How Long To Not Swim After Tattoo?
2 to 4 weeks Frolicking on the beach or at your local pool may seem like the perfect opp to show of some fresh ink, but don’t bust out the swimwear just yet. You should wait for your tattoo to fully heal — which can take at least 2 to 4 weeks — before swimming in any kind of water.
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Can you swim after getting a tattoo on your face?
Despite how pervasive tattoos are these days, they’re still kind of a big deal. At the risk of sounding like your grandma, getting inked with that work of art is a procedure that can actually be quite risky, which is why it’s so important to follow tattoo guidelines to a T.
As a report published earlier this month details, ignoring them can be fatal. In a definite worst case scenario, an unidentified 31-year-old Hispanic man died after ignoring tattoo artists’ warnings not to go swimming with fresh ink, reports the Daily Mail.
Five days after getting a cross tattoo on his calf, the man reportedly went for a dip in the Gulf of Mexico, where he contracted a bacterial infection. A day after exposing his ink to the ocean, he developed a fever, chills and a nasty rash near his tattoo.
Despite treatment, the infection ultimately killed him. Warning: the images are graphic. According to tattoo guidelines, you’re supposed to wait two weeks before swimming in the pool or ocean to allow the ink to heal — up until that point, your tattoo is still an open wound and needs to be cared for like one.
Submerging your wound in water, which is often swimming with all different types of bacteria, can lead to some serious infections. The bacteria in this case, was a particularly nasty flesh-eating strain called Vibrio vulnificus, according to the official report published in BMJ Case Reports , which affects the immune system and can be contracted by exposing an open wound to seawater or by eating raw shellfish.
- Even with aggressive treatment from doctors, a pre-existing liver condition made the man more susceptible to developing sepsis from the infection and he ultimately died two months after entering the hospital;
Daily Mail.
What happens if you Soak Your New Tattoo in water?
Your tattoo is a fresh wound that needs to be kept clean and looked after during the entire healing process. Submerging your tattoo in water for long periods can cause significant damage to your new tattoo by affecting the ink underneath your skin before it’s had a chance to heal.
How long should you wait before remodeling a tattoo?
Some tattoo artists say that waiting for two weeks is enough. However, the safest bet would be waiting from 4 to 6 weeks to ensure that the tattoo is completely healed and that there’s no need for a rework to be done. Some tattoo artists are conflicted on this opinion.
Can you take a bath after getting a tattoo?
Can You Swim After Getting A Tattoo? – The short answer is no. Your tattoo artist will cover your tattoo in a bandage and a special waterproof patch dressing to prevent any sweating or soaking of the tattoo. Aftercare routine for your healing tattoo can be challenging, especially if you don’t know much about healing tattoos. Saved Tattoo Additionally, only mild showers are recommended and not baths. That’s because many tattoo artists fear the risk of soaking your tattoo when it’s supposed to be healing. With that in mind, swimming, which more often than not includes submerging your entire body could be bad for your tattoo. The risks of swimming while your tattoo is healing doesn’t only pose the risk of the tattoo healing poorly, fading, or scabbing off, it also poses risks from a bacterial infection that could compromise your health as a whole.
- Luckily, we wrote an article that will help you in caring for your tattoo and getting it dry;
- The healing routine can be quite strict;
- In efforts to keep the tattoo wound dry and allow it to heal properly, tattoo artists and other experts advise their clients to use special ointments and other cosmetic products that can help with aiding their wounds;
It’s important to understand that when inking your body, a needle makes stings in the small, outer layer of your skin. The skin is left open and exposed to potential bacteria and other microorganisms that could cause an infection. Chlorine, sea salt, and other materials found in the water in the pools and the ocean could potentially spread the infection.
