my tattoo

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omgwtfbbq?

omgwtfbbq?

yes, really, I'm a girl
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Well, its official. After losing a bet, day after tomorrow I will be receiving a double helix tattoo on my uper spine. I have been threatening to get this tattoo since I was a freshman, but have always chickened out. Now I have to, so I have a question.... truthfully, how painful is it going to be to get a tattoo right over my spine? Granted, I'm kind of excited now, its a really cool tattoo, definitely different..... but how much is this going to hurt?
I will post a picture once it's healed!!!
 
probably the worst place to get it. because the nerves are close to the skin.
 
virilep said:
probably the worst place to get it. because the nerves are close to the skin.
Click to expand...

IMO the forehead is the worst place.. Not because of the pain but rather because you look like an idiot..The neck is the 2nd dumbest place.
 
omgwtfbbq? said:
Well, its official. After losing a bet, day after tomorrow I will be receiving a double helix tattoo on my uper spine. I have been threatening to get this tattoo since I was a freshman, but have always chickened out. Now I have to, so I have a question.... truthfully, how painful is it going to be to get a tattoo right over my spine? Granted, I'm kind of excited now, its a really cool tattoo, definitely different..... but how much is this going to hurt?
I will post a picture once it's healed!!!
Click to expand...
Ouch. 😱 :scared:
Probably as painful as our friend "Prince Albert" (no, I don't know what it's like) :laugh: 😱 😱
And why do you have to get this tattoo?? Loose a bet?
 
It's going to sting... how big is it? If it's huge it might take more than one trip to the tatoo parlor because of the pain.
 
Depends on how good you are with pain. My husband is not so good about pain (yet he managed to get a tattoo on his upper arm ok). If I know it's gonna hurt, no problem. Hell, can't be worse than childbirth without pain meds, can it?

So depends on you. You good with pain or are you a tender skinned person?
 
How'd you lose this bet? Did you bet that USC would win?
 
virilep said:
probably the worst place to get it. because the nerves are close to the skin.
Click to expand...

I disagree. The skin of the back is far less sensitive than the skin of the face, hands, genitals, etc. It isn't a matter of how close the nerve cell body is to the skin but rather the nerve endings per sqare unit of skin.

That being said, I have no tattoos on my back. I'm sure there is someone here with a tramp stamp that can provide more insight.

By the way, it was really dumb of you to make a bet involving a tattoo.
 
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Aptamer said:
How'd you lose this bet? Did you bet that USC would win?
Click to expand...

ha HA. Thats what I was thinking.
 
I heard that inner upper arm and ribs are painful.
 
I got a tattoo on my lower back, and I didn't think the pain was that bad. Granted I was also on some serious cold medicine at the time, so if you are worried about pain you could always sedate yourself with a little benadryl before hand. 🙂
I had always imagined that the most painful tattoos would be those directly on top of bones, but the most painful part of mine was not directly over the spine but instead out on the sides where women tend to have more fat stores. It probably just depends on your tolerance for pain. A tattoo hurts, but it can't hurt that bad if so many people get them done, right?
 
No, I would say the most painful spot would be over the mastoid process (that lump of bone behind your ear for those who dumped everything they learned in anatomy). And for the record, the pain with tattoos over bony prominences has less to do with nerves and more to with the lack of cushioning resulting in the bone getting hit.....trust me, not a pleasant sensation......

BTW I'm saving up to get a tattoo on my back of an angel cradling a child and holding a sword and the words "That others might live". I'll scan the picture (a drawing I did) and post it here if anyone is interested.
 
i think more badass than a double helix would be that medical symbol with the staff and the snakes or something, i forget what its called...
 
badlydrawnvik said:
i think more badass than a double helix would be that medical symbol with the staff and the snakes or something, i forget what its called...
Click to expand...

caduseus........ but the question is do you want one snake or two and why?
 
badlydrawnvik said:
i think more badass than a double helix would be that medical symbol with the staff and the snakes or something, i forget what its called...
Click to expand...


