by Are tattoos safe?
Although most people do not have problems with tattoos, the procedure is challenging to call completely safe.
The most common complications can be avoided by choosing a reputable tattoo parlor and adequately caring for a fresh tattoo. But some risks like paint allergy or scarring remain even with strict adherence to all safety precautions. If you are interested in teen patti real cash in addition to tattoos, read the article at the link. If you are indifferent to such entertainment – stay in our review.
How tattoos are made
Human skin consists of many layers, which can be conventionally divided into epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. The epidermis is the uppermost layer, and it protects the skin from invading viruses and microbes.
The bottom layer of the epidermis consists of living keratinocytes, and the top layer consists of dead cells. During life, the dead keratinocytes gradually slough off, and the living cells from the lower skin layer die and take their place.
The middle layer of the skin, or dermis, consists mainly of fibrous connective tissue produced by skin fibroblast cells. The dermis is permeated with tiny blood vessels; they nourish it and help regulate the body’s temperature. It also contains the nerve endings that allow us to feel pain, hair roots, sweat, and sebaceous glands.
Underneath the dermis is the deepest layer of skin, the hypodermis. It consists of fat cells that protect the body and store energy for a rainy day.
When a person gets a tattoo, the tattoo artist pierces the epidermis and inserts a needle with dye into the dermis. Unfortunately, this dermal layer does not peel off, and the paint particles are usually too large for the lymphatic system to remove from the dermis and flush out the body. Therefore, if the paint does not fade over time, the tattoo will remain on the skin for life.
How often are there problems with tattoos
In Europe and the U.S., at least one tattoo has 12-33% of people. Immediately after a tattoo on the skin of most of these people, there is slight inflammation, which completely disappears in about two to three weeks.
Dangerous side effects like a skin infection or scarring are relatively rare. For example, from 2004 to 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, received only 363 reports of severe tattoo complications.
That said, the exact number of tattoo parlor customers who experienced problems after the procedure is unknown, as not all those affected go to a doctor.
What are the risks associated with tattooing
The most severe side effects are damage to the skin during the drawing and an individual reaction to the paint. At the same time, some people who have tattoos sometimes have complications that cannot be explained.
Skin infection in the tattoo area. Tattoo needles break the structure of the skin, the main barrier that protects the body from pathogens from the outside world. As a result, germs get a chance to enter the body:
- From the surface of poorly washed and untreated skin with alcohol;
- with non-sterile or improperly sterilized needles;
- paint that pathogens have contaminated. As a rule, this happens if the master uses the same paint for several people or dilutes it with tap water.
Since most of these problems occur if the masters don’t follow safety procedures, skin infections are most often encountered by people visiting uncertified tattoo parlors or working-at-home masters.
But sometimes, skin infections occur even in people who attend a reliable certified salon. And it’s not the masters’ fault. Instead, the problem may be with commercial paint: sometimes germs are found even in sealed bottles with labels that say they are sterile.
And sometimes, inflammation occurs in customers who have not adequately cared for a fresh tattoo. Most often, new tattoos become inflamed in people with chronic medical conditions. In most healthy people, pathogens usually do not penetrate further than the tattoo area. But immunity of clients of tattoo salons with serious diseases is weakened; therefore, wound infection can end up not only in local inflammation but also in a blood infection, i.e., sepsis.
For example, there is a well-known case when a young man with chronic liver disease and a fresh tattoo on his leg took a swim in the Gulf of Mexico and died of blood poisoning some time afterward. Vibrio vulnificus bacteria caused sepsis in the wound. However, these germs usually do not cause infectious diseases in people with a healthy immune system.
How to Reduce Your Risk
Weigh up the pros and cons. To do or not to do a tattoo, each person decides for himself. But it is worth bearing in mind that getting rid of the tattoo if it displeases will be difficult. The most effective way is laser removal.
The procedure affects the tattoo as laser hair removal: the paint absorbs energy and disintegrates into smaller particles. As a result, the tattoo becomes less noticeable.
It takes 6-8 rather painful procedures to get a tattoo altogether. But even in this case, getting rid of the tattoo is not always possible. Removing black and blue tattoos is most accessible, but the green, red and yellow ones are the hardest to eliminate.
Choose a reliable tattoo parlor. In good tattoo parlors masters:
- Sterilize all equipment that can withstand heat in autoclaves.
- Use only disposable needles from sealed packages.
- Pour sterile factory-made paint intended specifically for tattoos in disposable cups.
- Dilute the paint only sterile distilled water.
- Wear disposable gloves.
- Treat the client’s skin before the procedure with alcohol or iodine solution.
- Use disposable sterile sheets.
- As a rule, such conditions are only in tattoo salons and offices working for a long time in the same rooms. To make sure the studio is clean and safe, you can ask the administrator to send pictures of the work process or ask to look at how other people are getting tattooed.
Although safety precautions do not eliminate the risk of an individual reaction to the procedure, the likelihood of getting an infection after visiting a reputable studio is less than after the process at the master’s. He works at home or some event.
Get the hepatitis B vaccine. If you’re vaccinated against hepatitis as a child, you’re only protected until you’re 18. If you haven’t been immunized after adulthood, you should get another shot before you go to the tattoo parlor, just in case.
Take proper care of your tattoo. After completing the work, the master should cover the tattoo with a layer of petroleum jelly and a bandage – most often a plastic wrap. About how to proceed, you should tell in the tattoo salon.
According to most instructions, after 24 hours, you will need to wash your hands with soap and water, remove the bandage, wash your skin with soap and water and blot with a disposable towel to dry it.
This procedure should be repeated at least twice daily for 2-4 weeks until the skin is completely healed. The tattoo area can be lubricated with a healing ointment to heal faster.
Covering the tattoo with a bandage makes no sense if it is in an open area of the skin. But if you are going outdoors or the tattoo is under clothing, it should be covered with a clean bandage. It will protect it from UV light and germs.
Washing after tattooing is possible and necessary. But you should not take a bath, go to the sauna, swim in open water, such as the sea, river, or a public pool, and rub the tattoo area with a sponge and soap. It is safer to get under a cool shower.
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