Tattoo Health Risks - What They Are and How To Avoid Them

You must understand the health risks associated with tattoos before taking the leap. This is something that should be more wider appreciated, especially as they are becoming more popular. Most people do not realise that tattoos, when applied incorrectly, can lead to serious skin diseases and other serious problems. Choosing a beautiful or meaningful design to decorate your body forever is for most people something they won't regret, but the fact that this is not always the case cannot be ignored. Considering that the process involves lots of needles pushing a foreign substance under your skin is very important and should be understood by all before consenting. With the understanding of the risks and ways to avoid them comes the ability to keep yourself safe. We will provide the information you need about these health risks to make the right choices for you about whether to get a tattoo.

Skin related tattoo heath risks include skin infections which may cause itching, rash, swelling, tenderness or drainage. These are most commonly obtained when the artist does not sterilize their tools properly. Always check to make sure that the studio takes care of their tools and sterilise all materials before tattooing. The use of single use equipment has significantly decreased the risks and is widely used, so all needles and tubes should come directly from sealed packages and never be reused. These practices are vitally important in the prevention of the spread of disease in this industry. Although the gun itself is reusable all the attachments should be single use and a good tattoo artist will let you see them being removed from the packaging.

For as long as you have one a tattoo may also cause problems when receiving an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). Although this is more severe in tattoos obtained in prison because the ink has a higher metal content than that which is commercially used. The effect is heat from the tattoo, the extent of the heat depends on the inks metal content. This is an important health risk to be aware of whenever considering a tattoo. If you indeed get one it is something to be remembered as the medical team may not ask you if you have a tattoo beforehand.

Health risks occur because tattoos breach the skin, making them more likely to cause skin-related problems such as allergic reactions and blood diseases in addition to MRI complications and skin infections. People who suffer from an allergic reaction to tattooing may experience more than usual levels of itching or pain at the site of the tattoo, although milder versions of these symptoms alone should not cause alarm. Some people are allergic to the ink used in tattooing, and red dye is one of the most common allergens in the tattooing industry. If you are having severe pain or are unable to cope with the itching it may be wise to seek medical attention.

You can help yourself to avoid health risks by taking care of the tattoo properly after it is finished. This includes avoiding excessive sunlight and keeping the area moist and clean. After receiving a tattoo, the skin is very tender and susceptible to infection so it is important to make sure the area is kept clean at all times. Use soap and water daily and do not rub the skin in the area, instead pat the skin when cleaning it to make sure that the skin remains healthy and to avoid further irritation.

Allow at least two weeks for healing, although this may be longer depending on the size and intricacy of your design. This will keep the skin from scarring and allow the tattoo to heal without damage to the skin or risk of infection. Maintaining appropriate after care will also reduce the risks to your health and promote a beautiful tattoo. More information about after care can be found in another of our articles, Tattoo Aftercare.

Jon M Taylor is the founder of Blue Banana Ltd. Although Blue Banana is an alternative clothing company we pride ourselves on also giving valuable information to our customers on the things which they are most interested in. Now we have such a vast amount of information available we thought we should share it with the rest of the World Wide Web.