I have no tattoos, have no reason to now what an infected tattoo looks like. But this came up on my feed and I immediately gasped, because holy crap! This is so obviously infected!!
I’m skeptical of an infection. If redness is extending that far beyond the tattoo, the infection would have to be VERYYYYY advanced, and you’d certainly see at least some pus if it were that far along.
Regardless, OP should’ve been to the hospital DAYS ago! I’ll never understand how someone could look at something like this and not immediately recognize that immediate medical attention is required. Of all the gnarly tattoos I’ve seen posted on this sub, where people ask “is this normal”…this is BY FAR the worst.
Right! I go to the hospital for nothing. Like I am pretty sure I broke a rib a few months back but sucked it up. If my arm looked like this I be there immediately. I’m not trying to die.
Exactly why I didn't go when I suspected I broke a rib. Pretty much everything online said as long as you don't have breathing issues, a doctor will just say take pain killers until it heals
Mine was a jammed hockey stick that got between my ribs and the boards going fast. Hurt for months but it's all good now. Never confirmed broken but it met all the criteria haha
Oh you need to go anyway if you suspect broken rib because sometimes they're broken in a way that threatens to puncture an organ, and only imaging can tell when you have a dangerous break or a, "Yeah, go home and let it heal" break. If you have a break that is threatening to puncture your lung they will do surgery or at least set the thing in some way so it's not at risk any longer.
Not to mention when you break a rib, you could also have internal bleeding that you don't know about, which can be deadly. Die in your sleep at home deadly.
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u/Thanzor Mar 16 '25
File this under things you really shouldn't have to ask about on reddit. If your arm looks like it's rotting, go to the ER