Forum Discussion: Ink Reaction
Sunday October 5, 2008
"I really hope someone can help me; I got a tattoo on my foot and going up past my ankle 5 months ago. It's not my first tattoo so I knew what to do to look after it. When I got home my foot swelled up really bad and I was not able to put my foot to the floor for about a week, then it did go down and start to scab over. The vine has healed ok but the flowers 5 months on are still quite raised and bumpy and have got tiny little holes all over them. I have tried all sorts but nothing is changing it; I went back to see my tattoo artist and he said he thinks I have just had a bad reaction to the ink and to give it more time but it never changes. It looks rubbish close up. Has anyone got any ideas please?" - Jill6299
Comments
I had a similar reaction and after it healed I had to have it recolered to fill in the scared areas
One of the problems with tattooing a foot, is risk of infection. Your feet are obviously closer to the ground, putting your tattoo closer to all kinds of germs. That’s the reason many artists don’t like to do foot tattoos. Also, you should not wear shoes during the healing process, open ballet type shoes only where there is no contact between the shoe and the tattoo. That can cause irritation and may lead to infection. Also it looks like your problem spot had red. Red is one of those colors for whatever reason, people may have bad reactions to. I actuaully warn my clients of this risk before we decide to use red on them. Use antibacterial ointment, get it healed and get it touched up in 6 months, no sooner. Good luck!
it looks like something call red reaction,happends a lot with some kind of red that have an acrilic base ,most of the “dispertion ” type ink can cause that.
check that link…
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Tattoos-3028/Red-Reaction-said-its.htm
I conccur with others that it is a reaction to the Red,this has hapenned on occasion over the years…this may take some time to heal just be patient and you will eventually have a good Tattoo…(stay away from the dreaded RED)
Hello,
From what I can make out in the picture,I’d be suprised if it was anything but a reaction to the Ink. While a lot of people think that its the red’s that cause this. I’m willing to wager my considerable experience on the fact that it is not all red’s that cause this problem. I have put red in a 1000 different tats and never ever had any trouble with it. Though I remember an apprentice coming in with scream inks and giving a customer something fairly similar to what you have. I read somewhere that there is a class action suit against the makers of scream ink and in particular the ferrari red that they make. You could find out from your artist what inks were used atleast you will know what to do.
I personally use only starbrite/iron butterfly and have never ever had any adverse reaction to them.
looks to be a classic foot & ink reaction,one of the hazards of getting artwork done on you’re feet.
I wanted to send a comment as a regular customer who has had a similiar reaction to a large ankle tattoo. I also had a “red” rose and was told that was probably the problem. It was very painful and I saw a doctor more than once. He put me on antibiotics, but I really don’t think I needed them because I later had a reaction to the “red” in another tattoo on my leg and the doc did a scraping. There was no sign of bacteria, so it was simply “ink rejection”. Back to the ankle, it took more than a year to completely heal. I began to think I would have a deep hole in my leg forever. It did fill in, but I had to have the entire tattoo redone after a year. I had the red rose changed to a yellow sunflower and it healed without any trouble. Don’t give up, it will be worth it in the long run. I recently had my hand tattooed as part of a sleeve and it swelled for a week. It helps to elevate the hand (or foot).
Actually your tattoo doesn’t look all that bad. As I said in my previous post, I had the ink rejection for a red rose on my ankle. Once the ink was pushed out of my tattoo I was left with a 1/4″ deep hole on my leg. It finally did fill in with healthy flesh and I was able to have it redone the next year. I have since had other “red” used in my tattoos without adverse reations, but I am in another state and have a new artist, so she probably doesn’t use the same brand of ink. A “shout out” to Jen at Hollywood Stars Tattoo of Los Angeles, CA….my new artist.
Looks like a ladybug got her ass kicked!
Whether it was a reaction to the color,or a bacterial infection five months down the road it should be looking better than this. Anything foreign in the skin will eventually work its way out. Looking at the skin, it has pock marks probably from some type of pimple as your skin is expelling the foreign object. Do not scratch or pick your tattoo sound familiar? Just because its not your first tattoo doesn’t mean you know about healing tattoos! Did you wear socks right after getting the piece? Did your artist tell you anything specifically regarding the healing of this area? It almost sounds like u had a double wammy, an infection and reaction to the ink. Wearing any clothing over fresh tattoo’s is sooo not good unless properly bandaged. The detergent residue left in the material itself will do major damage to tattoos, like a chemical burn since it’s on freshly tattooed skin. The result is a painful swollen red throbbing hot tattoo you wish you never had! Keep the area super clean and moisturized with lotion, skin needs moisture to heal and some ointment such as Aquaphor might help with healing it further. (a dab will do) mabey if you want after it heals and the skin is smooth (no pock marks) have your artist tattoo over it with a solution of whichazel and distilled water. This has been known to reduce swelling and break scar tissue down..
EL PM
I agree with the reaction to the red ink. Its the color most people are prone to be allergic to. You have a couple of choices. All of which should be discussed with your artist. You can wait til it heals and your body is ok with it and go get it touched up and go through all that stuff agian. You could get it covered with a darker color. You could just let it go. You artist probably has the best advice and if not then find a different artist. They will be able to tell you more options.
