How to Spot an Infected Tattoo?

 I’ve recently had several people in my inbox who have been to other studios or had things happen come to me asking if their tattoo is infected. As artists we do everything possible to prevent this but the moment you puncture the skin you risk infection. Proper aftercare also helps. We are not doctors and cannot diagnose your skin. It takes 16 years to become a dermatologist. However, simply being aware of your tattoo as it’s healing can be enough to catch an infection before it gets dangerous. 

Skin Anatomy

The skin is the largest organ in the human body and it creates a waterproof barrier between your body and the outside world. The barrier has channels and ways in but the idea is to keep your insides protected and working while bad things stay outside. Part of our Bloodborne Pathogens education requires us to understand the Chain of Infection. This is the process by which infections happen or are spread. Several things have to happen for infection to occur so we want to break that chain as quickly as possible.

Image courtesy of Nature Reviews Microbiology

The first step to doing so is tattooing in a sanitary manner and most artists will use antiseptics and disinfectants constantly to prevent anything getting in your tattoo. But what happens when things go wrong? 

MRSA

MRSA is the big scary buzzword for infection. Many things are called MRSA when in fact they’re not. Only a lab test can tell you if an infection is MRSA but you can spot a potential MRSA infection. MRSA lives on skin harmlessly for many people. It is prevented from being a problem because of the skin barrier, but tattooing or piercing breaks that barrier and creates a reservoir for MRSA to enter. Here’s a picture of what MRSA infection look like. This image is courtesy of the CDC.

The main thing to look out for with MRSA is those zit-like blisters full of pus, but using too much of a petroleum based aftercare can also cause a simple break out that looks very similar. It’s hard to tell without a test so it’s always best not to use too much aftercare and to seek medical help if you think you’ve got an infection.  

Cellulitis

As serious as MRSA is cellulitis. This bacteria literally eats your flesh and will take a chunk out of you and your tattoos. Cellulitis has a red ring of irritation that appears around your tattoo, this ring will get progressively larger. Doctors who suspect cellulitis will often draw around a wounds red area and see if it progressively gets bigger over the course of hours. The tattoo area has a very specific look for cellulitis. It crusts over and creates a dip or cavity with a raised edge around your tattoo. In this scenario you will most likely lose most of the tattoo ink and deal with a thick crusted scab. 

Image courtesy of EMDocs


Other Infections

Here are a couple of client images used with permission. One tattoo was scratched by a dog immediately after they went home, another chose to go to a questionable studio without researching first. As you can see neither has the pustules of MRSA. Both of these tattoos are confirmed as being infected by medical professionals but both look very different as you can tell. 



Infections do all have several characteristics in common to look out for:

  • Redness - this should be angry almost to a purple tone not simply red like a minor sunburn. Redness is normal for a fresh tattoo but should start going down within 24 hours or at least begin to lighten. 
  • Heat - any time your skin is inflamed it gets hot. Sunburn, kitchen accidents, even regular cuts and bruises. The body increases heat in the affected area to try and make it inhospitable for bacteria. 
  • Pain - tattoos hurt, but this should also start to decrease after a few hours to a minor burn. If your tattoo is only getting more sensitive and the pain is ramping up you may want to be concerned. 
  • Swelling - Similarly, all tattoos tend to be a little swollen but excessive swelling is not. 

Discharge may also be present and is usually a sickly yellow or green color which smells bad. Not every tattoo will have all these symptoms, and in fact many normal healing tattoos have the same 4 symptoms of inflammation. The key here is that with a normal tattoo these will steadily decrease after your tattoo is finished not continue to get worse. 

What Now?

If you suspect your tattoo is infected it’s straight to the doctor. Infections can be life threatening if left untreated and no tattoo is worth that. Taking care of any infection quickly also means your tattoo is less likely to have damage that needs to be fixed. It’s not unusual for a tattoo to fall out or scar up if the healing isn’t normal so be prepared that you’ll have some touch up work. Depending on how bad the scarring is you may also have to wait. Scar tissue takes a minimum of 1-2 years to settle down enough to tattoo or you risk it simply falling out again as it’s still forming.  

Many infected tattoos will have pink skin underneath. This is a sign of scarring and takes longer than regular skin to heal. Ideally you’ll want to wait at least a year. One of the additional risks with scarred skin is that the body can also create a pocket of trapped infection. This pocket will sit there until the skin is disrupted and potentially cause the whole issue to start up again which is why it’s imperative to wait until it’s fully healed and the scarring has settled. 

If you’re not sure how healed your skin is or you’re seeing signs of infection you’re always welcome to let us have a look. Skin and healing is something unpredictable when it isn’ going normally so there’s no right or wrong answer for everybody. Contact Me and I’ll be happy to get back to you with some help or direct you. 


#tattoo #tattooeducation #virginiatattooartist #safetattoos #infection #healthcare #infectioncontrol #bloodbornepathogens #damnitdeb #virginiatattooartist #femaletattooartist #girlshowtattoo #tattooedwomen 

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