tattoos and arrhythmia

[Libby49]

My daughter has been complaining of feeling faint or dizzy. She does not live close by me. She has been to the Dr who says her heart is skipping beats. Could she be having an allergic reaction to her new tattoo?

[Libby49]

I agree whole hearytedly!  thanks. Lauren

[ireneo]

My son has a couple of tattoos and my understanding is that it is put just under the skin. It's pretty superficial. That's why they can be removed with laser treatments.

Usually if someone has an allergic reaction to something, especially on the skin, there are more signs than some premature beats.

The chest pain and numbness should be checked by a doctor. It could be a circulatory problem or it could be musculo-skeletal. Since this is new for her and causing her such problems, she should see a doctor. Let's hope they can fix it easily.

[Libby49]

There do not seem to be any other reactions, but like I said, she is not in my city. She says she gets occasional chest pain, and her hands and feet are randomly going numb now too. She had the tattoo outlined a couple weeks ago and is going back to get color done, probably on the weekends. I don't know how close the skipped beats is coming after the tattoo session. It seems to me that a lot of ink introduced to a body could adversely affect it if the body was sensitive, and that is why I asked.

[ireneo]

Are there any other allergic reactions present - swelling or itching around the tattooed area, shortness of breath, rashes, difficulty swallowing? How long has it been since she had the tattoo done?

Skipped beats are not that unusual. Hormones, caffeine, stress, dehydration are a few things that can trigger them. Once those things are in balance again, the skipped beats may disappear. If she's having them often and for a long period of time (weeks, not days) she should be seen by a cardiologist to make sure there's nothing more serious going on in there.