THE ART OF TATTOOING

Dear mates,

Welcome back to the blog. Let’s discuss today about a topic that is actually pretty common in our current society: tattoos. In particular, I would like to focus your attention on the relation between tattooing and the transmission of certain infectious diseases.

Even though tattooing has been practiced across the globe since at least Neolithic times, it has clearly experienced a boom in the past two decades. In fact, it has been estimated that approximately 25% of the world’s population is tattooed.

Several infectious and non-infectious diseases have been associated with tattooing, basically related to the use of contaminated material. That is why the presence of tattoos has been used as a criterion for deferral of blood donors in many countries. You have at your disposal the following article “Tattoos as Risk Factors for Transfusion-Transmitted Diseases”, which was originally published in 2001. Have a look at it to dig deeper into the health risks that permanently imprinting your skin may involve.

http://ac.els-cdn.com/S1201971201900451/1-s2.0-S1201971201900451-main.pdf?_tid=0f11e5c2-0d78-11e7-a214-00000aacb361&acdnat=1490019675_d5362998b282685b522bbddd4d1b1e3b

Personally, I have never thought about getting one. What about you? Have you ever had the idea of getting one or do you already have one? What is your opinion about tattooing in general and its link with transfusion-transmitted diseases? 

Angela Blasi Martinez

April 17, 2017