agreed... but how are you going to have a double helix done? carbon backbone style or the bubbly molecules drawn real small? i guess a double helix is original... people may think you are a geek after you explain to them what it is.. 👍 most people get chinese characters in that area
 
Telemachus said:
I disagree. The skin of the back is far less sensitive than the skin of the face, hands, genitals, etc.
Click to expand...
I have some friends who are totally sleeved (arms covered in tats up to the wrists), they both say the top of the foot is the most painful place. I have no tats so I wouldn't know.
jbone, let's never even talk about prince albert again. Why anyone would do that to themselves is beyond me. Then there's using your prince albert for e-stim... ouch. For those who are wondering, don't look it up. Even knowing about it will scar you on the insides. And those scars don't heal.
 
The best place to get a tattoo is on a very fleshy, nonmuscular area (I.E. ass)

The worst place is one that doesn't have a lots of flesh and is mainly bone. I've heard that a chest tattoo hurts the most (this includes ribs) and i think the ankle also hurts.

From what i've been told, it doesnt hurt too too much...if you've ever have a finger stick (either for glucose tests or the ones they do when you are giving blood) it feels like that....just all over. Some tattoo artists, if they are good, tend to do the outline of the tattoo first so that the pain is somewhat numbed before they have to fill in the outline or add color.

It aint too bad, just make sure that after you get it, you wash it thoroughly everyday and apply a cream too it or else the scabbing will severly hurt the resolution of the tattoo and it will look like someone just smeared some ink on your back. All the healing and any residue pain, if any, should be gone in a week.
 
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Praetorian said:
Caduceus is the correct spelling.


If you go with one snake it's called the Staff of Asclepius
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My bad with the spelling, but the question wasn't posed to you, and besides you didn't answer why you would choose one snake or two....... because I believe that there is an interesting dilemma there... (for Americans anyway)
 
Sorry, didn't mean to step on your toes.

Technically the cadaceus has been the "official" emblem of medicine for quite a while (official according to whom, I'm not sure, but this is what I was told by a doc once) while the Staff is the older symbol for the same thing. I don't think it really matters, unless you're trying to do a "military medicine tattoo", where the cadaceus is the emblem of the US Army medical service.....
 
Dude don't worry about the whole pain thing. At first the feeling is like someone cutting a drawing on your skin with a hot exacto knife, but after about an hour and a half you go completely numb. I got a tat on my upper spine, it starts right where the collar of a t-shirt would end. It took about 3 hours to complete and after the first hour I swear it felt like nothing. So don't wimp out and break up the session. One word of advice, go back for touch-ups, because the back is kinda tricky and it might get blochy.
 
It's me again 🙂

yes, yes, i know its stupid to make a bet about a tattoo, but i really was going to get it one of these days, and i think part of me wanted to loose the bet just so i'd have a final push to go and get it done

as for the style, its going to be as long as would be visible if i was wearing a tank top with my hair up so.. between and a little below the shoulder blades.. I'm going to have it styled with small circles and the bars between. kind of like a little twisted ladder, and its going to fade in and then fade out

I also agree, its going to be the geekiest tattoo ever, which is why it works for me. All the girls I know with a tattoo have lower back flowers ... its really big out here in AZ.... i just always knew i wanted a tattoo, but something as unique as humanly possible. My favorite on someone i know is a bass clef on their ear. Of course , if any one has any good pictures of illustrated double helix's and wants to change my mind about style, send 'em away!

:-D ... or send me some pain medicacion at the following address... :laugh:
 
In addition to asking us, if you actually wanted to do research about it (pain, how to take care of it, etc.) you should check out, IMO, the absolute best site on any kind of modification, BME: http://www.bmezine.com/. Their tattooing section is here: http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/bme-tatt.html.

there are some neat dna/helix inspired tats to check out on there as well.
 
Praetorian said:
Sorry, didn't mean to step on your toes.

