Swollen forearm sleeve

[Pat]

Hey guys,

 

i just had a forearm sleeve almost a week ago inner forearm 6 days ago outter forearm 5 days ago to be specific and a total of 8hrs under the gun. Now it's swollen even my fingers are a bit too but no red no pain nothing just swollen. I've had previous tattoos and none of them swelled like that. Is this normal because it's a large piece or should i be concerned. Thanks. 

 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2016 by Pat

[mtlsam]

Ask your tattooer...

[Rob I]

Yes ask your tattooer but my forearms and hands were swollen for about a week after getting tattooed. Advil and ice are your friend. As long as it's not hot / throbbing / seeping greenish fluid / or red you are probably fine. But always ask your tattooer if you are uncertain

[Charles.M]

The default answer is Ask your tattooer... they are in a position to know your specific circumstances directly and they were there at the time of the application (hopefully) and may have insight as to why, where, how, et cetera, and can help you correct your conduct, when you need it.... (assuming it was not their first tattoo lol). A tattooers aftercare is part and parcel, with the procedure they tattoo, according to believing you will take care of the tattoo according to their aftercare advice, if they knew you were going to do something else, they would probably tattoo differently, to accommodate for your special circumstance.

This might no longer be useful to you, but might be to anyone else reading this topic later. My experience for taking down swelling, have been to elevate that body part where possible above your heart, put ice in a plastic bag and apply for 5 minutes, then take off for 10 minutes, apply for 5, repeat, for a while. I do not recommend any medications (whether prescription of over the counter) because they affect the whole body, whereas ice application and elevation (general first aid wound treatment) is specific and targeted to where you need it. I did not find a specific symptom thread, after searching, so it seemed appropriate to post this here, until there is one..  which is probably why you also posted here. Best of luck.

[Dan]

On 9/29/2016 at 0:28 AM, Pat said:

Hey guys,

 

i just had a forearm sleeve almost a week ago inner forearm 6 days ago outter forearm 5 days ago to be specific and a total of 8hrs under the gun. Now it's swollen even my fingers are a bit too but no red no pain nothing just swollen. I've had previous tattoos and none of them swelled like that. Is this normal because it's a large piece or should i be concerned. Thanks. 

 

 

 

totally normal,I have tattoos all over my body,except my hands,and I have never swelled up on any tattoo,

but recently I had my hands done and they both swelled up like crazy,no the swelling didn't hurt,and it went down in 4 or 5 days.

here is my hand,

swollen a day after,

and then a month after and it's normal.

and I started getting bruising in certain spots from getting tattooed that never happened to me before,but it went away ,

it should be ok,keep it elevated,or maybe ice it up a little,or try an OTC anti-inflammatory like advil or motrin(ibuprofen) or aleve(naproxen),keep it out of the sun. 

 

 

Edited October 13, 2016 by Dan

[otisc]

Getting two sessions like that back to back are rough... the skin from your first session just wants to chill out on day 1, and instead it was probably being pulled, grabbed, stretched, and wiped endlessly while you did the opposite side of the arm that day.

Advil and time are your friends. I wouldn't really try and evaluate the condition much until at least Day 10. It can be really irritated and then fix itself really quickly overnight as you approach the two-week mark. Hang in there.