Well drawn tattoos - inked to near perfection - are a nice sight for me. I always wanted to get a tattoo sometime, but had a change of heart; I admire tattoos, but I admire the persons wearing them even more.
Explains why I admired my cousin, Harold, so much. Harold is a real egghead; graduated with a first class honor in Chemistry some years back. After he left school, he had a job interview with one of the biggest companies in the country's oil and gas sector in the southsouth. So he had to stay with my family for about a month before the interview. Harold aside being intelligent, is a free spirit, rebellious and the party guy. He was so cool, and I admired him even more. He was very ready for the interview, when the day came; confident he'd get the million Naira job. We all wished him well. At 9pm, every one in the house got restive; Harold had not returned yet - he did about an hour later. He was drunk and sober - he had lost the job. We all wondered what had gone wrong. It turned out, one of the superiors on the interviewing panel discredited him, because of his tattoo.
Harold picked himself up though, became an entrepreneur and now controls a large custom tee-shirt enterprise. But he has had 2 surgeries yet, to get rid of some tumor on his skin.
Tattoos are cool, yes. "They are an almost integral part of the millennial culture". But there are a lot of factors to be considered when planning to get one. Aside the way the millennial tattoo culture is perceived and reacted to by the Gen X, there are downsides to tattoos, that you probably never knew. Here are the top 5 common negative side-effects of tattoos.
Allergies
Tattoo inks most times have been found to be allergens - common with the yellow, red, blue and green inks - inciting strong allergic skin reactions in individual. This allergic reactions manifesting mostly as localized itchy rashes around the tattooed body part, could show up even years after getting a tattoo.
Skin Infections
[License: Public Domain]: Pixabay
There are high chances of getting infected during inking, even with a sterile needle. I know how that last statement sound, but give it a thought. "Whenever a needle is introduced into the skin there is risk of introducing with it bacteria or more rarely, micobacteria." Getting skin infections are still possible after you've left the inking table, if adequate care and attention is not given. As reported by experts
One thing many people don't do after their tattoo is stay away from their pet, while their skin is still healing. "It only takes one single tiny little hair to sneak under the wrapping, or your cat licking your tattoo and you can develop an infection..."
These skin infections put a lot of burden on the lymphatic system. Although the skin infections can be treated, it's better staying safe.
Blood Borne Infections
[License: Public Domain]: Pixabay
Tattooing involves the use of needles which come in direct contact with blood and other body fluids. A hardly considered possibility by individuals, is the fact that blood borne diseases like HIV and Hepatitis, can be transmitted using unsterilized tattooing instruments. This also decreases the safety of blood transfusion; hence restrictions from blood donation.
In the United States, the Red Cross prohibits a person who has received a tattoo from donating blood for 12 months (FDA 2000), unless the procedure was done in a state-regulated and licensed studio, using sterile technique. -Wikipedia
You can check my post on blood transfusion safety.
Scarring
I'd guess nobody likes scars. Most scars can affect the bearer psychologically. Scarring could happen, if inking goes wrong. Sometimes, situations arise where there is an overgrowth of scar tissues leaving bumps; they are called Keloids.
Cancer
The ink used for tattooing could introduce certain chemicals into the body, which could possibly lead to cancer.
While this isn't as likely with smaller tattoos, large ones — like full arm sleeves — can make it difficult for dermatologists to "detect skin color changes, especially in moles ... which means it is more difficult to detect skin cancer…" -Bustle
[License: Public Domain]: Pixabay
A Word From Me
After you've made up your mind on getting that beautiful tattoo, you might want to put your safety in view. Find a good tattoo studio, properly registered by the local authorities; just so you be sure, they know the job. Above all, you should make sure the tattooist applies aseptic methods; instruments are sterilized before you begin. After the deeds done; you've got that tattoo right were you want it, keep it healthy.
Thanks for doing this with me! See you next time.
For more on tattoo risks and safety check these out:
Health effects of tattoos from Wikipedia.org
Top 10 Negative Side-effects of Permanent Tattoos from Listsurge.com
Tattoos: Understand risks and precautions from Mayoclinic.org
8 Things You Didn't Realize Can Happen To Your Body When You Get A Tattoo from Bustle.com
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