Tattoos result in lasting and ongoing pain for a surprising number of people according to a new research study, especially when red dye is used in the tattoo.
It may surprise you to find that over 25 percent of the people in the United States have a tattoo, which means almost 80 million americans are adorned with permanent skin art. But what are the lasting effects of tattoos, other than the tatoo itself?
The tattoo study, which was recently published in the journal Contact Dermatitis, was performed by researchers at New York University in Central Park. Participants in the study were asked whether or not they have a tattoo. If they did have a tattoo, they were asked whether or not they had any temporary or lasting side effects that they thought were out of the ordinary. Out of the 300 people surveyed, 10 percent of those individuals with tattoos said that they had experienced some sort of adverse reaction as a result. Some of the surveyed individuals said they experienced things like infections, itchiness and redness that lasted for up to four months as a consequence of their tattoo.
Of the 10.2 percent of individuals who said they had an adverse reaction to a tattoo, 40 percent of them say their adverse reaction to getting a tattoo went away within four months. However, the other 60 percent said that they had itching, pain, scaly skin and swelling around the tattoo site that lasted longer than four months. On the whole, 6 percent of tattoo recipients reporting longer lasting side effects doesn’t seem that high, but when you gauge that 80 million americans have tattoos, that 6 percent means that around 4.8 million americans have some sort of lasting, adverse reaction to getting a tattoo.
Dr. Marie C. Leger, an assistant professor of dermatology at New York University’s Langone Medical Center commented on the research findings.
“I was totally surprised by these numbers. I see patients with complaints about their tattoos, but I didn’t have any idea how common it was.”
When it comes to reasons why tattoos cause such long-term reactions such as pain and swelling, Dr. Leger says that she believes it is an allergic reaction to the dyes used in the tattoo. Leger expanded to say that it is particularly the red dyes used in tattoos that cause most of the problems. In the tattoo research study in Central Park, the researchers found that most of the tattooed individuals that had lasting adverse reactions had a tattoo involving red dye.
Dr. Leger commented that the adverse tattoo reactions really don’t have anything to do in particular with where an individual actually gets their tattoo.
“[The ongoing negative effects] don’t have anything to do with the tattoo parlor or the artist. It’s not anybody’s fault, it’s body meets ink and what happens.”
So what can you do to avoid any lasting pain, itching or swelling from around a tattoo site? First of all, avoid red dyes in the design of your tattoo. You might not even be allergic to the dye, but do you really want to take the chance of permanent pain or itching? Secondly, the only surefire way to avoid any adverse effects from a tattoo is to not get one in the first place.
Do you have a tattoo? Have you or does anyone you know had adverse effects from a tattoo?
[Photo by Alex Miller/Getty Images]
Tattoos Using Red Dyes Very Dangerous Says New Study is an article from: The Inquisitr News
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