Cellulitis & healing?

[ptcruzar 6]

So I got my first tattoo that will be visible and I’m on day 5 healing.  I ended up going to the doc on day 3 and was diagnosed with cellulitis.  So I’ve been on antibiotics for 2 full days.  The redness and swelling is going down. 
 

I followed the after care instructions of remove bandage after 4 hours, wash and light lotion (I used cetaphil lotion). 
 

2 days after the tattoo, it started swelling up and oozing plasma like crazy.  I’m just washing it and letting it dry, I’m not putting anything on it other than non-stock bandages which I change out.  These were recommended by my doc because the plasma starts dripping off my arm in minutes.  Tattoo is located on inner forearm.  I’ve never had any issues with my tattoos on my torso. 
 

I’ve tried letting it air dry without a bandage but it leaks so much plasma.  I’ve been in touch with the artist but she seems to be at a loss. 
 

so basically I’m just wondering if anyone’s seen a tattoo like this heal ok? 
 

First pic is fresh, second pic is from is after washing this morning, day five.  I air dried it and it’s still really puffy and oozy. 

Edited November 18 by ptcruzar

[Hogrider 1,287]

I've never seen that, but the skin looks over moisturized. I'd stop putting anything on it and just let it dry out.

[ptcruzar 6]

I haven’t put anything on it other than the nonstick pad the doc said to put on it.  If I let it air dry, it oozes plasma nonstop, starts dripping off my arm even. 
 

honestly, at this point I’m just hoping I don’t get a huge scar. 

[oboogie 1,759]

You're just going to have to wait it out and finish your antibiotics. Sorry that happened to you.

[ptcruzar 6]

13 minutes ago, oboogie said:

You're just going to have to wait it out and finish your antibiotics. Sorry that happened to you.

Have you ever seen a day 5 tattoo do

this?  This is my 4th tattoo and I never had an issue.  It sucks this is the first one on my arm for everyone to see. The others can be covered with clothing. 

 

Edited November 18 by ptcruzar

[EoL 4]

Do you know what brand ink was used? It might be worth reaching out to the manufacturer.

[oboogie 1,759]

13 hours ago, EoL said:

Do you know what brand ink was used? It might be worth reaching out to the manufacturer.

You are basing this on what?

 

 

15 hours ago, ptcruzar said:

Have you ever seen a day 5 tattoo do

this?  This is my 4th tattoo and I never had an issue.  It sucks this is the first one on my arm for everyone to see. The others can be covered with clothing. 

 

No, I can't say I have. I am covered in tattoos, and I had one get infected, but other than that, I've head pretty easy healing.

[ptcruzar 6]

I think my healing and edema is due to the cellulitis infection.  Not the ink.  As I have 3 other tattoos and no issues even with red ink.  

Today it's not oozing plasma so I just washed it and am letting it air out without a bandage.  It still looks like it did on day five without oozing plasma.  Very raised and full, puffy lines.  Today is day 4 of antibiotics, I have a 7 day course.  If it doesn't go down more I plan to revisit the doctor in case the infection isn't responding to the meds. 

The artist did say that the lines are "heavily worked."  And that I'll probably not scar but will probably need a touch up.  Which I'm not so sure about at this point considering this reaction I'm having. 

[EoL 4]

19 minutes ago, oboogie said:

You are basing this on what?

My thought was that if the brand of ink is known, it couldn't hurt to find out more information. Sometimes inks get recalled for contamination. That might not be the case and it might not be ink related at all.

[EoL 4]

5 minutes ago, ptcruzar said:

I think my healing and edema is due to the cellulitis infection.  Not the ink.  As I have 3 other tattoos and no issues even with red ink.  

Today it's not oozing plasma so I just washed it and am letting it air out without a bandage.  It still looks like it did on day five without oozing plasma.  Very raised and full, puffy lines.  Today is day 4 of antibiotics, I have a 7 day course.  If it doesn't go down more I plan to revisit the doctor in case the infection isn't responding to the meds. 

The artist did say that the lines are "heavily worked."  And that I'll probably not scar but will probably need a touch up.  Which I'm not so sure about at this point considering this reaction I'm having. 

Did the doctor mention what he thinks caused the infection?

[ptcruzar 6]

Doctor said anytime you have an open wound, you can get an infection.  People can get cellulitis from bug bites.  So the tattoo is basically an open wound and it got infected.  He also said that tattoos on extremities can get more inflamed than on the torso. And that I was dealing with inflammation plus cellulitis. Can't say for sure what caused it (me or the shop). Artist said she followed the same set up as other tattoos and that my tattoo was the first time she's had an issue.  I did follow the artist's aftercare which was different from my other tats.  In that I didn't leave the first bandage on overnight, and used lotion rather than A&D or Aquaphor. The lotion really stung (I used a new bottle of Cetaphil). I'm thinking I just had really bad luck. Or that it was overworked causing the inflammation that set me up for an infection...

Edited November 19 by ptcruzar

[EoL 4]

5 minutes ago, ptcruzar said:

Doctor said anytime you have an open wound, you can get an infection.  People can get cellulitis from bug bites.  So the tattoo is basically an open wound and it got infected.  He also said that tattoos on extremities can get more inflamed than on the torso. And that I was dealing with inflammation plus cellulitis. Can't say for sure what caused it (me or the shop). Artist said she followed the same set up as other tattoos and that my tattoo was the first time she's had an issue.  I did follow the artist's aftercare which was different from my other tats.  In that I didn't leave the first bandage on overnight, and used lotion rather than A&D or Aquaphor. The lotion really stung (I used a new bottle of Cetaphil). I'm thinking I just had really bad luck. Or that it was overworked causing the inflammation that set me up for an infection...