Hi !
I have several tattoos, none of which is coloured . What I know is that when it came to tattoo my right foot, round the ankle and up on the calf – I realized how different is
the skin on the foot compared to everywhere else in the body, maybe similar to the hands … and yes, it’s almost impossible to stay amay from all kind of infections being so near to the ground …. it’s a dirty world, you know ! I also think that healing in very hot weather is even worst !!!
ciao everybody Marta from Florence (Italy)
Its a red reaction, I say this because its not the tattoo as a whole your having a problem with, everything else healed well you said. That leaves only one thing, the red ink.
I’ve been tattooing for 14 yrs now and have seen the same reaction with a multitude of ink brands. Some people just react to the color red, a lot of research has been done on the subject with no acceptable conclusions. I’ve seen this happen with just a couple of other colors as well but the one thing that i’ve seen done is a hydrocortizone injection directly into the affected area (ask your doctor about this) the swelling and itching was almost immediately gone, (this info from a customer of mine with a particularly bad reaction) the other and least common (fix-it) and one I have no personal experience with is a cobalt laser. you’ll have to research that one yourself sry.
u should definitely go to the doctor!!!!!
Yes, tats on the foot are the hardest to heal-both of mine are done-but this looks like a red reaction to me. My husband has an allergy to red and he has had tats that look like this. Our artist has tried several differnt brands on my hubby-all do the same darn thing. He has decided not to get red any longer. However if you have had red before and this is the first time it has occured, it may have just been the brand. As others have said, let it heal (my hubby had to bleed one of his out to get rid of the bumps!) and have your artist try a different brand. Good luck!
as a tattoo artist now for 20+ years ,i use eternal ink.it is vegan friendly,it doesnt contain,animal biproducts,nor is it tested on animals,,it doesnt contain harsh chemicals,,like sulfer or mercury…
are u sulpher reactive?do u live in an area where these reactivity chemicals are stronger in the area..
for example..i used to tattoo in hamilton and sometimes in sarnia ontario where the sulpher content in the enviroment is high,,i found a higher reaction to red color ,in these citys.thats why i switched inks and made sure my colors wernt chemically compounded with sulpher or other mixes..
the canadian equivalent of medical prescription grade polysporin is called “baciguent” it will help take the color out.aside from going to the doctor and having him lance it ,time is the issue..
one of the worst inks is “sta-glow”they all contain harsh chemicals including the orange with high mercury content,the inks give the tattoo a velvet look ,it looks cool,bt watchout if ur allegys kick in!!
only a doctor will be able to help u,,obviously advice is a dime a dozen here…
c
=\ kinda sounds like he went too deep..too thin there.
No question that it’s red reaction. I am an artist and have had many problems with scream’s ferarri red. Including a few of my own tattoos. I’ve had hydrocortizone injections in the worst reaction and it looks alot better than it did. I won’t use anymore scream reds. I’ve switched to millenium pigments and haven’t had any issues. Just note that topical steroids will have no effect nor will any other topical solution, including silver sulphadiazine. I saw dermatologists who knew less about red reaction than I did. Just tell your doctor to inject steroids directly. Oh and avoid a biopsy, they’re extremely expensive and won’t tell them anything more than skin with red tattoo ink.
one way of treating red ink rejection is to go over the problem areas with the gun and just water, no ink.. this will allow the blood to escape and the lumps will go away.. you may lose some brightness in colour but the skin will become smooth again…
I have Red Reaction too, severely. I have it on my hand stars, on a devil on my arm and on the edges around and on the points of a large hot rod style flame on my arm.
About 3 months or so ago tried dry needling the red stars on my hand and the devil on the side of my wrist area.It all healed fine but really quick, no scabs, really smooth but was still raised. Then in the next couple of days it all flared up again as usual.
In fact my stars on hand seem worse since dry needling. They are constantly shedding thick skin and are incredably sore during a flare up.
I have recently found that washing my arm and hand a couple of times a day is helping, but it could just be that the damper weather is helping too.
I have been to my doctor who gave me some creams(not working) and he is writing to a dermatologist. I’ll let you know what happens next.
Sorry mistake in above. I meant to say washing the areas with Head and Shoulders anti dandruff shampoo is helping.
i have gotten two tattoos a few months back flames on each arm and had a bad reaction to the red ink,been to the doctors but not much is helpping.i have other tatts and no reactions to the red,never found out what was in the red.can anyone help and let me know what I should do..
i actually just got a new tattoo and for the most parts everything has healed just fine except the red, it looks exactly like the one pictured above. what is this considered? is there a way for it to go flat with the skin again? and what type of meds can help this? i am really not looking to have a lumpy leather moist looking tattoo. kinda making me self conscious about it…please help
my friend and I just recently got tattoos at a shop we had never been too. we both have had problems i got my on my foot and it got mildly infected and antibiotics cured it but she on the other had got hers on her calf and has had inflimation and drs said she is rejecting the ink and there is no red what so ever….what could be the cause of this