I got my second tattoo 4 days ago on my inner forearm. (First was on back where I didn’t see it constantly.) I am following instructions – wash 2-3x daily with anti-bacterial soap, cool water, and just using my fingers. Pat or airdry – I usually airdry. Fragrance-free Lubriderm a couple times a day as it gets dry. (Lubriderm stings until awhile after being completely absorbed but bearable.) My concern is the scab(s) trying to form go gooey real quick. I wait until dry before washing but after a short shower or sink wash, much of the scab is gooey. After AM shower I have to pat dry and loosely put a couple gauze pads over while putting on a T-shirt and long-sleeve shirt and then roll sleeves up before removing gauze pads. Tat stays gooey for awhile with some goo staying inplace to dry again and some getting runny and hanging. Where goo runs off, I see raw flesh that at least is the general color the area is supposed to be.
Should I be concerned?
Hi
The weeping is plasma that is trying to form a scab over the open wound (the tattoo). Excessive plasma weep can be caused by a number of things;
A lack of white blood cells in the body usually associated if you have a known immune depressive illness.
An infection – however this would usually mean that the area is discoloured, inflamed, smelling, leaking pus or other yummy symptoms you have not mentioned.
The usual cause in these cases is that you are soaking the tattoo too much or applying too much soap. This washes the platelets and plasma from the surface causing the wound to open and need to re-seal.
My advice is wash as normal but apply only a small amount of soap to the area.
Get a light antiseptic cream (not neosporin try savlon) and 2-3 times a day apply a thin layer to the tattoo for 2-3 days.
This will help the tattoo seal up and begin to heal.
Take care
Matthew
Thanks. I have no immune disease (at least that I know of) and there is no sign of infection. Have been doing some research and remain somewhat confused. Don’t soak, but wash several times a day with no mention of how long or short of time to wet/wash/rinse. Some sites say warm water, some say cool. Lots of info about scabs forming, not to pick, etc. but then told not to allow to dry out. In my mind a scab is dry. This tat covers a good section of my inner forearm with solid/shaded coloring for a realistic long-stem rose image. My entire interior forearm gets tight and hurts when it approaches being dried out. Standing up and putting my forearm down to my side brings a few seconds of mild pain that appears to be related to blood rushing to the site. I don’t see any evidence of permanent tattoo damage as wherever the goo peels off there is still colored skin (raw) underneath. Just thinking that the healing process is taking longer than it should when four days in it is still a gooey mess. But maybe because this one is so visible to me I am becoming a hypochondriac about it.
First time back here. Lost some ink that needs retouch at any time. Artist not worried. My thought is that the tat is very detailed and realistic with lots of shading. The section that lost the most was the first section done and it took awhile with lots of ink going into the same area (light, then darker, then even darker, back over with some lighter stuff) to get the color shading. My amateur opinion is that SO MUCH ink went into one area, my body just went overboard spitting it back out.
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