HIV and AIDS are not the only potential health risks associated with piercings and tattoos. “The primary fear most people express about getting tattooed or pierced is that they may contract the HIV virus, which may cause AIDS,” writes Jean-Chris Miller, author of The Body Art Book. “HIV is only one of many viruses that can be transmitted. Syphilis, tuberculosis, strep, staph, and hepatitis are just a few of the other diseases to take into consideration.” In particular, hepatitis B and hepatitis C are among the most serious diseases that can result from shared needles.

Hepatitis B can cause lifelong infenction, cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, liver cancer, liver failure, and death. Like those of AIDS, hepatitis B symptoms are treatable, but there is no known cure. According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, there have been cases of hepatitis B being transmitted through tattooing.

A recent study by a former Centers of Disease Control (CDC) researcher also suggests that getting a tattoo can significantly increase a person’s chances of getting hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is an incurable disease that is transmitted through blood. It is a viral infection of the liver that often leads to fatal liver disease. “People who had do-it-yourself tattoos have a three times greater risk for hepatitis C than people without tattoos, and people tattooed in jail have an even higher risk. But the greatest risk comes from commercial tattoo parlors,” states Robert Haley, chief of epidemiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “People who get tattoos at commercial tattoo parlors have a nine times greater risk.” Haley’s risk calculations are based on a study of over 600 people who were patients at a spine clinic in the early 1990s. His evaluation included information about lifestyle risk factors and blood tests. Haley found that out of 113 patients who had at least one tattoo, 22 percent tested positive for hepatitis C. Only 3.5 percent of the patients with no tattoos had hepatitis C.