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Dec 03, 2023

7 signs of an infected tattoo and how to treat it

Tattoos can be a great way to get creative and express your individuality, but

Tattoos can be a great way to get creative and express your individuality, but getting inked comes with risks. For example, up to 6% of people with tattoos experience an infection from their tattoo at some point.

Infections can happen if your tattooist uses unsterilized equipment, the ink gets contaminated, or if you practice poor tattoo aftercare. Here's how to identify the signs of an infected tattoo, and steps you can take to treat it.

It's normal to experience a little bit of redness around your tattoo for a couple days after getting it done. However, if any other symptoms pop up, this can be a red flag.

If your tattoo is infected, you may experience the following symptoms, says Christopher G. Bunick, MD, Yale Medicine dermatologist and associate professor at Yale School of Medicine:

If the pain or swelling are severe, if there's foul-smelling pus, or if you have a fever and chills, you should seek medical care immediately as it could be a sign of a life-threatening infection called sepsis, says Susan Massick, MD, a dermatologist and associate professor of dermatology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

How you treat an infected tattoo will depend on the kind of infection. Here are the different types of tattoo infections and how to treat them:

In cases of severe deep-skin infections, surgical treatments involving removing the skin with the tattoo may be necessary on top of antibiotics, Massick says.

Due to the chance of infection, it's important that you minimize the risk as much as possible when you get a new tattoo. Massick says you should only seek out reputable tattoo studios and professionally licensed tattoo artists and make sure to ask questions about sterilization practices.

Just as importantly, follow after-care instructions. Keep an eye out for infection symptoms, and address them early to avoid a more severe infection that may require surgery and could ruin your new art.