How can you tell the difference between an infected tattoo and one you just had an allergic reaction to?

Question

I have a chinese symbol, on my left wrist that has a heart connected to the bottom, but its only the outline and i want to get it filled in red because it makes the tattoo pop. I got a tattoo on my right ankle last year and it got really infected and I was on three antibiotics to treat it. However, it has red in it and Ive read online that alot of people have allergic reactions to the red ink used specifically. How can i tell if i had an allergic reaction to my ankle tattoo or if it was just infected? I dont want something to happen to my wrist tattoo by getting the red put into and possibly messing it up. Thanks!!

I just wanted to add that it wasnt my fault the tattoo got infected..i had some reservations about the tattoo place and they turned out to be right. I did everything I was supposed to do.

Answer 1

Red is a tricky color in tattooing. People who normally would not be allergic to it suddenly find any place with red in their tattoos raised up, itching, sometimes burning, if they have been out in the sun too long. This is still very rare, though, on the grand scheme of things.

I would think your doctor properly diagnosed the infection if he/she prescribed antibiotics for you. If you were allergic to the red in your tattoo, and it is calmed down now and non-reactive, certain things could trigger it to act up again (like the sun) and tattooing again with the same ink color. Consider this though - people do not become allergic to tattoo ink instantly on their first tattoo - the whole antigen/antibody thing has to occur, so most ink allergies come about 6 months down the road. Again, these are still very, very rare.

If you are still concerned you may have had an allergic reaction, you could have the tattoo artist do a test spot in the heart - like a highlighting curve of red in one of the rounded parts of the heart and see how that does. Be prepared to pay for this - they have to set up completely as if you were getting the whole tattoo done so their time and materials are certainly worth something.

Answer 2

First of all, it is not true that "a lot" of people are allergic to red ink. Allergy to tattoo ink is actually very rare. Your chances of getting struck by lightening are about 10 times your chances of being allergic to tattoo ink. But, if you are allergic to it, the most likely color for you to be allergic to is red.

Second, if you were allergic to red ink, the antibiotics would not have solved the problem, since allergies and infections are two TOTALLY different things. That's like taking penicillin for a dust allergy. It would have had no effect. If you were allergic to the ink, you would still be having problems to this day.

So I would say don't worry about it, and this time take better care of the tattoo so it doesn't get infected!