If you have made up your mind about getting a permanent tattoo, then you must know that this artwork comes with its own set of risks and health concerns. According to various health reports, getting a permanent tattoo can expose a person to ingredients that include heavy metals like cadmium, lead, arsenic, beryllium, and mercury. All this can lead to skin diseases, bone diseases, liver diseases, and even kidney diseases.
Keep on reading to understand the negative effects of tattoos and can tattoos cause cancer.
Negative Effects of Tattoos
When you get a permanent tattoo, it breaks the skin. This means your skin gets vulnerable and exposed to various skin infections as well as other health concerns. The negative effects of tattoos include:
Skin Infections:
Tattoos can cause skin infections if contaminated ink or equipment is used and the needle is not sterilised properly.
Allergic Reactions:
People with sensitive skin or those suffering from conditions like eczema can get severe allergic reactions like itchy rash at the tattoo site. This kind of reaction can happen even years after getting a tattoo.
Carcinogens Chemicals:
We don’t take it seriously when the question comes about can tattoo cause skin cancer. There is a possibility of getting cancer from tattoo as well; based on evidence, it is said that some tattoo ink holds carcinogens-chemicals, a cancer causing substance, which can be one of the possible causes of cancer. Still more research needs to be done.
Development of Granuloma or Keloids:
In certain cases, granuloma can also develop, which is an area of inflammation around the tattoo ink. Moreover, permanent tattoo can also lead to keloids which are raised areas caused by an overgrowth of scar tissue.
Tattoo Effect on Blood:
If the needle or other equipment used has infected blood on it, then there is a high chance you can get diseases that are spread through blood like hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.
Complications While Getting an MRI:
In rare cases, MRI or a magnetic resonance imaging can trigger a burning pain in the tattooed area. Moreover, tattoos can also lower the quality of an MRI image.
Can Tattoos Cause Cancer?
Can tattoos cause cancer related to skin or any other type of cancer? For years now researchers have been studying the possible link between tattooing and cancer and up until now there is no direct association found. Getting a tattoo alone is unlikely to cause skin cancer. However, studies also show that there may be risks associated with certain ingredients in tattoo ink and some of them may be considered carcinogenic. Black ink is regarded as high risk as it is known to contain a carcinogen called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
Positive Effects of Tattoos
You are now well-versed with the risks that are associated with getting a permanent tattoo. However, there are both positive and negative effects of tattoos. Did you know, as per one of the researches (done from the University of Alabama), getting a tattoo may improve immunity too; why so, it is because the ink of the tattoo can cause the body to scale the immunological response. However, medical tattoos are often used to cover up or beautify unsightly skin that might be causing a patient psychological harm. Medical tattooing is used to deal with:
- Baldness
- Skin blemishes and discolouration
- Vitiligo
- Mastectomy
- Scarring due to accidents, injury or burns
Conclusion
It is true that presently getting a permanent tattoo is safe; also it’s not harmful, till done from the right place. However, you must work with an experienced tattoo artist who is reputable and takes the correct health care precautions to reduce the side effects. Moreover, you must also take proper skin care afterward to reduce scarring and other risks. Permanent tattoos come with their own set of risks and knowing about the potential effects they can have well in advance can save you from developing any serious health issues.
