by Vanessa L

Created on: January 18, 2008

The scar on my right ankle is a constant reminder of why a person should always take care and do the research before getting a tattoo. It was one of the worst experiences of my life.

It was the last year of college and we headed down to Florida for Spring Break. It was going to be the last big party before graduating and when my group of friends and I would be heading in different directions. Everyone was excited and we had one of the best times. It was also the week that four of us got tattoos. Mine happened to be done using red ink.

I loved it, the red looked so good and it was small enough that it wouldn't look totally obnoxious. I had the artist place the tattoo on the outside and just a little bit to the back of my ankle, I didn't want it to be completely centered. I got a lot of compliments on it, and had really made sure that it was something that represented who I was. The artist was great, I watched as he sterilized the needle, and cleaned the area well beforehand. I knew that I wouldn't regret getting it. I still don't, I just regret that I didn't take into account my history of allergies.

We came home from Spring Break and about after about 10 days I noticed that my tattoo was still a little bumpy. I asked my other friends about their tattoos and they said that they didn't have any problems, the skin had healed really well. So I just assumed that in a few days it would get better. But it didn't. If anything, the tattoo became itchy and more bumpy. Eventually, it also started to seep pus. I continued to keep it clean and applied a salve daily. Weeks and then months went by and it only got worse.

I did the research and found that the ink can react to bacteria underneath your skin. It is not just about sterilizing the needle and the outside of the skin. There are also the possibilities of contracting hepatitis, syphilis or AIDS from dirty needles. But one thing I found out is that the ingredients used in making the dyes are a mix of different "metallic salts (oxides, sulphides, selenides), organic dyes or plastics suspended in a carrier solution for consistency of application." (www.ndri.com) And many of the compounds used are not even approved as being safe enough to introduce into the body. The FDA doesn't look as much toward regulating the make-up of these inks as much as they do in other cosmetic products.

Serious skin problems can be gangrene and "necrotizing fasciitis", which kills the flesh. There are also some that the CDC has found to be resistant

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