Infected Tattoo

Getting a new tattoo can be a completely exciting experience. But this happiness and excitement may fade away, if you do not care for your new tattoo. Ignorance to tattoo care can lead to tattoo infection and can ruin the beauty of the tattoo. A tattoo is nothing but a wound made on the body to inject permanent ink. The only difference between tattoo and other wounds is that a tattoo results into a beautiful permanent body art. If proper aftercare instructions are not followed, one may have to face the problem of an infected tattoo. Before knowing about the treatment, let us take a look at the causes and symptoms.

Causes and Symptoms

Tattooing is a process of injecting ink permanently onto the skin. Since it involves pricking and bruising of the skin, there are several chances of getting a tattoo infection. The skin is peeled and hence is exposed to several bacteria present in air and water. Improper tattooing is one of the major cause of infection. If the tattoo artist is a novice and is unaware of proper handling of the tattoo needle, the risk of developing a tattoo infection increases. Another major cause is improper tattoo aftercare. Many of the tattoo bearers completely ignore the tattoo care instructions. Since a tattoo is a wound, it should be given enough time to heal. Avoiding friction due to clothes, applying ointments, keeping the tattooed area clean, etc., are some of the important steps to be followed after getting a tattoo. If these steps are not followed, one will surely get an infection on the tattoo area. Some of the symptoms are quite similar to the stages of tattoo healing. Thus, before coming to the conclusion that the tattoo is infected, one should analyze the state of the tattoo. Inflammation, general weakness, swelling, discharge, foul odor, red streaks, etc., are some of the common symptoms of tattoo infection.

Treatment

The infected area becomes susceptible to attack by many bacteria and viruses. And hence, treating an infected tattoo is mandatory to avoid serious health problems. As mentioned earlier, before going for any treatment, you should first confirm whether your tattoo is actually infected or not. A visit to the tattoo artist is the first thing that should be done when you suspect an infection. Tattoo artists are expert at identifying tattoo problems and hence they can help you in confirming whether the tattoo is infected or not. You should seek immediate medical help if the tattoo infection is severe. If it's a minor infection the tattoo artist may suggest you some solutions to alleviate it. If you do not get satisfactory results with the treatment of tattoo artist, you should immediately approach a physician or a dermatologist. The health expert will diagnose the reason of the skin infection and provide appropriate antibiotics and other topical ointments for the same.
To avoid the symptoms of an infected tattoo, make sure you have approached a licensed tattoo artist. The needles used for tattooing should be sterilized properly. This will avoid risks of being infected by fatal health problems like AIDS and hepatitis. Also ensure that the ink used for carving the tattoo is of good quality and contains no harmful chemicals. Proper tattoo aftercare is one of the best methods to avoid an infection. So make sure you follow all the tattoo care instructions provided by your tattoo artist.