Multi.Colored—tattooed people, tattoo dreams

I’ve written a couple times before about my own health issues. I’m a Type 2 diabetic, diagnosed ten years ago but probably had it a year or so before that. I’ve gotten all three of my tattoos since being diagnosed, and had no particular problems.

The last tattoo was slow to heal, but I believe that was more due to a reaction to the red ink. Diabetics don’t heal as quickly as other people, and the slow healing can be even slower if the person’s blood sugar isn’t under good control. It’s not a complete barrier to getting inked, but it’s something to take into consideration. Slower healing means more chance of infection, scarring, and generalized messing-things-up.

This week I started on insulin at bedtime because my blood sugar was NOT under good control. Something went haywire somewhere over the last six months and I was getting higher and higher readings and having little success getting back to business-as-usual with my former combination of diet, exercise, and oral medication. Many Type 2’s think of going on insulin as somehow having failed. I don’t see it that way. It’s a lot easier to adjust the dosage of insulin than it is to try to monkey around with oral meds. I mean, how many times can you break a pill before you’ve got nothing but dust?

As I watched my readings get higher and higher I knew that it would be a very bad idea for me to get any more tattoos. High readings mean slow healing, and since I’m leaning very strongly toward having a more-visible tattoo next time (if there is a next time) I definitely do not want to have something that will swell, itch, weep, crust, and look like space-alien skin for months. So I have even more incentive to get the insulin dose right and keep things in equilibrium.

Doing a Google search on “tattoo diabetic” brings up a lot of interesting articles including several on the concept of having your Medic Alert information tattooed on your skin so you won’t have to wear a tag. Of course, if your medical condition makes tattoos a bad idea in the first place…. um, all in all, I’d rather just keep wearing my removable tag.

Do you have health issues that make you wary of getting more ink?

photo credit: mcbill

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I should begin by saying that the health issues I’ll conclude with in today’s post are very, very uncommon.

Which is a good thing, because they really are the worst that can happen: Tetanus, MRSA, hepatitis and HIV. All of them come from unclean conditions and a lack of proper precautions. While no one can guarantee 100% that you won’t end up with serious health problems from getting tattooed, starting out with a reputable artist and making sure you take care of the tattoo properly afterwards can put you pretty close to that hundred percent.

If you’re getting a homebrew, gang, or prison tattoo… you’re on your own.

Tetanus

It never dawned on me that one should be sure to have an up-to-date tetanus shot before getting a tattoo. As it happened, I had gotten one only a few years before (they are supposed to be good for ten years) so I was not at risk. But if you don’t know when your last shot was, or don’t know if you’ve ever actually had one–time to check with your doctor. People who are my age (born in the 1950s) might or might not have gotten immunized as children. People younger than that most likely got the full series of immunizations–but they have to be kept up to date and booster shots given every ten years or so for the immunity to remain strong. Getting a shot might be inconvenient, but getting tetanus is far, far worse. You don’t have to step on a rusty nail to get it. Here is the official FDA page that talks about tetanus and how to prevent it.

MRSA

MRSA is the abbreviation for “methicillin/oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.” While Staphylococcus bacteria have probably been around for longer than humans have, it’s only in recent years that the antibiotic-resistant form has become common enough to be a serious health concern. It got its start in hospitals, and the most common place to get infected by it remains health-care facilities, but that doesn’t mean someone who isn’t in a hospital or nursing home can think they’re home free. “Staph” bacteria are everywhere–you’re probably carrying billions of them around right now even though you are perfectly healthy, and you may even have the MRSA variant without knowing it. It isn’t till they get into your body through a wound of some kind that they can cause problems. And guess what a tattoo is?

All kinds of staph infections produce small red bumps that can quickly turn to deep abscesses. It goes without saying that if you see anything like that, run, do not walk, to get medical attention. You don’t want to take chances with your life, because make no mistake about it, MRSA can kill you. Ask your doctor to test the wound for the presence of MRSA before prescribing treatment. Ordinary antibiotics that are used to treat staph won’t help and can make the problem far worse. Here is a good, clearly written article from the Mayo Clinic that should give you an idea of what MRSA is all about.

