Body piercing and tattooing have become increasingly popular forms of personal expression over the last two decades. These practices have ancient roots, but greater public acceptance has created a widespread demand for these procedures. A University of Michigan survey of undergraduates found that 50 percent had some type of body piercing and 23 percent had tattoos.
Recently, a public health alert went out in St. Louis County, asking patrons of an unlicensed home-based tattoo and piercing business to contact their local health department. The incident illustrates the need for consumer awareness when seeking such procedures. Risks associated with tattooing and body piercing include the chance of localized infections, allergic reactions, scarring, and exposure to life-threatening blood-borne infections including HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C. Infections, when severe, may also lead to permanent disfigurement.
Because of the possible adverse and potentially life-threatening complications, many large public health jurisdictions have enacted ordinances regulating body art practitioners and establishments. Some states also have laws on the books, but these are often not well enforced.
How can one avoid the potential pitfalls associated with body piercing and tattooing? Here are a few common sense steps:
- Before anything else, you should visually assess any business that you are thinking of patronizing for these procedures. Is it clean? Is it well-lighted? Is it tidy and well-organized? If you enter an establishment and it is dark, with unswept floors and clutter all over the place, you should simply turn around and leave.
- If the establishment passes the visual once-over, the next thing you should do is ask if it is licensed. If it is, you should ask to see the license. If it isn't, you should leave. (You can save yourself time by calling your local health department ahead of time and asking if an establishment you are interested in is licensed and in good standing.)
- If the establishment is licensed, you should ask if the individual artists that work in the establishment are also licensed. This additional level of licensing usually means that that person has had to demonstrate their training and experience and that they have received some type of blood-borne pathogen refresher course. If individual artists are not licensed or required to hold a current certificate, you should leave.
- Ask about the practices of the artists. Are the needles they use for piercing and tattooing single use? Will you be allowed to see them taken from the sterile packaging and disposed of after they are used? Are they sterilized or in sterile packaging prior to use? Is the ink used in individual containers and disposed of after use? The use of sterile gloves is a must. Gloves should be disposed of and replaced if there is any break during the course of the procedure.
- You should ask if written after-care instructions will be provided to you in order to minimize the chance of infection and other complications. Clear written instructions that are provided after verbal instructions are given are very important. Many of the complications that occur are a result of not carefully following after-care instructions.
Following the above guidelines will maximize your chances of having a good experience during and after a tattoo or piercing procedure. However, one thing should be kept in mind. Most piercings will heal with minor scarring if a person decides they no longer want them, but tattoos are a different matter. Tattoos are meant to be permanent. Removing a tattoo is a long, laborious, painful, and not always totally successful process. Unlike other personal fashion choices and enhancements, body piercing and tattooing have a potential for causing illness, injury, and permanent disfigurement, so therefore, let the buyer beware!