Technically the cadaceus has been the "official" emblem of medicine for quite a while (official according to whom, I'm not sure, but this is what I was told by a doc once) while the Staff is the older symbol for the same thing. I don't think it really matters, unless you're trying to do a "military medicine tattoo", where the cadaceus is the emblem of the US Army medical service.....
Click to expand...

It was my understanding (maybe someone who gives a s--t can google it) that two snakes was the favored symbol in the USA but one was favored internationally as a medical symbol. The implication is, of course, that Americans f-cked it up and picked the wrong one.
 
Praetorian said:
Sorry, didn't mean to step on your toes.

Technically the cadaceus has been the "official" emblem of medicine for quite a while (official according to whom, I'm not sure, but this is what I was told by a doc once) while the Staff is the older symbol for the same thing. I don't think it really matters, unless you're trying to do a "military medicine tattoo", where the cadaceus is the emblem of the US Army medical service.....
Click to expand...

Caduceus is the correct spelling :laugh:

/T.
 
Telemachus said:
It was my understanding (maybe someone who gives a s--t can google it) that two snakes was the favored symbol in the USA but one was favored internationally as a medical symbol. The implication is, of course, that Americans f-cked it up and picked the wrong one.
Click to expand...

omg that's pretty sad that the symbols got confused... i always wondered about 1 vs. 2 snakes... man i can't believe nobody noticed early enough to stop even the u.s. army from adopting the caduceus as its medical symbol.. what a blunder!
 
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Telemachus said:
That isn't a helix nor a double helix. Look more carefully.
Click to expand...

True, but it's clearly helicly (I love to make up words) inspired. The true double helix tats aren't *quite* as attractive (generally the ones they have up are masculine, and the OP and I are both gals). =)
 
As I understand it, the two-snakes caduceus is the staff of Hermes. Asclepius, the bearer of the one-snake staff, was the patron god of Medicine. One-snake is more "officially" accurate to Greek tradition but two looks cooler.

And besides, there're plenty of people out there with binary, chemical structures, hexidecimal, bar codes, video game characters, formulae, etc. . . I highly doubt a DNA molecule is the nerdiest one evAr. Lolzorz.

Then again, my boyfriend & I have just decided that our wedding bands are gonna be mobius strips. 🙄
 
omgwtfbbq? said:
Well, its official. After losing a bet, day after tomorrow I will be receiving a double helix tattoo on my uper spine. I have been threatening to get this tattoo since I was a freshman, but have always chickened out. Now I have to, so I have a question.... truthfully, how painful is it going to be to get a tattoo right over my spine? Granted, I'm kind of excited now, its a really cool tattoo, definitely different..... but how much is this going to hurt?
I will post a picture once it's healed!!!
Click to expand...
I have several tattoos and am getting another one in a few weeks here. I am okay with pain and I find the pain of tattoos more like an annoyance. However, take into account that depending and the detail of your helix (my friend has one that goes around his upper arm) the LENGTH of time can impact how painful it seems.

Good luck. I think the helix is sexy.
 
that is going to look SO cool. but don't go huge and tacky. go small and tasteful 🙂
 
Many tattoo parlors use a topical anesthetic (lidocaine cream) that helps a little, although it mostly just numbs the skin at the surface, not deeper. It's worth asking for, though!
 
badlydrawnvik said:
i think more badass than a double helix would be that medical symbol with the staff and the snakes or something, i forget what its called...
Click to expand...

A caduceus - it's going to be my present to myself when I graduate. It's not going to be very big, just big enough...
 
Tattoo pain really varies, but the back is probably one of the easier places to have it done. It will hurt the most over areas that are ticklish or very sensitive (think of areas that you might like stroked gently that would raise goosebumps).

The sensation is like getting a scrape, like asphault burn. It's shallow, though sometimes it will radiate along the nerves. I had tattoos done cupping each breast, and as the needle went further towards my sides the pain would radiate down the inside of my arm on that side. So keep things like that in mind. Since mine took several sessions to complete, I noticed things that really helped.

