Allergic reactions are also potential danger of tattoos and piercings. Tattoo colors are made by mixing dry pigments with a suspension fluid. More than fifty different pigments and shades are used in tattooing. Tattoo pigments can be made from a variety of materials, ranging from vegetable matter to plastic-based pigments like acrylic. Organic-based tattoo pigments are seldom reactive to human tissue; plastic-based pigments, however, are more likely to cause allergic reactions. There is no governmental oversight of these substances. Although several color additives are approved by the FDA for use in cosmetics, which are applied on the skin, the FDA does not regulate the use of color additives in the practice of tattooing, in which inks are injected into the skin.

Minor allergic reactions to the tattoo dyes typically result in an itchy rash at the tattoo site. More serious reactions included the development of granulomas, nodules that form around material the body perceives as foreign. Severe allergies can result in shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, and fever.

Like tattoo dyes, piercing jewelry can cause allergic reactions. Brass-plated, nickel, and gold jewelry are the most likely types to cause allergic reactions. A piercing allergy often results in a weeping, itchy wound around the piercing. At times the body may react by pushing out the jewelry.

Less dangerous but more common health problems associated with tattooos and body piercings are those that negatively affect one’s appearance. One such problem is keloids, scars that grow beyond nromal boundaries. People with darker pigmentation, such as African Americans and those of Mediterranean descent, have a greater risk of developing keloids. Keloids can develop after the initial tattooing or piercing or later, if the jewelry in apiercing catches on smothing and rips the skin. Often keloids can be removed only by surgery.

Another cosmetic complication is chipped teeth. This complication is specifically associated with oral piercings. Once the tongue is pierced, the jewerly may chip or crack a person’s teeth when he or she is talking or eating. Tongue piercings an also result in more serious health problems.

For example, a person may develop a lisp or have trouble swallowing ue to nerve damage in the tongue. The american Dental Association cites numerous other dangers associated with oral piercings, including the swelling of the tongue from the piercing; choking on studs, barbells, or hoops that come loose in the mouth; and uncontrollable bleeding.

Another danger of tattoos and piercings is that they can adversely affect emergency care. For example, some doctors believe that passing a needle through the pigment of a tattoo may pose a significant health risk, leading to possible neurological complications later on in life. Theoretically, if a needle is passed through a lower-back tattoo, then a pigment-containing tissue core from the tattoo could be deposited into the spaces surrounding the spinal area. Doctors believe it is possible that this could cause long-term problems such as arachnoiditis, a chronic inflammatory process affecting the protective membranes around the brain, spinal cord, and nerve roots. Because of this potential, doctors try to avoid inserting a needle through a tattoo. This can create problems during emergency care, particularly for pregnant women with lower-back tattoos.

Pregnant women often require an epidural anesthesia when they go into labor. This type of anesthesia is injected through the lower back into the lumbar interspace, the space surrounding the membrane that covers the spinal cord. If a woman has a lower-back tattoo, finding a tattoo-free location for the epidural could be difficult or impossible.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a procedure that produces a two-dimensional view of an internal organ or structure, is another medical procedure that can be negatively affected by tattoos. An MRI is often used to diagnose sports related injuries and chronic disease conditions. Some people have experienced burning or swelling in their tattooed areas when they have undergone an MRI. There have also been reports that tattoo pigments have interfered with the quality of the MRI. This has mainly occurred with people who had permanent eyeliner from micropigmentation. The theory is that the metallic components in some of the pigments interact with the MRI.

Like tattoos, body piercings can cause problems during emergency care. For example, oral piercings can result in tongue rips during certain procedures. “The potential for trouble arises in emergency situations when the patient needs to be intubated-that is, have a breathing tube inserted down his or her throat-to receive urgent care,” states Sandra Tunajek, director of practice for the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. “A pierced tongue isn’t typically the first thing on the anesthesia provider’s mind while they’re preparing the patient for surgical or some other emergency care. The instrument used to insert the breathing tube may catch on the tongue ring, tearing the tongue or knocking the ring down the patient’s throat.”

Among the most dangerous of piercing infections is endocarditis, a life-threatening infection of the heart valves. People with congenital heart disease who get pierced are particularly susceptible to getting endocarditis. Left untreated, the infection can fatally destroy the heart muscle. A Mayo Clinic study of 445 patients with congenital heart disease found that nearly one out of four of these patients developed endocarditis after getting pierced.

