Risks Of Tattoing

Tattoos are multi-purpose. They can pep up your personality and provide permanent make-up. However, are they safe? Read on to find out.

A tattoo is an image created on the skin by inserting pigment. Tattoos have been around for long, from Japanese and Polynesian tribes to modernists worldwide today. Tattoos can also be used to camouflage medical conditions or skin diseases like vitiligo and loss of eyebrows due to alopecia. Granted, having a dragon sweep across your belly or a talisman inscribed on your arm may enhance your exotic allure. Nevertheless, have you considered the complications that may arise from tattooing?

Not Really Risky

Most of the horror stories heard about tattoos arise when you visit a parlor that does not follow the prescribed rules. In a sterile environment, with infection-control procedures, there is very little chance of your tattoo going awry. You may wonder about the exact chances. In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported only 150 cases of 'adverse reactions' in the United States. When you consider that one in every four Americans aged 18 to 50 sports a tattoo, this statistic is quite heartening.

If you planning to go in for a tattoo, choose a good parlor that has sufficient references. The tattoos that pose the highest hazards are the do-it-yourself ones. These are created using a pin and some India ink.

Skin Infections

Why do tattoos have so much potential to harm the skin? The answer lies in the very process of tattooing. Tattoos are imprinted using a tattoo gun, which operates like a sewing machine. There are many needles in this gun. Each needle pierces the epidermis, the first layer of the skin, to plant ink on the dermis, a more stable layer beneath. This means that it effectively breaches the skin's primary defense, which can lead to some problems.

When the body encounters material that it considers foreign, such as tattoo pigment, painful nodules known as granulomas, which are inflammatory tumors, may form around the foreign particles. Another danger is keloids, red, raised formations of fibrous scar tissue. If you are prone to developing keloids, a tattoo may trigger them. These scars can injure or traumatize your skin. If the tattooing equipment is contaminated (which generally will not be the case in good centers), you are at risk of infections from staph bacteria or diseases like hepatitis C, hepatitis B , tetanus, TB, and HIV. However, no cases of HIV contraction from a tattoo needle have been reported in the United States so far.

According to Dr. Anne Lawman, associate professor of dermatology at Northwestern University, tattoos do not seem to cause skin cancer so far. However, if a melanoma is located under a tattoo, it can make diagnosis difficult.

Allergies

Having an allergic reaction during the process of tattooing will not be the fault of the clinic or the equipment. It is just that some people are allergic to certain pigments. Allergies to red dyes are the most common. They can be painful and last for long periods. There have been mysterious cases of people developing allergies to tattoos they have had for long. Allergies can occur when illegal pigments such as printer's ink and automobile paint are used. This is however not likely in a professional parlor.

Tattoo Tingles

This is not actually a risk but it can cause you some discomfiture. Iron is often a constituent in black ink. During Magnetic Resonance Imaging test, the iron is magnetized. You may feel a strange but quite harmless tingling sensation under the skin due to this. In rare cases, it may cause swellings and burns. The FDA has also received reports of cases where the tattoo affected the quality of the scan image. This is possible with tattooed eyebrows or mascara.

Nothing Endures But Change

The brightness of tattoos can fade with time. If the tattoo artist inserts too much ink, you may end up with a blurred image. Cosmetic surgery and tattoos are not generally a good combination. Styles change with time and your tattoo may not compliment your skin tones or contours. Killjoys that are more serious include stretch marks, pregnancy, gravity, which may dimple the skin, and aging, all of which can make your tattoo less than attractive. Thankfully, there has been lot of advances in methods of tattoo removal, the main being laser treatments. Consult your healthcare provider about the best techniques for you.

Unknown Devil

'A known devil is better than an unknown one.' New varieties of tattoos that have gained popularity are the UV or black light tattoos. The tattoos are made with inks that are only visible under a black light after healing. However, very little is known about their side effects. There are concerns as it employs radiant energy.

The Alternative

Temporary tattoos stave off many of the risks. They are not real tattoos. A closer comparison would be to body stickers. They are applied to the skin using a moistened wad of cotton. Temporary tattoos are waterproof but they can be removed using oil-based creams. They generally last only for a few days. Other types of temporary tattoos are henna and stains of silver nitrate. Both kinds fade in about two weeks.