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 Check with your local council beforehand if your tattoo artist is registered, because local authorities must 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.

Health and safety regulations say that:

• Sterile needles must be used for each client.
• Hands should be washed thoroughly before and after tattooing.
• Disposable latex gloves and a fresh pair should be used for each client. (Some people may have allergic reactions to latex gloves, so you could take an antihistamine before doing so, or if you know you have this allergy, you should let the artist know 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 the tattoo to make sure you’re okay to have 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, diabetics, people with heart conditions, people with conditions that weaken the immune system, and 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 get a tattoo, the ink is injected into the dermis or lower layer of skin, which does not flake off and makes it permanent. The machine used can pierce the skin up to 3000 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-limited) 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 improves gradually in most cases. Chronic hepatitis C is often 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 experience only mild symptoms and therefore do not seek treatment until they have escalated 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 body fluids and infects the white blood cells that are part of the body’s immune system, weakening it so 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 your mouth. Other common places for muscle spasms are the neck, the chest that makes breathing difficult, the stomach wall, and the arms and legs. Other symptoms are:

• extreme sensitivity to touch
• high fever,
• throat pain,
• rapid 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 and pale hands and feet
• Fast and shallow breathing
• Concern
• Delirium
• Shock
• Loss of consciousness

Other problems include:

• food for chronic skin
• allergies
• Lichenoid, which are small lumps of reactive tissue, similar to, but more pronounced than, those seen in chronic eczema.
• Sarcoid granulomas, which are ball-shaped collections of immune cells under the surface of the skin.
• Climbing
• redness
• Itch
• Infections leading to tattoo discoloration.
• 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, peeling, 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 School of Medicine, 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 be infected with hepatitis C due to infected needles and unsanitary conditions.” In the United States, you are not allowed to donate blood to the American Red Cross for a 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 poses 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 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, 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 undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), you may feel a burning pain. This is because the magnetic metals convert the 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 very detailed images of almost every tissue 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 from plastic beads containing the Food and Drug Administration-approved dye or pigment. 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 a service to you. 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 correct insurance coverage and protection in case something goes wrong.

If you have suffered from blood-borne infections, allergic reactions, or other medical conditions due to the negligence of your tattoo artist; or if your tattoo does not resemble its design or description, then you may be entitled to compensation for any additional tattoo or 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 proof of any damage or incorrect details and, if possible, photographs of the planned or agreed designs for comparison purposes.