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By infmom, March 5, 2008 11:55 am

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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By infmom, March 4, 2008 11:55 am

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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By infmom, March 3, 2008 1:46 pm

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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By infmom, November 20, 2007 12:12 pm

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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