The January 2003 issue of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal stated that doctors are reporting incresing numbers of people developing infectious endocarditis after body piercing. The article included an example of a thirteen year old girl who became seriouslly ill one month after piecing her own navel. She was born with a heart malformation that been surgically corrected when she was tre years old. The girl said that she had removed her piercing after two days because it looked infected. A month later, she went to the doctor after running a fever for three days. Tests revealed that she had an infection in one of her heart’s valves. The girl was treated with heart surgery and antibiotics and realease from the hospital after twenty two days.

In addition to individuals with congenital heart disease, people with medical conditions such as diabetes and hemophilia are at a greater risk than most when getting pierced or tattooed. Diabetics take longer than nondiabetics to heal from cuts. The lengthier healing time increases their chances of getting an infection. While a diabetic’s main risk is infection, the danger for a hemophiiac is that he or she will lose excessive amounts of blood when getting pierced or tattooed. Typically when a person is cut, the blood’s ability to clot heals the wound, but a hemophiliac’s blood does not clot properly. This can result in great blood loss.

Like hemophiliacs, people taking mediciations that thin the blood are at risk of their blood not clotting when cut. Blood-thinning medications can make a person more likely to bleed heavily during and afer the tattoo or piercing process, and to experience excessive scabbing afterward.

Infections caused by pathogenic microorganisms invading the body are another health risk associated with tatttoos and piercings. These infections can occur because the needles open the skin, allowing bacteria to enter the body, and can range from mild to life threatening.

Piercing have a greater tendency than tattoos to become infected. According to a Mayo Clinic article, studies show that up to 30 percent of piercings result in infections. This is because often the piercing result in infections. This is because often the piercing needle goes through flesh, whereas tattoo needles only penetrate the skin. Piercings are also prone to infections because they have long healing times, ranging from six weeks for an earlobe to six months for a navel piercing; because they rub against clothing; and because unsterilized jewerly may harbor bacteria. Navel piercings are among the most common piercings to result in infections because tight-fitting clothing inhibits air circulation, allowing moisture to collect in the piercing.

The American Academy of Dermatology warns people to be careful when getting any form body piercing, except ear piercing, because of possible skin infections. Typical symptoms include redness and swelling of the skin around the area that has been pierced and pus discharging from the piercing. Ointments are often used to cure minor infections.

More serious infections may require antibiotics or surgery and can result in long-lasting effects. For example, nipple piercing infections may affect a woman’s ability to breastfeed. Infections in the upper ear can also be very serious. Upper-ear cartilage does not have its own blood supply, so taking antibiotics is often ineffective because drugs cannot travel to the infection site. Upper-ear skin infections may require surgical drainage of pus. The most serious of these infections can permanently deform the ear.

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.

Physicians recommended that before getting a tattoo or piercing, people need to understand the potential health issues associated with body art. Getting pierced or tattooed can result in both minor and major health problems. By understanding what these risks are, people can take precautions to prevent or reduce them.

The most dangerous health risk associated with permanent body art is getting infected with a bloodborne disease, a disease that is passed by contamination of blood. This happens if the tattoo needle or piercing who has a disease. Pathogens, disease-causing organisms, can live in dried blood for several days and in liquid blood for even longer. An individual receiveing a tattooo or piercing can come into contact with a pathogen if the equipment used has not been sterelized since its last use. Because of the risk, the American Red Cross requires that people wait a year after getting a tattoo to donate blood. The Red Cross also requires that people wait to donate blood for a year after they are pierced if they are unsure whether sterile needles were used during the piercing.

The most feared bloodborn diseas is HIV. HIV is a mutating retrovirus that attacks the human immune system and has been shown to cuase acquired immunodefiency syndrome (AIDS). AIDS results in the progressive descrution of a person’s immune system, eventually leaving him or her unable to fight off colds and infenctions. Many AIDS symptops are treatable, but the disease itself is incurable and leads to death. To date, there have been no documented cases of tattooing or piercing resulting in HIV, but people fear this because the possibilit exists.

