Itchy, Red Tattoo? Tattoo Infection and You

As with any type of body modification or anything involving needles there are some risks of infection. Luckily, with proper research and picking a clean shop the rate if tattoo infection is very minimal. No one wants to spend hundreds of dollars on an infection, let alone have a resulting tattoo that just doesn't look right because it got infected, so what are the things you can do to minimize the risk of tattoo infection?

First make sure you choose a clean shop to get your tattoo done at. You don't want to go to some back alley dirty shop, this is almost a guarantee of infection. You want one that is clean and uses proper sterilization methods. Take your time in choosing the shop. You wan to find a high quality one that adheres to safety codes. You want a shop that uses new needles with each customer and is very careful about any form of transfer, by using sterile gloves and all the like. The last thing you really want to be doing is spending hundreds of dollars that are literally being thrown away, or worse yet throwing your own life a way by catching a disease. A little extra time ensuring the shop doing your tattoo is clean and infection free can save you a whole lot of trouble and money in the end.



Another key part in preventing infection is in your after care. Follow what the artist has set out for you very carefully. Don't remove your gauze too early and ensure any time you touch your tattoo that your hands are clean and free of dirt which can lead to a problem.

So what if it is too late to learn what you should have done and you already have an infected tattoo, what then? Well first step is to let the tattoo shop know that you have gotten a tattoo infection. Do not place blame it could very well have been improper care or even a slight allergic reaction that caused the infection. The next step is to go to the doctors. They may test you for other diseases in the case that the shop you went to was a less than sterile one, otherwise you will simply be given an antibiotic to help clear up the infection. Sometimes the tattoo is fine, due to the fact the infection was caught quickly, other times it is not.

Tattoo infections are few and far between but the more research you do and the more careful you are in getting your tattoo and the after care of your tattoo the better your chances are of minimizing your tattoo infection rate.


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