo and I have never has this type of reaction. Although this was my largest tat and longest session at 2.5 hours. Is on only about the size of a softball but he kept going over the same areas for detail, it was very painful. Now it is still VERYpainful, not very red, but is oozing a clear sticky liquid and a lot of ink. It is on my lower back, around my side. I was told to use vaseline intensive care lotion as after care, and have used this before on other tats and did not react this way. The tat is very colorful, pink,red,blue,green,yellow,etc. It keeps leaving ink on my clothes and sticking to my clothes. It is in an area where the waist of my pants hits it if i am not careful and when i bend, sit and stand it irritates it. Please help me, is this normal, do i have an infection???

I wash it a few times a day with luke warm water and basic soap (no colors, perfumes, etc)

Ok, so now it is Monday morning, and it is still oozing. I am starting to notice some redness that was not there before. The ooze is clear and does not have a bad odor and is now mostly ooze and not much ink anymore. I am thinking I have an infection now??????? Please help???

Answer 1

I have 30+ hours of chairtime and 7 tattoos. Yes this is normal. Your skin was worked over and is reacting to the insult. Only worry about infection if there is redness beyond the edges of the tattoo that grows in any way and the tattoo area is hot. Washing it with water as warm as you can take it will allow the plasma (the clear sticky fluid you are seeing) to come out of the tattoo site. You should be washing with soap and water 3-4 times a day for the first few days. This will help remove the excess ink as well. I always use A&D oinment (very light layer) and cover the tattoo with plastic for the first three nights when I sleep. Then I switch to lubriderm. Do not under any circumstances use anything like vaseline of Neosporin. They are designed to remove things from wounds and will suck the ink right out of your tattoo. Thicker applications of any lotion or oinment is NOT the answer just keeps the tatttoo and skin from breathing.

Answer 2

I would get some Telfa pads from the drug store and put them between the waistband of your pants and the tattoo. You should not be putting dressing on it at this point but you have to keep it from sticking to your clothes.

Two and a half hours is a lot to spend on a tattoo that size. I don't particularly like lotion that soon, either - especially for that much work. I prefer a very, very thin veil of ointment. I give Ink Fixx but there are others out there. You probably should give the shop a call to see if they want to look at it if it doesn't stop oozing today.

Edit notes: Never ever put plastic wrap on a tattoo.

Answer 3

Most tattoo's will scab over and then the scab wil peel off. Don't wear irritating clothes you'll have to wear a dress or something with underwear that doesn't touch the tattoo. If you are really concerned I would go back to the tattoo parlor and ask them if it is any cause for alarm. Did you get it from the same artist that did your other tats? Hopefully you researched who did your tat and if they were experienced enough to do it without scarring you!

Answer 4

i would say that you should pull off a long weekend and spend it inside your house where you can wear little enough clothes that it wont irritate..
from the sound of your description i´d guess you are irritating it so much that it can´t form the scabs that will heal the "wound" left by having 8 or 12 or 16 needles punched repeatedly into your body in the same place for 2.5 hours.
give it time to heal and relax. maybe go see a doc if it keeps up another few days

Answer 5

it doesn't sound like you have an infection. when i got tattooed on my feet they did the same thing. i think it is because of the trauma of a longer sitting over a small area. different tattoos can be traumatic in different ways to your skin. just keep caring for it as you normally would. try not to let your pants rub it. i always wear a wife beater and tuck it into my pants and then wear my regular shirt on top to keep my waist band from touching when i have work done on my back. it has only been 72 hours so your tattoo is still fresh. remember that a tattoo is a wound and your body will treat it like one. just keep caring for it the way your artist told you to.
good luck!

Answer 6

You didn't mention if you are washing it with hot water. I wash mine everyday for the first week 3-4 times a day with hot water.That helps with mine, seals in the ink. I use a&d ointment for after care, then switch to Eucerin lotion after the first week.
Hope this helps :)

Answer 7

Everyone is different, but for ME...my ankle/calf tattoos made my pain receptors go absolutely INSANE! As for the other locations (back, shoulders, neck) I had no problem. In fact, for my last tattoo (covered most of my upper back) I took a 3 hour nap while it was being inked. As I said...everyone is different, and has a different tolerance for pain on different spots on their body.

Answer 8

Have your tattoo artist check it for you, then see your doctor about it. I would switch to dresses or some other type of clothing that doesn't rub on the tattoo.

Answer 9

Perhaps, you should see a doctor just in case. In my opinion it is an infection, because it sounds so painful, however, I've never had a tattoo so I don't know. I hope you feel better soon.

Answer 10

Sorry, no can help you now . . .

But, in a few years when you come to Junipero's Tattoo Removal Service, you will feel no pain . . .