How TATTOOS can harm your health

The trend for tattoos comes with unseen risks to health, doctors have warned.

The craze has been embraced by celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and David Beckham - and even Samantha Cameron sports a tasteful dolphin butterfly on her ankle.

But experts say there are hidden medical complications.

A US study shows more than one in 20 people getting ‘inked’ suffer tattoo-related complications with high rates of infection, itching and swelling.

Researchers at New York University’s Langone Medical Centre found as many as six per cent of adult New Yorkers getting a tattoo experienced some form of related rash, severe itching or swelling that lasted longer than four months and, in some cases, for many years.

The researchers, who claim it is the first survey of its kind in the US, warn treatment is not always successful.

Senior study investigator, Dr Marie Leger, said: ‘We were rather alarmed at the high rate of reported chronic complications tied to getting a tattoo.

‘Given the growing popularity of tattoos, physicians, public health officials, and consumers need to be aware of the risks involved.’

Dr Leger said some adverse skin reactions are treatable with anti-inflammatory steroid drugs, but others may require laser surgery.

For stronger reactions, surgery is sometimes necessary to remove tattooed areas of the skin or built-up scar tissue and granular skin lesions, which can rise several millimetres on the skin and cause considerable itching and emotional distress.

Estimates suggest one in five adult Americans has at least one tattoo, with similar numbers found in surveys carried out in the UK.

The new study’s findings, published online in the journal Contact Dermatitis, are based on interviews with around 300 adults in New York’s Central Park in June 2013.

Doctors in European countries have also begun to monitor medical complications associated with tattoos due to the booming fashion.

But lack of regulation of the industry may have masked the true scope of the complications from tattooing, Dr Leger said.

The chemical composition of coloured inks used in the process is poorly understood and not standardised among dye manufacturers, with no reliable reporting of allergic or immune reactions, she said.

‘It is not yet known if the reactions being observed are due to chemicals in the ink itself or to other chemicals, such as preservatives or brighteners, added to them, or to the chemicals’ breakdown over time,’ she added.

‘The lack of a national database or reporting requirements also hinders reliable monitoring.’

Dr Leger went on: ‘The skin is a highly immune-sensitive organ, and the long-term consequences of repeatedly testing the body’s immune system with injected dyes and coloured inks are poorly understood.

‘Some of the reactions appear to be an immune response, yet we do not know who is most likely to have an immune reaction to a tattoo.’

Among the study’s other key findings was that similar types of short-term complications, including delayed healing, pain, swelling, and infection within weeks of getting tattooed, occur in as many as 10 per cent of people.

In addition, only a third of those who did experience a reaction sought medical advice or help.

Most long-lasting complications occurred in skin regions injected with the two most common tattoo ink colours, red and black. Almost half of chronic reactions were to red ink, yet only a third chose to have tattoos with red ink.

One-third of chronic cases involved black ink, while over 90 per cent of tattoos are in black.

Survey respondents ranged in age from 18 to 69, with a majority having no more than five tattoos. One had 53, and the arm was the most popular tattoo site.

Dr Leger now plans a larger survey to determine what coloured inks and possible dye components are most closely tied to adverse reactions.

She said her research could also reveal other factors that might put people at greater risk of suffering chronic complications.

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