Doctors Warn Certain Tattoo Ink Colors Are Extremely Harmful

Tattoo Care: Many People With Tattoos Experience Some Long-Term Medical Complications

Many “inked up” Americans experience tattoo regret as their skin begins to age, but some experience that regret immediately after getting their new body art. A recent study conducted at NYU Langone Medical Center has revealed that six percent of New Yorkers with a tattoo have experienced long-term medical complications related to their ink, including tattoo-related rash, severe itching, or swelling.

"We were rather alarmed at the high rate of reported chronic complications tied to getting a tattoo," Dr. Marie Leger, an assistant professor in NYU Langone's Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology, said in a statement. "Given the growing popularity of tattoos, physicians, public health officials, and consumers need to be aware of the risks involved."

Leger and her colleagues conducted survey interviews with around 300 adults in New York’s Central Park in June 2013. Survey respondents were between the ages of 18 and 69, the majority of which had no more than five tattoos. Sixty-seven percent of tattoos were located on the arm, making it the most popular tattoo site. Leger estimates that one in five adults in the United States has at least one tattoo.

Ten percent of respondents experience some type of short-term complication, such as delayed healing, pain, swelling, and infection, within weeks of getting their tattoo. Among the respondents who did experience a reaction, only a third sought help or advice from a medical professional. Long-term medical complications, including rashes, severe itching, and swelling, lasted longer than four months in some cases and even years.

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