Mom! I got a tattoo.

Aftermath of Valentine’s Day

Andreia enters the pharmacy panting, and as we were alone begins her motherly protest:

– My Bia … what my daughter thought of doing!

To prevent everyone in the pharmacy from learning about Beatriz’s life, I motioned for Andreia to follow me and went to the office to continue the conversation.

After closing the door and after she had recovered part of her breath, she began to tell me:

– Bia arrived today from the finalists’ trip, right? She asks rhetorically. “Come home and hand me a bag of the traditional caramels, and I was going to thank her when I noticed that, besides that, she had brought a TATTOO on her arm!”

As Andreia accentuated and repeated the word tattoo, I have the clear image of her black curls coming to life as purposely to reinforce disgust.

She lets herself fall into the chair, defeated.

She looks me in the eye and in a lower tone, as if that was only the beginning, continues:

“I had to leave the house to calm myself, as I was about to say something that I would regret … I have not told you the worst yet, Luisa!

For a moment, almost everything crossed my mind: did the tattoo cause a skin allergy or an infection? Maybe she did not look for a certified tattoo artist.

– Luisa, my Bia doesn’t have a tattoo of a flower, not a butterfly or a star, she asked to tattoo the name of the VALENTINE!

I must admit that it was hard to suppress a smile of relief.

“What am I supposed to do now?”

“First,” I said, “take a deep breath.

We’ll take care of Bia’s skin later, okay?

Caring for the tattoo

Cleaning the tattoo site is crucial in the healing process, the affected area should be cleaned two or three times a day with saline solution or, alternatively, warm water using a neutral soap.

Equally important is to dry the area well, with a soft towel but without rubbing hard.

After cleansing, a healing cream should be applied, sufficient to cover the entire area of ​​the tattoo, and should be renewed several times a day, especially in the first few weeks.

During the first days, adhesive film may be used to wrap the area after applying the cream, in order to avoid contact with clothing. The pain, depending on the location and size of the tattoo chosen, may be present during the procedure and in the days to come, if necessary, you can take Paracetamol.

NSAIDs – non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs – such as ibuprofen should be avoided because they inhibit platelet aggregation, which may increase bleeding during the process, and delay healing.Avoid sun and very hot water, be careful not to scratch the area and be alert for signs of infection.

After two to four weeks, healing must be complete, and you have a life ahead of you to contemplate the decisions of a finalist trip (whether they were good or bad, it’s not my place to decide!). If in doubt ask your pharmacist 😉