How do I know if I could have anaphylaxis from laser tattoo removal?

Question

I have a full sleeve, full chest piece, half a back piece, and a stomach piece, and some of those are cover-ups. All tattoos were fine afterward apart from once, I was in the hospital in so much pain the next day, I think it was infected, they said tendinitis. I had a laser test patch 9 months ago, no redness, no blisters, nothing, it faded the ink, but after 6 days, I was sick for 2 weeks (cold/flu). Can I use lasers?

Craig Schwartz, DO · Answer

Yes, you can most certainly use lasers, and no, you could not have "anaphylaxis" from laser tattoo removal. Anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction to a certain stimulus, referred to as an allergan, for instance, a medication, or a food, or a chemical compound of some sort. Laser tattoo removal simply uses the laser energy to break up the ink in your tattoo into tiny particles, which are then cleared from the body. While you could have a reaction to the laser energy, it would not be anaphylaxis. It would seem most likely that you suffered a cold or flu which was completely unrelated to your laser test patch.

How do I know if I could have anaphylaxis from laser tattoo removal?

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