Get inked the safe way

Hyderabad: Actress-singer Shruti Haasan recently shared her fifth tattoo — a rose inked on her left wrist symbolising a new beginning – with her fans on a social networking site. Yes, it did look cool and beautiful, but inking your body time and again can be potentially dangerous. Not just Shruti, many in the B-town are covering their bodies in swathes of tattoos — Sushmita Sen with seven and Ajay Devgn with multiple tattoos.

Deep inside the skin, tattoo ink could meddle with the blood making us susceptible to allergies, infection and, at times, skin cancer, warn medical experts.
Tattoo artists agree about the possible risks associated with inking. Banjara Merchant, who owns a tattoo studio in Madhapur, explains when a tattoo can go wrong, “The skin has three layers, muscles and blood come after them. It’s when an artist pierces deeper into the skin and ink reaches the blood, that the problems arise. Clients can make this out easily… blurred lines in tattoo designs means that the ink has mixed with the blood.”

So it’s important for customers to do their homework and choose the right kind of tattoo artist. Merchant explains, “Too much bleeding during the session means that the tattoo artist is working on the same place for a long time causing skin injury. For big tattoos, a bit of bleeding is fine.

Dr Padmaja Pinjala, Dermatologist at Yashoda Hospital, says, “Pigments in the ink can immediately lead to water bubbles, blisters, rashes, swelling and pain. Generally, coloured pigments cause more reactions.”

But the complications can happen even after healing. Dr S. Ramakrishna, General Physician at Global Hospitals, says, “Besides allergies, one can get viral infections. There is also the fear of Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV infections. And, since some of these inks contain carcinogenic compounds, in rare cases, it can lead to skin cancer. Remember, anything that irritates our skin for a long time can cause cancer.”

One in four young adults in the West have tattoos, the trend is no different in this part of the world.

Can inking be made safe?
Dr Ramakrishna says that the practice of tattoo art is not wrong, it should just be medically established to be safe. Tattoo artist Merchant agrees. “Tattoo artists must keep themselves up-to-date with the medical side of the inks. Recently, lipstick-red ink was banned due to high oxide composition. In fact, red ink often causes infections. And, there is nothing like an organic ink. Aspects to watch out for are use of a new needle, the ink and its composition, and the use of gloves and plastic wrap. Also, tattoo after-care is important. Customers should protect fresh tattoos from dust or sun for two weeks. Cleanliness and hygiene can save a lot of complications,” he says.

He adds that in the West, tattoo artists need to get OSHA bloodborne pathogens training certification to practise this art. “But this hasn’t been made mandatory in India yet.”