Hepatitis

Hepatitis comes in several variants, but the one most commonly transmitted through unclean needles is Hepatitis B. Again, if your artist uses proper sterilization procedures and the shop is kept clean, your chances of getting Hep B are pretty close to zero. However, again, since you have an open wound, contact with other people might be a problem, the more so because something like 30% of Hep B carriers have no symptoms of the disease themselves. While there is a vaccine available, many people have never been vaccinated and are thus at risk of infection. Treatment is available, but far better never to contract the disease in the first place. If you haven’t gotten the Hep B vaccine, ask your doctor about it. You will have to wait before getting your tattoo, to allow the vaccine to become effective. Here is a fact sheet from the CDC about Hepatitis B.

HIV/AIDS

The good news is that according to everything I’ve read, there has never been a reported case of HIV being spread by a tattoo parlor in the USA. Again, if you’re letting someone other than a tattoo artist in a tattoo shop where proper sterilization is practiced have his or her way with your skin, what happens to you after that is up for grabs. They may tell you it’s perfectly fine to just wipe things down with alcohol or boil them for a few minutes. Don’t fall for that. It’s obviously also not perfectly fine to just put ink on your skin and have at it with a sharp instrument. It doesn’t matter how many of those National Geographic shows you’ve seen about some teenager out in the jungle getting who-knows-what cut or punched into his or her body with no apparent concern for germs or disease, and living to tell the tale just like the people who are punching the ink or cutting the skin. You don’t have to prove yourself that way. Getting a homebrew tattoo may be inexpensive; the real cost may be your life. Here is what the CDC has to say about the risks of HIV from tattooing.

Conclusions

Avoiding health problems when you get tattooed is mostly a matter of simple common sense. Spend a little time checking things out. Don’t take risks with your newly inked skin. Keep yourself and your surroundings clean during the healing process. Make sure your immunizations are up to date. A little time spent on things like that can keep you safe from a lifetime of misery. Doesn’t it make sense to just take care?

Starting next message, I’ll talk about happier subjects.

photo credit: geishaboy500

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A tattoo is not just a work of art.  It’s an open wound.  Your skin has been punctured thousands of times, and foreign matter has been pushed into it and left there to stay.  Is it any wonder that most of our bodies raise objections to this?

One look at any tattoo artist’s portfolio that includes photos of brand new tattoos will show you that the entire area around a
tattoo is bright red.  This is inflammation, and shouldn’t be disregarded.  First and foremost, do not let your artist put plastic wrap on your tattoo.  It will only seal in contaminants and keep the newly punctured skin from protecting itself in the only way it knows how, by forming a scab.  Make sure the artist covers the new ink with a gauze bandage.  Although most artists say you can take the bandage off when you get home, my own personal recommendation is that you leave it on overnight.  That will keep your new ink from being rubbed by whatever you sleep in, or your sheets.
It’s very likely that the skin around and under your tattoo will be swollen after the work is done.  This is a normal reaction to trauma, and it should go away after at most a day or so.  If the swelling increases, or won’t go away, it’s time to see a doctor. You may be having a serious reaction to the ink, the artist’s latex gloves, the ointment or cream that you’ve been using on the skin, or something else.  It may be that you’re finding out the hard way about an allergy you knew nothing about up till then.  (I found out about the fact that my body doesn’t like red ink like that.)

Since the tattoo process punctures the skin, it’s almost inevitable that you will bleed while the work is being done.  Any reputable artist knows how to deal with that and will wipe your skin with something that will clear away the blood.  The liquid used varies from artist to artist.  Some use plain distilled water, some use an antiseptic of some kind.  It would be a good idea to ask the artist what he or she uses so you will know if you react to it.  Your skin will probably continue to bleed a little bit after the tattoo is finished.  If it’s still bleeding more than 24 hours later, call the artist and see what he or she recommends.

The oozing usually continues for several days.  While you don’t want to rebandage the inked area after you’ve taken off the bandage, it’s a good idea to wear old clothing that you won’t worry about if the ink comes off a bit or if the clothing gets oozed on.  When I was getting ready to have my dragon tattoo put on my back, I went to the local thrift shop and bought several shirts for a couple bucks each.  They all buttoned up rather than pulled over my head, and had busy enough patterns that if the shirt got oozed on, it wouldn’t be glaringly apparent.  I wore those shirts while the healing process was going on.  They were nice enough to wear to work, but for a couple bucks apiece I could consider them disposable if need be.

