A holidaymaker has appealed for help after her husband got a tattoo in Bali and developed and "extremely itchy" rash soon after. The 50-year-old's skin also broke out into bumps, according to his wife, Leanne Stewart.
The pair had been enjoying the third last day of their holiday, when they both decided to get tattoos from the same parlour, according to the Daily Mail. But while Leanne's tattoo remained "completely fine", her husband's Viking-themed tattoo flared up when they returned home to Western Australia. Having followed advice not to swim with the fresh ink, the pair did not know what had gone wrong.
But it quickly became clear something was not right, when the painful bumps appeared, and steroid cream and antibiotics prescribed by a doctor did not bring the man relief.
Leanne then turned to Facebook for advice, writing: "'Apparently it's a reaction to the ink but he has tried antibiotics [and] steroid cream but nothing has helped."
In response, people were quick to advise the holidaymaker to keep using the medicine provided, claiming they'd needed similar measures after getting tattoos in Bali.
One person said: '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," before adding it took a couple of months for their rash to heal fully.
While some feared the man's reaction may have been caused by the ink used, others suggested the weather could be to blame.
"That's pretty normal in the heat sometimes. Mine still get bumps and they're 15 years old," read one such reply.
Another commenter revealed: "'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."
Government advice states: "The ink in tattoos can sometimes contain substances that can cause health effects, most commonly skin reactions, such as irritation or sensitisation." As such, the Health and Safety Executive has proposed a restriction on hazardous substances present in tattoo inks.
