Risks of Tattooing
May 30, 2009
Tattoos have been around for ages, but more and more people are adorning their bodies with art these days. It’s not just cosmetic, though. Sometimes a tattoo hides a medical condition like lost eyebrows from alopecia or skin diseases.
It’s important to realize that, even in this day and age, some complications can still arise from this art form.
Tattoo parlors that don’t follow proper care and maintenance rules cause the most trouble. There’s little chance of serious infection or medical issues if your tattoo is drawn in a sterile environment.
Just be sure to research your parlor before you get your tattoo done. Get references and do your research to avoid a serious problem.
A tattoo gun is similar to a sewing machine, and this is where most the potential harm comes from. Needles inside the gun pierce the topmost layer of skin, planting ink just underneath to create a permanent pigment. Because you skin is actually being breached, a skin infection is possible.
Other possible complications include the formation of granulomas. These small, painful nodules are your body’s natural defense against foreign particles like tattoo ink.
Fibrous scar tissue formations, known as keloids, are also possible. You might want to skip the tattoo if you’re prone to keloid development. A good, rule-abiding parlor will always use sterile, disposable needles.
The less-reputable tattoo parlors might have contaminated equipment, which can spread blood-borne diseases like hepatitis C or B, tetanus, or tuberculosis. Though theoretically possible, no transmission of HIV has ever been reported from a tattoo.
Sometimes, allergic reactions may occur and last for a long time. Red dyes are the most common allergy inducing ink. There have even been rare cases of allergic reactions to old tattoos. Illegal pigments like car paint and printer’s ink cause allergic reactions as well.
A Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) test can magnetize the iron particles present in tattoo ink. This may cause a slightly uncomfortable, but harmless, tingling sensation in your tattoo. On rare occasions, tattoos may affect the quality of the image, as well as well tingle or burn during the test.
Time changes everything, even a tattoo. Cosmetic surgery can distort the image just like normal body wear such as stretch marks and gravity. Wrinkles form as you get older, possibly making your tattoo less attractive. Luckily, tattoo removal is easier today than ever before. Most often, a laser is used to remove a tattoo you no longer want.
Temporary tattoos like henna and silver nitrate staining will last only a couple of weeks and avoid a majority of the risks of getting a real tattoo.




























