If you’re thinking about getting inked, you may want to first consider the implications of a recently published study in which researchers found roughly 1 in 10 people who get tattoos to experience problems with their tattoos.
Researchers behind the study, which was published Wednesday in the journal Contact Dermatitis, randomly interviewed 300 people with tattoos in New York City’s Central Park. The results of the survey found four percent of the survey’s participants experienced a rash for a short period of time while another six percent claimed to have experienced skin problems lasting longer than four months.
The survey’s randomly selected participants indicated to the researchers behind the study that they had developed tattoo complications including severe itching, swelling, redness and even infection.
Dr. Marie Leger, a dermatologist at the New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City, was quoted by Live Science as having said that she’s “not anti-tattoo at all” and that she actually thinks “tattoos are beautiful,” however, she wants people to be aware of the risks associated with getting inked.
I’m not anti-tattoo at all; I happen to think tattoos are beautiful
According to the study’s authors, many of the tattooed participants reported lingering tattoo complications lasting years.
The researchers found 60 percent of the patients with complaints regarding tattoo-related complications to have suffered from chronic problems. The researchers also noticed that only a few of those suffering from chronic problems bothered getting checked out by a doctor.
The cause of tattoo problems is not yet clear in all cases.
Do you have any tattoos and if so, have you ever experienced any problems with them?