Thanks for sharing. I hope it heals okay in the end.

[ptcruzar 6]

Thanks, I appreciate it.  I’ll update in case anyone else goes through something like this. Today is day 6 post tattoo, day 4 of antibiotics and it quit oozing.  I’m not putting anything on it.  Not sure it I should to help it not scar?  The entire tattoo feels tight and fluid filled like a blister.  Still hurts to use my arm. 

[SStu 1,927]

I've never seen this before. Imho I'd let it dry heal. 

It's entirely possible it'll end up just fine, too. 

[ptcruzar 6]

28 minutes ago, SStu said:

I've never seen this before. Imho I'd let it dry heal. 

It's entirely possible it'll end up just fine, too. 

Dry heal would be just to wash it 2x a day and do nothing else right? Just to double check.  Fingers are crossed it heals ok.  

[oboogie 1,759]

46 minutes ago, ptcruzar said:

Dry heal would be just to wash it 2x a day and do nothing else right? Just to double check.  Fingers are crossed it heals ok.  

Yeah, I think so. It may look fine after it heals. If not, you might be able to find someone else to touch it up if you tell them what happened.

[SStu 1,927]

Yep. You don't even need to wash it twice/day after it's dry. 

[ptcruzar 6]

Day 7 after tattoo

day 5 antibiotics

tattoo is finally starting to dry out and look normalish.  Definitely glad I started the oral antibiotics when I did.  I’m not putting anything on it other than a bandage when I sleep so I don’t accidentally bump or scratch it. There’s still lots of puffy, blistery areas but I can also see some lines flattening out. 

[oboogie 1,759]

I wouldn't wrap it when sleeping, either, especially since it isn't weeping anymore. It is looking better for sure.

[ptcruzar 6]

49 minutes ago, oboogie said:

I wouldn't wrap it when sleeping, either, especially since it isn't weeping anymore. It is looking better for sure.

Oh that’s makes me nervous that I might scratch a puffed up section off because it’s sooo itchy.  I can control myself when I’m awake but asleep all bets are off 😂  

I’m using nonstick pads with that breathable athletic wrap over it really loosely.  Then remove it in the morning in the shower so I don’t pull anything off.  

[ptcruzar 6]

Good news, the antibiotics are done as of yesterday (7 days of 500 mg Kephlax 3x a day).  Today’s pic is day 10 after the tattoo and day 8 after starting antibiotics).  
 

The tattoo looks like it’ll be ok 🤞🙏 once it got infected I stopped putting anything on it and washed 2x a day, letting it air dry.  I did cover loosely it at night and if it was oozing with nonstick pads.

just sharing in case anyone else had a similar issue. 

[ptcruzar 6]

Considering how awful it looked, it’s healing so nicely now. Time heals all ❤️ Tattoo is 17 days old now. I highly recommend going to the dr right away if you think something weird is going on. 

[cgrave 5]

On 11/19/2019 at 11:53 PM, ptcruzar said:

Doctor said anytime you have an open wound, you can get an infection.  People can get cellulitis from bug bites.  So the tattoo is basically an open wound and it got infected.  He also said that tattoos on extremities can get more inflamed than on the torso. And that I was dealing with inflammation plus cellulitis. Can't say for sure what caused it (me or the shop). Artist said she followed the same set up as other tattoos and that my tattoo was the first time she's had an issue.  I did follow the artist's aftercare which was different from my other tats.  In that I didn't leave the first bandage on overnight, and used lotion rather than A&D or Aquaphor. The lotion really stung (I used a new bottle of Cetaphil). I'm thinking I just had really bad luck. Or that it was overworked causing the inflammation that set me up for an infection...

Just a thought: did you use a scented lotion?

Tattoo friendly lotions should not sting. The only time that happened to me was when I ran out of my usual and the new shipment was delayed. I tried using lotion that was just lying around. It was supposed to be for sensitive skin and I reckon that should work fine. Turns out I was wrong. My tattoo started stinging, itching, and generally giving me grief.

Started developing bumps, itched like crazy and I was forced to dry heal the rest of the way. Ended up healing fine but a tad faded. After that incident, I made sure I kept a steady supply of tattoo aftercare lotion available whenever I got a tattoo.

I'm not saying that caused the lotion is the source of your woes but you might want to steer clear of that lotion in future in your aftercare routine. And any scented lotion, for that matter. 

[ptcruzar 6]

Hey, good question re-scented lotion. 
 

No, I used a new bottle of Cetaphil lotion which was a recommended lotion from the tattooist. I switched to aquaphor a bit after it was stinging.  Then basically let it air dry out once I was on the antibiotic. Just bad luck for me, it healed up nicely though, no scarring or touch ups needed.  

[Dan 2,176]

31 minutes ago, ptcruzar said:

Hey, good question re-scented lotion. 
 

No, I used a new bottle of Cetaphil lotion which was a recommended lotion from the tattooist. I switched to aquaphor a bit after it was stinging.  Then basically let it air dry out once I was on the antibiotic. Just bad luck for me, it healed up nicely though, no scarring or touch ups needed.  

I have tried them all over the years and I think Aveeno is the best product out there.