And the new tattoo is going to itch while it’s healing.  Don’t scratch.  :)   Seriously, you do not want to do anything that might pull off or crack the newly formed scab.  Some people say to just slap the area lightly.  That does work.  You could also use a topical antiseptic/anaesthetic like Bactine Pain Relieving Antiseptic Spray.

Those are the most common and least dangerous health issues that newly tattooed people encounter.  In the next post I’ll take up less common but more serious things to be concerned about.
photo credit: kitsune tsuki
photo credit: rbatina

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It pretty much goes without saying that you’ll be a lot happier with your tattoo if you’ve done a bit of “homework” in advance. After you’ve decided on your artist, go visit the shop.

Don’t just look at the flash on the walls or the artist’s portfolio and walk out after picking a design. There are more important things to look at, believe it or not.

• Is the shop clean? Do the floors look like they’re washed, and is the furniture in good shape? What does the artist’s work area look like? Can you see debris lying around? What does the waiting area look like?
• Is smoking allowed in the shop? In some states smoking is prohibited in all places of business, but if your state isn’t among them, and there are smokers in the shop, you might be better off going somewhere else. Tobacco smoke puts all kinds of noxious chemicals and particulates into the air and it’s impossible to keep them from spreading throughout the whole interior. You don’t want that stuff being imbedded in your skin along with the ink.
• Are the inks dispensed into single-use containers that are discarded after each tattoo? Are the needles used on one person only, and discarded in a proper “sharps” container after use?
• Does the shop have proper sterilization equipment, especially an autoclave? No reputable tattoo artist will object if you ask about sanitary procedures.
• Is the tattoo equipment covered with plastic during the procedure and is that discarded afterwards? Blood is shed during tattooing, and you don’t want the artist using equipment that has been used unprotected on someone else.
• If possible, stick around long enough to see how the artist cleans up his or her work area after the tattoo is finished. All surfaces should be wiped down with disinfectant and all materials should be put away and ink cups discarded. An extra half hour watching the artist might save you a lifetime of grief afterwards.

If you’re sure you’re in good shape and the shop is clean, you’ve taken the most important steps toward getting a safe tattoo. But sometimes, things happen that you can’t prepare for. I’ll talk about those in the next posts.

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When we think about “health issues” associated with tattoos, the first things that come to mind are serious stuff like hepatitis and major infections. While those issues must be high on anyone’s list of cautions, tattooed people are more likely to have other, less major problems that can be avoided or lessened by simply taking time to think things through.

In the beginning…. you.

Don’t set foot in the tattoo parlor before you take stock of your own health. Do you have a chronic illness like diabetes, or an autoimmune disorder like rheumatoid arthritis? Do you have nickel allergies, or a tendency to form keloids? Do you catch colds often or get sick easily? None of that can absolutely prevent you from getting a tattoo (I say, as a multicolored Type 2 diabetic with nickel allergies) but don’t put yourself at risk by pretending you’re perfectly fine and sailing right on in to the shop.

If you have a chronic problem, chances are you’re well aware of how you react, but let me go into some detail here: Diabetics take a lot longer to heal. People with RA risk pushing themselves into a flare-up by doing things that challenge their immune systems (and a tattoo is an open wound that your immune system must heal). Some tattoo inks cause reactions in people with nickel allergies. And a person who forms keloids is almost certainly going to end up with keloids under the ink. People who get sick easily may have compromised immune systems even if they have no more serious disease.

So don’t be lah-di-dah about the risks. You know how your body reacts. (It might help to check with your doctor, but some doctors are against tattoos on general principles and will tell you no even if it might be OK for you to proceed with caution. A second opinion might not hurt.) Do some research, and make sure that you are in optimum health. You don’t want to walk out of the shop with a new tattoo and a major health problem as well.

And for heaven’s sake don’t lie to your tattoo artist or “forget” to inform him or her about your health. If the artist feels that tattooing you would be too risky and declines, pay attention to the reasons. Don’t argue about it. The artist has been through this a lot more than you have.

