text: what causes impetigo in tattoos? i got a tattoo and it took 8 hours cause it was pretty big, anyway i noticed a week later that i was getting pimple like sores around it and in it. so i went to the doctor and it was diagnosed as impetigo. well needless to say i ended up on antibiotics and its now going away. im just wondering what causes it to break out when you have a tattoo because i have several other tats and its never happened. thanks its not just with tattooes. impetigo is a staph skin infection that can occur with any disruption of skin(scrapes, scratches)