no, matthew is no doctor (hey, matthew 🙂 ), but the advice you gave me was the most helpful i got anywhere; i kind of knew mine was infected, just didn’t want it to be!

of course! you can’t get antibiotics w/out a dr’s prescrption anyway ( not in the US, anyway).

but, if you have swelling, redness, and leakage of some kind, chances are you have an infection. i am VERY grateful that someone here urged me to see a DR ( who confirmed the infection and wrote me a presciption). i wish i hadn’t waited as long as i…[Read more]

it’s been 2+ months now, and the surface of my tat is STILL not quite right ( not ‘tight’, but when i push the skin, it looks like some type of plastic wrap, not skin-like), and i will DEFININTELY have to get a few places recolored. i live in NC, and summer is coming, which means the beach and the pool, so, i’ll just use a lot of sunscreen on it…[Read more]

hey! sunday was 5 wks for my tat. i’m still waiting for the entire crinkly top surface to come off. when i wash it, if i rub it a bit, some bits of dead skin (?) come off, but, i don’t want to do any MORE damage! but the milky, waxy, cloudiness is mostly gone.

i took my UK GF who was visiting me in NC/USA to the shop that did my first ankle…[Read more]

Chance666;36709 wrote:
I went ahead a stopped by the artist. And he said it looks good. And that ankles take a long time to heal, and the reason the right one is not healing as fast as the left, it because it is my plant foot(dominate side). Holy crap did I have enough and’s in there!! Anyways he said just watch for red streaks moving up my…[Read more]

Chance666;36674 wrote:
I need some help also,

This is tattoo 6 and 7, but the first time I can see them. It is as been a week today, and one is healing great, no soreness, scabs are coming off on there own. The other one is much different. The scabs are raised and puffy there has been some the sticky white fluid leaking out but that looks…[Read more]

finally done w/ my 10 days of antibiotics. no more ‘leaking’; those areas have all scabbed over and a few of the smaller scabs have fallen off, leaving a tiny ‘dent’ in the surface, BUT….TATTOO COLOR IS THERE!:D fingers crossed that this will be the case beneath every scab.

i still have a waxy, cloudy ‘film’ over the entire surface; when i…[Read more]

day 6: some redness around my tattoo still remains, but no pain at all. after washing, patting dry, when i was applying aquaphor ( should i be switiching over to curel yet?), all of the ‘divoted’ areas are rough, like they have some type of a crust. as i was rubbing in the aquaphor, some small bits of ‘something’ rubbed off. :confused: i’ve…[Read more]

^^you didn’t panic me; i was paniced about a week ago before i found this forum and the really helpful ppl here!

so, you sound like you think your problems were caused by the artist going too deep? my in-town artist didn’t think that was the case; he thinks that a fresh tat on an ankle and a 14 hour flight w/ 3 ‘legs’ was the problem. i wish…[Read more]

Sherav;36221 wrote:
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…[Read more]

peachiepoo;36209 wrote:
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…

are you SERIOUS? those…[Read more]

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…[Read more]

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…[Read more]

this is actually my 3rd tat, and 3 times is either a ‘charm’ or a curse; unfortuneately, for me, it’s been a CURSE!

i’d like to post pix of my tats somewhere, but, i’m not sure how to do it.

**i just added pix in my tat album. take a peek if ya like

KnightHawk;36007 wrote:
What he said–infections suck, and I like the fact you’re killing those little sons of a bitches.

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…[Read more]

Izarrasink;35932 wrote:
I watched obama on the news last night and he wreckons he’s going to sort out the health system over there.

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…[Read more]

tattman91;35901 wrote:
plasma my man… not to worry… keep it clean and you shouldnt have a problem…

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…[Read more]

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…[Read more]

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.

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…[Read more]