day 10 after my tat; the approx 10 areas that aren’t healed (little depressions in the overall tat) seem to be ‘leaking” a clear, sticky fluid.
this morniing, as usual, i washed the tat w/ dial, patted it dry; let it ‘air dry’ for 100-15 minutes, applied a thin layer of curel, i just looked at it and noticed this clear liquid oozing out….
what’s going on? :confused:thanks, all you tat experts!
Hi Char
The clear liquid contains white blood cells that are trying to flush out an infection before scabbing over.
The body will flush the area and try and cleanse itself before forming a protective seal (the scab) to stop further dirt/infection from entering the wound (tattoo).
If you are still getting leaking on day 10 you really need to get it checked by a Dr and I would recommend a course of antibiotics – because your body is still telling you that it has not fully flushed the wound.
If you keep cleaning it you maybe holding off worse infection but your body needs a helping hand to heal up so please get it checked out.
Also always wash your hands before and after touching the tattoo when it is like that and under no circumstances put your fingers in your mouth until they are sterilised.
I am not trying to frighten you but if you do not get this sorted now you could be at risk of blood poisoning which is not a nice thing to get (trust me on this).
Take Care
Matthew
thanks again for your advice; i just talked to the artist who did another ankle tat here locally; i’m going to stop in and have him to take a look @ it.
he thinks the artist went too deep in places ( odd cuz this guy has a ton of experience, but won’t return my emails) ; some of the spots seem to be ‘filling in’ and the color is there.
the swelling/redness and soreness is much less today; he even volunteered to touch this up once it heals.:)
for sure, i’d think twice…maybe 3X before getting a tat done 4,000 miles away!
Hi Char
Just to say my posts are always based on better safe than sorry. I am sure it will heal up fine and if he has gone too deep it could be the cause of the extreme swelling and weeping.
I also forgot that you have to pay to see Dr’s in USA – in UK we just make appt as we pay from our wages – hence it is quite easy to get antibiotics if needed.
Just keep it clean and don’t ignore it.
Take Care
Matthew
lol…a dr visit in the US PLUS antibiotics can be pricey, but my health is more important.
we do have a local drugstore chain, CVS, that has a “minute clinic” where you can see someone who looks at basic health probs ( ear infections, skin infections, etc) and can write prescriptions. i’ll go directly there after i see my local tat artist tomorrow. at least the soreness problem, swelling seems to be improving.
the tat is SOOO gorgeous ( at least it was when i first got it)…i can’t wait to see it in all of it’s beauty!
ya it sounds like he beat you up pretty good if on day ten your still experiencing redness and swelling. even if it is only minor thats usually gone completely by day three. I would deffinetly keep a close eye on it, a pic would prolly give people a better idea of what exactly your dealin with
i just made an appt w/ my dermatoligist ( cvs doesn’t look at skin probs); the top surface of the entire tat is cloudy and kind of waxy–what is that? the ‘dug out’ areas seem to leave some spots of blood on the paper towel when i’m patting it dry after washing—:(
i really appreciate y’all’s help; the maui ‘artist’ hasn’t returned emails.
Hi Char
The cloudy and waxy film over the tattoo is where you have some infection in the skin. When you cut yourself you have a clotting agent that forms the scab (the clear liquid). This mixes with white blood cells underneath to destroy any bacteria.
If the wound is infected the body will keep sending more and more white blood cells to fight it – so you get that burning, swelling, redness around the tattoo.
When the white blood cells die they form that sticky white stuff we call pus. (Yummy! :D)
Because the wound is still ‘open’ you will still have your body defences trying to clot it and scab over but the infection is slowing the healing process.
A good blast of antibiotics will sort you out in no time. Just keep it sterile and don’t pick it.
Take Care
Matthew
Just to say my posts are always based on better safe than sorry. I am sure it will heal up fine and if he has gone too deep it could be the cause of the extreme swelling and weeping.
I also forgot that you have to pay to see Dr’s in USA – in UK we just make appt as we pay from our wages – hence it is quite easy to get antibiotics if needed.
Just keep it clean and don’t ignore it.
Take Care
Matthew
Wow, free doctors, we have to pay here too, children under 5 are free and thats it. But you cant skimp when it comes to your health at the end of the day
Easy enough to say Izzy. But over the last few years, I’ve had to make the choice on several occasions whether to pay rent, have food on my table, or buy my wife’s insulin. This is not an exaggeration. Sometimes, when you’re broke, you have to screw over your long term health for short term survival.
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.
2 lessons learned here:
1) don’t get a tat on vacation
2) factor in the possible dr/meds costs in case something goes wrong.
a friend of mine sent me this very good advice:
“The doctor said tattoos should be like road rash and should be healed all the way within 5 to 7 days”
she mentioned ‘heavy handed’ artists ( those who go too deep). my thought…heavy handed artists should find another career!
medical costs in the US are really insane!( thought #3! :D)
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.
Jeez thats pretty harsh, $65 for antibiotics thats ridiculous, Thats $130 in nzd, fraid to say id be thinking twice about going to the doctor myself in that case, we have subsidised prescriptions here, so you go to the doctor pay their fee and then go to the chemist and pay $3 for the script. Do you have to have health insurance or something to get it cheaper?
That’s right, I didn’t even consider the doctor’s fees, which range from $50-$150, depending on whether he needs to do lab work on that throat swab to see if you got throat herpes.
But, yes, to get meds cheaper, you have to have health insurance, and even then it depends on what kind of insurance plan you have. Many don’t cover prescriptions at all, or only do so after you pay a certain amount yourself, sometimes going as high as $3000. And that’s assuming your condition isn’t preexisting. My sister, for instance, has a preexisting auto-immune disease that I can neither spell nor pronounce, and she can’t get insurance to save her life (literally) despite making a very good living for herself. But without her meds she *WILL* die, so she’s had to put herself into $20k+ of debt to keep herself in pills.
As for me, currently I don’t even have a job, which is how Americans get health insurance. I worked in an office that paid depending on your preformance, and since I had perfect reviews every month for a year and a half, I was the highest paid guy in my office…and the first to go when the company started letting people go to lower the paid wages in response to the economic crisis. They let go of the entire top paid 30% of the employees below management–a real kick in the nuts to me since I turned such a role down on two seperate occasions so I could return to school instead.
But, hell, even before I couldn’t afford their excellent health insurance. Being the top paid guy in that office was like being the smartest kid in the special Olympics. My choice was health insurance or electricity AND phone service.
But enough of me whining. Life’s rough–get a helmet. Right?
Love. Peace. Metallica.
You know that is one thing about the USA that really pisses me off.
One of the richest countries in the world and they won’t give subsidised health care.
I broke a tooth cost me $200 just to see a dentist – before they would even look at the tooth! (Damn glad I took out insurance before I went).
In the UK if you work you pay National Insurance which is huge chunk out of your wage (around 15-25% no wage slip in front of me) but then you get free operations and visits to the Dr’s.
Ok you may have to wait a long time but that is not so bad. Most drugs are on subsidy so a prescription would be around $10 on top of the Nat Insurance. Obviously some drugs such as cancer ones you may have to pay private and there is a limited amount of subsidised dental cover but that is very basic.
But here is the best bit if you are ill or unemployed the whole lot is free – dental, pescriptions, hospital.
I know my country is pushing for private health care/insurance but I just cannot see it working.
Take Care
Matthew
You must be logged in to create new topics.
