I got my 5th tattoo last night on my forearm. It’s the biggest I’ve gotten done to this point so I expect it to be sore and irritated. My concern is that I wasn’t 100% sure I was pregnant until today when I went to the doctor and found out I was 11 weeks with my 2nd child. So I’m wondering if the redness and tenderness that is more noticeable than the others I’ve had might be due to the pregnancy.
I’ve been following the aftercare I have on my others–remove bandage, wash, lotion, air out. But today when I noticed the redness was just expanding on one side and not subsiding, I washed it, put on A&D and let it air out and I’ve done that twice so far today.
My main concern is that the one behind my ear, on my ankle and the back of my neck all healed fine, they were a bit sore and a little red but such as the reaction to a new tattoo. The one on my wrist though got infected–my whole arm, up to my elbow, on both sides broke out in a rash of small red bumps/pimples that itched like hel and the tattoo itself hurt like helll. But per that artists instructions, I used neosporin, only to later find out that was a bad choice. So I’ve stuck to A&D for the first two days and lotion the rest of the healing period for all my tatts since and they’ve never broke out like the one I used neosporin on.
I’m just concerned because it’s been about a year in between this tat and the last so my memory likes to fail me on how the healing goes and what I should expect. That and I’m worried to find out today I’m pregnant and if the reaction is enhanced due to that or what? I just dont want this one to end up infected like my wrist did and seeing as it has a distinct red outline to the whole piece, I’m worried, and the redness is definately worse on one side. It also seems to be “oozing” but I’ve noticed it does that when A&D is on and
not when just lotion is on. But being only 24 hours fresh, is it too early to stop the A&D and do just lotion?
Any help/advice is greatly appreciated
I’ve read before that while you’re pregnant or nursing, you CAN get a tattoo and it will be perfectly fine….UNLESS it gets infected. Then you’ve got some real trouble on your hands. That infection could really harm your baby.
Since the tattoo is so new, it being red is normal and it oozing is normal (it’s plasma). When I get a tattoo, I wash it with antibacterial soap, pat it dry, then put a very thin layer of aquaphor covering the entire thing. I do that about twice a day.
I’m pretty sure it’s not infected. There’s no bumps like the one that got infected before had. It just seems weird that the redness is worse on one side more so than the other. And i did a lot of reading about tattoos while pregnanat and it seems to be a main concern when you’re further along and the worry being that the physiological stress it puts on your body could cause you to go in labor. But I’m nowhere close to that point and feel fine physically, both during it and after, but I just like the pain of getting them too much. I did read about how if it gets infected is a big problem while pregnant, so now I’m just a bit paranoid.
Hi
My advice is keep it clean and apply a light layer of antiseptic for 3-4 days to ensure that it seals up and then use non-scented moisturiser as normal. Make sure no lanolin.
The main thing is that the placenta will filter out the usual bacteria from nicks and scrapes but yes blood poisoning is serious for a fetus or baby.
Blood poisoning and/or infection to that level is quite rare though, as long as you keep the tattoo clean and sterile and away from human and animal fluids (esp saliva) you will be fine.
The reason it is suggested that women who are into mid or late pregnancy should not get tattooed is because of the stress on the body and the amt of endorphins that get dumped into the bloodstream which are then shared by the baby.
Take Care
Matthew
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