A word about allergies

I mentioned nickel allergies, which may cause problems with blue and green inks. Red ink seems to be a very common allergen as well, but unfortunately there is no way to predict whether you’ll react to it. If you’re concerned, and your design has a lot of red in it, it might help to go in at least 24 hours in advance and ask the artist to put a small dot of red ink in some inconspicuous place to see how you’ll react.

One of the most common allergies you might have to contend with when getting a tattoo is an allergy to latex. Artists commonly wear latex gloves. If you have a latex allergy, you can ask your artist to wear something else. You may want to let the artist know about this when you make your appointment, so he or she can be prepared with nitrile or other gloves.

And if you’re allergic to fish oil, check to see what your artist uses on a finished tattoo. Some common ointments contain cod liver oil and may give you a serious reaction if applied to your skin.

Getting a tattoo can be a profoundly satisfying experience, and a lot of us multicolored people have found that just one tattoo is nowhere near enough. But it’s just plain stupid to put your life at risk. If your health is under control and you’ve been honest with your artist… well, the multicolored world awaits you.

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Tomorrow, I’ll start a series on health issues for tattooed people. In doing research for this, I found a few issues that I had not thought of before, and hadn’t discussed in previous posts.

I discussed the possible problems one might encounter earlier in the context of getting a first tattoo, but there are some things we multicolored people need to be very careful about, whether it’s a first tattoo or one of a dozen.

With MRSA, especially, becoming more of a nationwide problem, it pays to be informed. Watch this space.

photo credit: Alex Campos ♂

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As I mentioned before, I am one of the many people who is sensitive to nickel.

I don’t know whether it’s all because my first pierced earrings were cheap, because up till the time I got my ears pierced, I seldom wore much jewelry. I’ve been trying to think back before that to remember if I ever got the itchies from something I wore, and I just don’t remember.

I had a nice neck chain that was supposed to be “rhodium plated” that made my neck itch like nobody’s business, but I think I got that after I had my ears done. I know I owned it in the same town we lived in when I got my ears pierced for the first time, but that’s as close as I can come on the timeline. Rhodium is related to platinum and it is supposed to be nonallergenic. Whether the manufacturer of the chain was a bit less than honest about the contents of the plating or whether I truly do react to rhodium, I don’t know. I have avoided rhodium plated jewelry like the plague ever since.

Of new holes and old

I got the first ear piercings done when I was sixteen. Two friends and I went to a local doctor’s office to have it done, and we were told to bring our own earrings. Foolishly, I trusted my mother to buy the earrings for me, and she just flat-out didn’t listen to the instructions. I was suposed to have plain gold balls. She bought daisies, made of who knows what. By the time I saw what she’d bought, it was too late to get replacements. The result of that was pretty much a foregone conclusion–I got horrible red crusty patches behind the earrings and ended up having to take them out and put lengths of nylon guitar string through the holes to keep them open while they healed enough to put new earrings in. Ugh.

However, those holes have stayed with me all these years and have never closed up. I can’t say the same for the second set of ear piercings I got. Of course, I got the second set done at an earring shop, with a piercing gun. I don’t think most people knew what a bad idea that was, at the time. Those holes tend to close up if I don’t wear earrings for more than a few days, which is a real nuisance.

The third ear piercings are right next to where the cartilage begins, on the outer edge of my ear. They were done by a professional piercer and (as one would expect) caused me the least pain and the fewest problems. Those holes don’t close up, but they do narrow down.

On finding good earrings

When you’ve got nickel allergy, finding good earrings isn’t always easy. Even the ones labeled “for sensitive ears” sometimes give me problems. I’ve had horrible reactions from ear posts labeled “surgical stainless steel.” On our recent vacation I wore one such pair by mistake and arrived at our destination with the second ear holes hurting and mostly swollen shut. Sigh. I have gold earrings from Tiffany’s in New York, that my aunt gave to me, that I can’t wear without coating the posts with clear nail polish. It seems as though neither price nor material is any guarantee.

So what do I wear when I want to be sure nothing’s going to happen? Titanium ear studs from the Fire Mountain Gems catalog. They don’t hurt. They don’t itch. The problem is, they are small and rather blah looking (even though they come in several colors). I need to find a source for more decorative, guaranteed nonallergenic earrings. If you can’t find ‘em at Tiffany’s, where on earth can you go?

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