Sclera tattoo gone wrong prompts warning from model

OTTAWA -- A model in Canada is warning others after a botched eye tattoo may leave her completely blind in one eye, CBS Miami reports.

Catt Gallinger, 24, of Ottawa, Canada, said she decided to get a sclera tattoo about four weeks ago. The procedure changes the color of the whites around your eye.

But weeks after the procedure her eye started oozing purple liquid.

"As it stands, it has been agreed by both doctors and the surgeon that my eyesight will not get better. It will either go completely or stay a blurry mess," Gallinger said in a Facebook post.

Gallinger told U.K. news outlet The Sun that she got the tattoo to "make me feel more at home in my body."

After the purple dye began oozing, she went to a hospital.

Pictures Gallinger has shared on Facebook show various stages of recovery as her left eye reacts to the antibiotic drops. Some images show her eye swollen shut.

According to The Sun, surgeons said her sclera tore from the size of needle used, depth and amount of ink inserted. Doctors were also concerned that the equipment was not sterile and that there was an infection with the excess ink, she said.

"As of today, I have no intention on ever modeling again," Gallinger wrote in an emotional update.

She has a warning for others thinking about getting the tattoo.

"Look into not just the artist and their portfolio, but to talk to some of their clients, talk to other artists about them and get experiences beforehand," the model told The Sun.