Why Tattoo or Body Piercing?

There seems to a phenomenon in the world today. It's "Tattoo &/Body Piercing" gone wild. More than twenty years ago, one of my son's hockey coaches sported several tattoos. After a while, he became dissatisfied with them and opted to have them removed. Back then, the health department funded such activity. It seemed rather strange that public funds were being used to pay for such activity. However, today he would be considered strange for making such a decision.

Tattoos are made by the tattoo artist who uses a hand held device with a needle(s) that pierce the skin repeatedly like a sewing machine. Tiny droplets of ink are inserted by the needle(s) as the skin is punctured. There is no anesthetic applied before the procedure despite possible bleeding and sometimes considerable pain. Some people later experience skin infections and other complications like allergic reactions. Skin infections may be caused by the various types of dyes that were used. Sometimes bumps called granulomas may form around the tattoo ink. One possibility is the developing of keloids which is caused by an overgrowth of scar tissue. Another major issue is the danger of getting blood borne diseases due to the use of equipment that has not been properly sterilized. Diseases of particular interest are tetanus, hepatitis B and C. It is also believed that on occasions, tattoos have caused swelling or burning in affected areas during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations and could affect the quality of the image.

It is advisable that someone experiencing allergic reactions, developing an infection or other problems to tattoo ink should seek medical assistance as treatmant may be necessary.

Deciding to get one or more tattoos should be given careful thought. This decision should never be rushed nor should you allow someone to talk you into making it. The wrong decision could be costly and even injurious to your health. Remember, removing the tattoo is possible but this may even require laser surgery.