Tattoos are popular and colorful ways to express our creativity, our experiences and our personality. For many people, tattoos have symbolic meaning or have personal memories behind them. As more celebrities are seen with tattoos, whether permanent or temporary henna, they are becoming an increasingly popular fashion accessory. However, in the heat of the moment, many people forget that proper tattoos are permanent and extremely serious because they can cause life-threatening problems.

At the moment, tattoos are not properly licensed or regulated, but artists must register with the Department of Environmental Health. This vital Please check with your local council beforehand if your tattoo artist is registered, because local authorities should have registration and inspection schemes in place. A health and safety certificate must be on display or with the operator, so ask to see one before getting your tattoo.

The health and safety regulations say that:

• Sterile needles must be used for each client.
• Hands should be washed well before and after tattooing.
• Disposable latex gloves must be worn and a fresh pair for each client. (Some people can have allergic reactions to latex gloves, so you might take an antihistamine before doing this, or if you know you have this allergy, you should tell the artist beforehand, who should be able to use a different glove.)
• This illegal to tattoo anyone under the age of 18.

The artist should ask you a list of medical questions before you get your tattoo to make sure you’re okay to get one. For example, people with hemophilia should not get tattoos, as their blood does not clot properly and they cannot stop the bleeding that can occur during a tattoo. Tattoos are discouraged for pregnant women, as are diabetics, people with heart conditions, people with conditions that weaken the immune system, and also people taking aspirin or aspirin-based medications, as they thin the blood and bleed more.

First of all, tattoos are wounds and therefore good hygiene is a must. When you have a tattoo, the ink is injected into the dermis or the bottom layer of the skin, which does not flake off and makes it permanent. The machine used can pierce the skin up to 3,000 times per minute, making holes up to 1/16 inch or 1.5mm deep.

One of the biggest problems associated with tattoos is blood-borne infections, such as:

Hepatitis B and C. Hepatitis affects the liver causing inflammation. Hepatitis B is a DNA virus and can be acute (self-limiting) or chronic (long-lasting). The symptoms of acute hepatitis B are:

• loss of appetite
• Nausea
• vomiting
• monkeys
• Slight fever
• dark urine
• development of jaundice.

It usually lasts a few weeks and gradually improves in most cases. Chronic hepatitis C is usually asymptomatic and can lead to advanced scarring of the liver (cirrhosis) and liver cancer.

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infection that is often asymptomatic. It causes inflammation of the liver which can lead to scarring of the liver (fibrosis) or advanced scarring of the liver (cirrhosis) which in turn can lead to liver failure and cancer. It is spread by blood-to-blood contact and there is currently no vaccine available. Early medical intervention is beneficial, but many people only experience mild symptoms and therefore do not seek treatment until they have developed into more serious problems. Some symptoms may include:

• Decreased appetite
• Tired
• belly bread
• Jaundice
• Itch
• Flu-like symptoms.

HIV. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus can lead to AIDS; Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. It is transmitted through bodily fluids and infects white blood cells that are part of the body’s immune system, weakening it so that it cannot fight off other opportunistic diseases, leading to AIDS.

tetanus. This infection causes muscle stiffness and spasms, which commonly start in the jaw muscles, making it difficult to swallow or open the mouth. Other common places for muscle spasms are the neck, chest that makes breathing difficult, the stomach wall, and the arms and legs. Other symptoms are:

• extreme sensitivity to touch
• high fever,
• throat pain,
• fast heartbeat,
• labored breathing,
• headache,
• bleeding in the intestines, and
• Diarrhea.

Tetanus can cause suffocation, blood poisoning, cardiac arrest, kidney failure, and exhaustion, all of which can be fatal.

Septicemia. A bacterial infection commonly known as blood poisoning. Symptoms include:

• high fever
• violent chills
• Weakness
• Cold, pale hands and feet
• Rapid, shallow breathing
• Concern
• Delirium
• Shock
• Loss of consciousness

Other problems include:

• Foods for chronic skin
• allergies
• Lichenoid, which are small growths of reactive tissue, similar to, but more prominent than, those seen in chronic eczema.
• Sarcoid granulomas, which are ball-shaped collections of immune cells below the surface of the skin.
• Climbing
• redness
• Itch
• Infections that lead to discoloration of the tattoo.
• Swelling (due to an allergic reaction)
• Ulceration, which is the formation of sores.
• Delayed hypersensitivity reaction. This occurs several years after the tattoo and causes sudden local itching, scaling, redness, and swelling.
• Lymphocytoma, which is a mass of mature white blood cells that resembles a tumor; it is a skin reaction.
• Keloids are raised scars that are not easily removed.
• Photosensitivity occurs when the sun reacts with the dye causing an allergic reaction.
• Phototoxicity occurs when the sun reacts with the dye causing localized sunburn.

According to research conducted by Dr. Bob Haley and Dr. Paul Fischer of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, tattoos account for “more than twice as many hepatitis C infections as injection drug use” and people tattooed in a parlor are “nine times more likely to become infected with hepatitis C due to infected needles and unsanitary conditions.” In the United States, donating blood to the American Red Cross is not allowed for one year after getting a tattoo due to the high risk of blood-borne infections.

In addition to the risk of blood-borne infections, the ink itself presents a number of risks. Until recently, the ink used in tattoos was not controlled and many artists use inks that are not approved for skin contact. Some inks are actually “industrial grade” colors suitable for use in printers or car paint! Many people can have allergic reactions to the ink, the most common being mercury in red inks, but others include manganese in purple inks, chromium in green inks, cobalt in blue inks, and cadmium in yellow inks. Irreversible darkening can occur in flesh-colored, red, tan, and white inks used in cosmetic procedures and is believed to be caused by the conversion of ferric oxide (Fe2O3) to ferrous oxide (FeO).

Many inks also contain metallic filaments, so if you have a magnetic resonance imaging (NMR) scan, you may feel burning pain. This is because magnetic metals convert radio frequency pulses from the MRI machine into electricity and the burning could be electricity going through the tattoo. Because of this, some hospitals do not perform MRIs on people who have tattoos. MRIs take highly detailed images of almost all tissues in the body and are particularly useful for viewing areas around the spine and brain. It is the best technique for finding tumors in the brain and whether the tumors have spread to nearby brain cells and is therefore extremely important and useful.

At the moment, lasers are used to try to remove tattoos or at least fade them, but this is expensive and painful, as it involves burning the skin and leaving scars. However, a new removable dye has just come out that is made of plastic beads that contain the dye or pigment approved by the Food and Drug Administration. As the dye is contained within plastic beads it cannot be absorbed by the body, however when a laser hits the bead it breaks down and the dye is absorbed.

Tattoo artists are subject to the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 as they provide you with a service. Therefore, they must provide this service with “reasonable skill and care” and are responsible for “consequential loss” if the tattoo goes wrong and you have to pay for corrections or removal. It’s best to go to a licensed tattoo artist, if only because you’re more likely to have the right insurance coverage and protection in case something goes wrong.

If you have suffered blood-borne infections, allergic reactions, or other medical conditions due to the negligence of your tattoo artist; or if your tattoo does not match its design or description, then you may be entitled to compensation for any tattoo treatment or additional medical treatment you required to remedy the damage, and for any discomfort or embarrassment you felt while recovering. It is recommended that you take photographs of your tattoo as evidence of any damage or incorrect detail and, if possible, photographs of the intended or agreed designs for comparison purposes.