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Tattoos and their side effects
posted at 29/1/2013 2:28 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 107
First: 13/3/2012 Last: 22/5/2013 |
Tattoos and their reputations are changing. In my area, tattoos are appearing on the beautiful young and healthy skin of both boys and girls at younger and younger ages, on the older skin of the middle aged of box sexes. Unlike the old sepia steeped patterns on the biceps of sailors and bikies, these new tattoos are becoming global. Arms, legs, thighs, chests, backs, necks, scalps, face, lips, every body surface seems to be the canvas for the needling artist. I have seen so many beautiful young bodies visually ruined by this perpetual artwork that I wonder about the physical health of the human canvas when the ink starts to break down, and, as a self, and loudly professed opponent of tattoos, I wonder about the mental health of young women who subject their bodies to a mish mash of images, words, sayings, that are at not even attractive. The problem visually is that there are two mediums, both of which can be lovely, but together cancel each other out. No one says of any great painting that the painting ruined the image of the canvas because the artwork becomes the focus. Tattooing unfortunately scars the human canvas which, when it ages, will certainly change the originally beautiful artwork. So final points, I am concerned about the mental health of the person who considers every clear area of skin as the next potential tattoo. And I am concerned about what is in the ink that covers beautiful natural skin as I doubt all the garish colours are sepia ink, and I am concerned about any effect that the body will suffer when the ink starts to break down as it will, and is absorbed into the body. I am also concerned about the mental state and perceived body image as the skin texture and body shape changes and what was once a youthful extravaganza of painted skin, becomes an old, stretched, crinkly version on tainted skin. For those who love tattoos, this is probably not a problem. But what happens when they change their minds as they get older and regret the crepe canvas that is their covering of their later years and aging bodies? Is this an irreversible basis for mental problems when the tattoos are viewed from a more mature perspective? |
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Re: Tattoos and their side effects
posted at 29/1/2013 2:57 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 3045
First: 27/3/2012 Last: 20/5/2013 |
Many thanks Dr. Linda for an important clinical post. Tattooing poses many serious threats to our health, the major being infection at the site of the tattoo, allergic reaction to the tattoo dye, the spread of disease such as HIV and Hepatitis C, granulomas and keloid formation. A tattoo is a series of puncture wounds made with a needle that carries dye into different levels of the skin. |
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Re: Tattoos and their side effects
posted at 29/1/2013 4:09 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 538
First: 6/9/2012 Last: 25/5/2013 |
It´s a personal choice of course, but sometimes less is more.
Tattooes are rooted in different cultures and they have been fashionable in different times. I read that the last German emperor did have one – or was it his father ? A lot of fuss was made about the tiny tattoo the latest German first lady had ( her husband resigned last year – because of alleged corruption or related afffairs, so this post might be in the other thread, too…even if he was not a doctor). Sometimes it´s a bit too much to look at, though. I think that a small tattoo is perfectly acceptable, if you choose your studio wisely . Being a human wallpaper however can cause several problems, from age to toxic substances to doctors not being able to identify your veins any more when you need them to. We had a patient once who had had a full thorax tattoo for a special occasion. After sternotomy, it didn´t look quite as impressive as before, in spite of all our efforts. |
