lol..thanks, tattman, but i think it’s a bit ‘deeper’ than that ( no pun intended);)
US health costs HAVE gotten waayyyyy out of control; an issue at the top of the new president’s agenda, that’s after he gets the economy out of the crapper.
even though my wallet will be a LOT lighter after visiting the dr, i’m looking forward to starting the antibiotics, getting free of this pain, and having this beautiful tat start to heal and at least resemble what i drew ( and paid for) in the first place:o
again, thanks so much for y’all’s input; i posted a few questions a wk ago on another tat forum, and got a lot of ‘views’ but not a single response. which kinda sucks, imo. cuz, when ppl have concerns, they need answers from somebody; i would’ve made that call to the dr a lot sooner.
that’s what he SAYS.
if you live near a CVS (US) that has a “Minute Clinic”, check it out. a lot lower prices than the dr’s office. and NEVER go to the Emergency Room ( hospital) unless you really have a life-threatening emergency!
i called the “urgent care” facility nearby yesterday, and they were gonna charge me $80 to just walk in the door, PLUS a bunch of tests!
today, i stopped in to see the local artist who gave me another ankle tat that healed very quickly. when he saw my new tat, he cringed, and said,”INFECTED, SWEETHEART! get to the Dr!.” i told him i already had an appt for later today. he thinks that the artist didn’t FK up but the lower leg location and the 13 hour flight w/ 3 different ‘legs’ and the dirt on the plane, and air pressure, etc, just wasn’t a good start. again…think twice before getting a tat in a far away location!:rolleyes: he told me if it needed touching up, which it wouldn’t NECESSARILY need ( nice to hear!), he’d do it.
thanks again for all of your input. i hope this has helped other ppl too.
the dr. gave me 10 days of an antibiotic w/ some anti-inflamatory ( w/ insurance card, the meds were $3!) in it and told me to go back to using a thin layer of aquaphor after washing it 2X day.
to know the worst is over and this beautiful tattoo will soon emerge makes me soooooo happy!:)
Hi Char
I am both delighted that you are feeling much better about your tattoo but more importantly that you got some antibiotics.
It is actually some relief to me to know that within a week you will be fully enjoying your ink.
Please post up the end result when it is healed. 🙂
Take Care
Matthew
Love. Peace. Metallica.
aerosmith, rhcp AND buckcherry!:D
day 1 on meds:
the antibiotics seem to be working already; redness and swelling down; pain almost gone EXCEPT for the seemingly ‘raw’ areas –the divots are still there, and last nite as i was patting the tat dry, i noticed some small pieces of something appearing to be ‘detaching’ from my skin onto the paper towl, leaving red areas behind 😮 no blood actually ‘flowing’…thank God!
i read the aquaphor and the curel pkgs, and both advised NOT applying to open wounds.
so, i applied some polysporin to the ‘raw’ areas; just talked to another pharmicist ( as my dr told me to use vaseline!! apparently didn’t take the ‘tattoo class”!) who said the polysporin, being an antibiotic cream, was the right thing to use. correct?
the entire surface of the tat is very cloudy…the black areas are grey, but, i’ve been assured that that stuff will lift off, wash away, or something!
it’s gonna be interesting to see what’s under there!
i hope this thread isn’t boring y’all! it’s kinda like a mini-series 😀
Well here’s the thing–a new tattoo, by definition, is an open wound, and Curel is the very lotion I use for mine, most of the time. My sister, whose immune system is compromised due to an autoimmune disease, always uses Vasaline, and trust me, that chick is tattooed.
My artist tells me that Vasaline is fine to use on tattoos, and that he uses it himself for his own ink. As I’ve never seen or heard first-hand about people having trouble with it. I’ve always assumed that the “Vasaline slows down healing” thing is a myth.
Hell, the shit the tattoo artist slathers on you to apply the ink? It’s petrolium jell–Vasaline.
As for the antibiotic cream, yeah that should be cool–but I’d still moisturize if I was you man 🙂 As for the divots, I’d just keep taking the antibiotics and give that sucker a good two more weeks to heal before I got too concerned.
And don’t worry, we like the updates. We wanna make sure you’re okay and that the ink turned out well for you.
