Health Risks Related To Tattooing

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by Mike Wamoult

The health risks that tend to be associated with commercial tattooing are usually overblown and people have gone to all lengths to castigate the art of tattooing and its practitioners. Despite this aversion by some to the issue of tattoos and their practice, tattoo studios and enterprises are opening up all over different neighborhoods in recognition of the fact that they are becoming more popular.

Because the numbers of tattoo shops are growing so quickly they are now being opened in spots that normally would not be called home to a tattoo shop such as middle-class cities and towns that have never had such establishments in their business districts.

In recent times, it has been suggested by media outlets that there are various risks that are associated with tattooing. Some of these purported health risks include the transmission of diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis.

The truth is that there has never been a documented case of HIV transmission through tattooing anywhere in the United States. However, there have been over five cases of HIV transmission associated with dentists and dental workers.

With respect to hepatitis and tattooing, more than 14,000 cases of the condition are reported on an annual basis. 12 or so of these cases have been associated with tattoos but more than 43 of these cases resulted from a trip to dentist. Tattoo studios follow stringent safety regulations laid down by law so health risks which are related to tattooing are more or less obsolete.

Tattoos may also get infected without the right aftercare. Certain people are also known to have various reactions to different tattoo inks and while a number of these inks used tend to have the approval of the U.S Food and Drug Administration authority, this authority is in no way responsible for the regulation of what goes into the tattoo inks.

Infections can occur in new tattoos, especially without appropriate aftercare. Some people also experience allergic reactions to tattoo inks. Although the pigments used may have U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for other purposes, the FDA does not regulate tattoo inks. Tattoo artists must also take special safety measures regarding their hands. Gloves help prevent disease transmission from bodily fluids, but bacteria thrive in the warm, damp environment they create. This means that artists must: wash hands thoroughly and often, inspect hands for cuts or sores and cover them with bandages, remove hangnails and keep nails short to prevent punctures to gloves, and refrain from tattooing when experiencing lesions, dermatitis or allergic reactions.

Due to the strict rules and safety precautions which are usually put into practice where tattooing is concerned, salons tend to be very careful when giving tattoos. Health risks tend to be associated with tattooing in cases where the needed and proper sterilization procedures are not kept to. In the United States getting a tattoo is a relatively safe issue and you should have absolutely no problems especially if you are dealing with a reputed tattoo salon.

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