Worst nightmare activated …
An Australian woman is reaching out for help after the tattoo her husband got in Bali erupted in bumps on the skin and turned into an “extremely itchy and painful” rash.
Leanne Stewart and her husband, 50, were on the third last day of their Bali holiday when they decided to get inked up.
However, it wasn’t until they returned home that the husband’s Viking-themed tattoo began to flare up despite heeding advice to stay out of the pool and to use antiseptic cream to ward off infection.
Ms Stewart explained that she got a tattoo at the “same place, same time” as her husband but her tattoo was “completely fine”.
She appealed to a Facebook group after antibiotics and steroid cream, prescribed by a doctor, failed to curb her husband’s pain and rash.
“Apparently it’s a reaction to the ink but he has tried antibiotics [and] steroid cream but nothing has helped,” Ms Stewart wrote.
“Has this happened to anyone else and what did you use if you did?”
Some commenters on the Facebook post said they had similar experiences with Bali tattoos.
“I get this from time to time on my tattoos, also from Bali. Just every once in a while it will raise and get all those bumps throughout them all,’ one user wrote.
‘This happened to me too! Was so itchy! I was on antibiotics at the time so I think it helped to get rid of it,’ another user commented.
They added: “I also took antihistamines and used a steroid cream. Took a good 2-3 months for it to clear up properly.”
A third user added: “My husband does have a reaction to the ink and some raised dots. Nothing helped his unfortunately and when the blisters finally went it left scars in his tattoo.”
Users claimed the reaction was caused by ‘cheap ink’ but other users argued the reaction might have been caused by the climate.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade advises travellers to Bali to check “hygiene and safety’ of tattoo providers and to avoid temporary black henna tattoos, which ‘often contain a dye that can cause serious skin reactions”.
While Mr Stewart’s tattoo was a permanent one done with ink, there had been previous warnings issued about the temporary henna tattoos widely available in Bali and other tourist hotspots.
Henna – a paste made from grinding dried henna leaves – has been used by different cultures for centuries and is usually brown or orange-brown in colour.
Traditional henna is considered safe to use in temporary tattoos and causes few allergic reactions.
However travellers are warned to avoid ‘black henna’ as it typically contains para-phenylenediamine, or PPD, a black ink found in hair dye.
PPD can cause serious adverse reactions including redness, itching, burning, swelling, blisters and scarring which appear seven to 10 days after the ink is applied to the skin.
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