Love. Peace. Metallica.
Hi
No you are not boring us at all. In fact I think it is a useful thing for first-timer tats to be able to follow the progress on so they do not freak out if it happens to them.
The vaseline thing well KH it comes from the fact that vaseline for some skin types is actually difficult to breakdown and clogs up the pores.
The thing about slow healing came from the fact that in the 60-70’s that is all ppl used for tats (incl lard! :eek:) to roll on their tats.
Ppl actually complained to vaseline (in limited cases) and said hey it causes my tattoo to ‘ooze’ the vaseline was basically coming out of the pore along with the scab which was not an infection just didn’t look so good. Also a couple of ppl complained of spots (basically they were not cleaning the area properly and it was skin irritation caused by dirt).
Vaseline responded by saying they were not liable and it was harmless substance.
So – You can use vaseline (don’t confuse with vaseline intensive care) but you may find that it clogs pores and needs to be washed more or just use aquaphor etc that can be absorbed slightly better – but still clogs.
Wash them tats daily! 🙂
Take Care
Matthew
hey, y’all. my tat is 2 wks old today!
day 2 of antibiotics; the soreness is gone, but the redness surrounding the tat remains as does the clear liquid ( plasma) leaks, which kind of surprise me cuz it has to ooze up past the aquaphor!
may have had a bit of a set back since i stood for 3+ hours @ a concert last nite, but followed sherav’s advice to put a loose covering over the tat/wound. thankfully, it didn’t stick, but, when i got home, my foot and lower leg were a bit swollen. it’s back to normal today.
when i washed the tat, patted it dry, i noticed very few possible ‘blood’ spots.
sooooooo looking forward to the AM when i can start seeing what’s under there!:)
day 4 of antibiotics: i don’t see any color on the paper towel when i’m patting the tat dry; the enitre tat is still very cloudy and the surface very waxy–is that whole top layer gonna peal off when i’m washing it?
while the ‘divot’ areas are still crusty, they don’t appear to be oozing any more liquid of any kind…YAY:)
the surrounding redness is pink, and when i stand up first thing in the AM, the pain is gone.
question: should i wash the area again after coming back from the gym and a cycling class ( my legs are covered w/ sweat, but, surely there is some!)
Hell, the last time I got sick, I had to let it go until I got pneumonia since antibiotics costs $65 American, which was my grocery money for two weeks.
….I think I’m gonna have to move to Canada.
Love. Peace. Metallica.
I wanted to scold you, but that’s not my place. I completely understand your problems as I have $6 to my name right now. That said…please don’t sacrifice her insulin. I did that purposefully for YEARS and now I’m paying the price. All the scary things they tell us diabetics about are very real…and very painful.
while the ‘divot’ areas are still crusty, they don’t appear to be oozing any more liquid of any kind…YAY:)
the surrounding redness is pink, and when i stand up first thing in the AM, the pain is gone.
question: should i wash the area again after coming back from the gym and a cycling class ( my legs are covered w/ sweat, but, surely there is some!)
The answer is yes.
And I had the same problem with “Gossamer” (check my album) as far as “divots” go…those areas scabbed like hell and you can totally see them even years latee…although I am going to try to have it recolored (for the fourth time) and see what happens.
But it is beautiful…
And I had the same problem with “Gossamer” (check my album) as far as “divots” go…those areas scabbed like hell and you can totally see them even years latee…although I am going to try to have it recolored (for the fourth time) and see what happens.
But it is beautiful…
are you SERIOUS? those areas STILL won’t take color? what has the tat artist said? do you keep going back to the same person?
has anyone out there ever had a good tat result after experiencing similar problems?
Hi Char
I would say first of all don’t panic – sometimes you get scar tissue that is difficult for ink to take it is called keloid.
From what you are saying the healing process is kicking in now – once they stop leaking it will all likley scab over.
The milky grey surface will either flake or wash away as new skin forms underneath – this will still have ink in it.
It is most likely taht you will need a touch up on the tattoo once it is healed.
As for the ‘divots’ these sound like inflamed pores or scar tissue points – I have known many where ink has taken and many where it has not – all i can say is see how it looks after the healing is finished.
Take Care
Matthew
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