DO NOT DRINK CAFFIENE THE DAY BEFORE OR THE DAY OF YOUR TATTOO. Increasing the amount of water you drink 2x also helps considerably. Make sure you get lots of rest and eat a big meal as close to the time of your tattoo as possible.

Also keep in mind that small tattoos look awful. They really do. Think of it like sewing something. When you turn the fabirc inside out, small details in the sewing end up blurring out. Similarly, highly detailed or small designs are more subject to getting warped over time due to changes in the texture of your skin. You can get away with small tattoos in some places where your skin does not stretch very much or get exposed to sun, but for the most part you will have a more attractive tattoo if you have it done large.

I would also warn against getting this tattoo from just some random place. It's bad enough that you are getting it from losing a bet. Don't make it worse by picking a cheap artist with limited experience. Shop around and look at artists' portfolios. This thing is going to be on your body forever. Make it something that you will always find either funny or attractive.
 
i always felt that the eye tattoo would be the most painful
 
omgwtfbbq? said:
just always knew i wanted a tattoo, but something as unique as humanly possible. laugh:
Click to expand...

I trained with a guy who had a UPC (that bar code on the ceral boxes) tattooed on the back of his neck. Some kind of statement about how humans were just becoming products and things to be bought. Pretty cool.

jbar
 
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double post.
 
That doesn't even look like a real tattoo, if you look closely you can see a glare on her back that borders around the tattoo. Either she has some sort of cream or it's one of those temporary tattoos.
 
fpr85 said:
That doesn't even look like a real tattoo, if you look closely you can see a glare on her back that borders around the tattoo. Either she has some sort of cream or it's one of those temporary tattoos.
Click to expand...

After your tattoo is finished, it is generally seeping a bit of plasma (and sometimes blood). This makes it look shiney. In most of the pictures of tattoos, the photo was taken right after the tattoo was finished because this is when it is crisp and bright.
 
BradenDO said:
Wow, I just had to say that the girl in the picture has the smallest waist ever...esp. in comparison to the width of her shoulders. lol But, anyways, the tattoo is cute...a little too big for my taste, though.
Click to expand...

lol I agree, she has a crazy waist. Possible she's into corsetting though, which would help explain it.
 
That's all I could think about when I saw the picture... glad I'm not the only one! 😉
 
just a girl said:
That's all I could think about when I saw the picture... glad I'm not the only one! 😉
Click to expand...

meeeee too! holy cow.

i thought about getting a caduceus last year for my 21st birthday. it seemed creative at the time, but listening to you guys, it sounds like we could have all shown up for med school with the same tattoo! 😀
 
fpr85 said:
That doesn't even look like a real tattoo, if you look closely you can see a glare on her back that borders around the tattoo. Either she has some sort of cream or it's one of those temporary tattoos.
Click to expand...

Not fake...the picture must have been a fresh picture...meaning someone took it right after it was done or a day or two after it was taken. Tattoos need a moist solution around them at all times during the healing process or else the ink will spread to other areas around it and make the whole tattoo kind of crappy. In essence, it keeps the resolution of the tattoo making it look that much more pleasing to the eye.
 
Speaking of unusually crisp and bright tattoos, have any of you all seen a tattoo on a decomposing body where the epidermis has started to slip......you get a really clear and bright image because there's nothing clouding the picture any longer. Gross but kind of cool at the same time.

I thought of this because we had to work on a biker a couple of weeks ago who had been dead for several days before he was discovered. Needless to say he was very gamey.
 
Here ya go - it's been done before.

Pee-tar.jpg


it's possible that he's on BMEzine, because he's done all kinds of freaky stuff, but I know him online at another forum
 
Praetorian said:
Speaking of unusually crisp and bright tattoos, have any of you all seen a tattoo on a decomposing body where the epidermis has started to slip......you get a really clear and bright image because there's nothing clouding the picture any longer. Gross but kind of cool at the same time.

I thought of this because we had to work on a biker a couple of weeks ago who had been dead for several days before he was discovered. Needless to say he was very gamey.
Click to expand...
:barf: :barf: :barf: :barf: 😱
 
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