People who choose to get pierced choose to experience pain. A person who gets a piercing must endure a hollow needle being forced through his or her skin or cartilage without use of an anesthetic. Tattooing also involves pain. When being tattooed, a person receives an injection of pigment particles under the skin at a rate of fifty to three thousand times per minute with an electric tattoo machine. Depending on the tattoo’s size, a person may have to endure the needles poking his or her skin from thirty minutes to several sessions of an hour or more. Despite the pain, for thousands of years millions of people have willingly subjected themselves to tattooing and piercing. Their reasons for getting permanent body art overcome any fear they might have of the pain.

Ancient people’s reasons for getting tattoos or body piercings varied depending on where they lived. For example, the ancient Aztec and Maya of Central America practiced tongue piercing as a way to create an altered state of consciousness so that they could communicate with the gods. The New Zealand Maori tattooed themselves both to commemorate rites of passage and as a way to display their tribal status. Japanese men would tattoo themselves with intricate Irezumi designs, designs that displayed heroic figures, gods, and mythical creatures, as a way to decorate their bodies.

Today people get pierced or tattooed for many of the same reasons ancient people did. Their reasons range from getting tattooed to commemorate a particular accomplishment, such as graduating from college, to getting their nose pierced to be fashionable. Ultimately, people endure the pain of permanent body art so that they can outwardly display parts of their inner selves. “A tattoo is never just what the appearance is, anyway. You can only really know about the tattoo by getting to know the person wearing it. Tattoos are indicators, or little vents to their psyche.” states Don Ed Hardy, a well-known tattooist and former editor of Tattootime.

Some Simple Reasons:

• Enhancing Beauty
• Identifying Oneself
• Commemorating Others
• Taking Control
• Modern Primitives
• Rebellious Acts
• Pushing Boundaries
• Body Makeovers
• New Modifications

Whether or not body piercing and tattooing will continue to be considered an art form and increase in popularity are subjects of debate. Some believe that permanent body art is just a passing phase and that people will lose interest in getting pierced and tattooed. “I’m not under any illusions about fashion changes – I know body piercing is hip at the moment but times change so I don’t expect to always have enough work,” states Dave Bingham, a professional body piercer and tattoo artist who runs the largest and best known salon in Ireland.

However, statistics show that permanent body art may not be just a passing fad. Instead, like cosmetics, it could become a long-term fashion mainstay. In recent years, the number of people getting tattooed or pierced has increased annually. A may 1996 issue of the medical journal Physician’s Assistant estimated that in the preceding twenty years, tattooing among women quadrupled. The number of tattoo studios throughout the United States has also increased. In 1994 there were 137 tattoo studios registered in Texas, for example. Eight years later that number had increased to over 600. In addition, the Alliance of Professional Tattooists (APT), a national organization of registered tattooists, reported that its membership grew from 1,800 members in 1999 to 3,000 members in 2004.

The body piercing industry is also experiencing growth. According to International Collection, a New York City body-jewelry wholesaler, the wholesale body-jewelry industry was an estimated $3 billion business in 2003 and is projected to double or triple in the next few years. States have also reported evidence of piercing’s popularity. According to the Portland Mercury, in 2001 there were 695 licensed body piercing technicians in Oregon, an increase of 250 percent since 1996.

Many people believe that tattooing and body piercing have continued to grow in popularity because an increasing number of people are getting tattooed and pierced for personal reasons rather than because they are following a fashion trend. Whether or not body piercing and tattooing will continue to gain popularity depends on how strong these personal reasons are.

The interest in custom work has led to changes in the kinds of people who become tattoo artists. In the early to mid-twentieth century, tattooists were more interested in the craft aspect of tattooing, focusing on the technical details such as building the tattoo machine and mixing the inks rather than the artistic aspect. They often learned the technical skills of tattooing from other tattooists. According to Sanders, “The traditional clientele consisted of young men from working-class backgrounds…. Practitioners were generally from the social background as their clients, unassociated with the larger art world and primarily motivated by economic gain.”

Today, tattooists are often from artistic backgrounds and have chosen the field of tattooing as a way to practice art. Carl Williams, who has a master’s degree in art form the University of Hawaii, is an example of a typical modern tattoo artist. “My original intention was to teach college art, but I started hanging out at nights at tattoo shops,” Williams said. “After you’ve worked in different mediums, you can tell a big different. I can get the skin to do more than paper.”

Pat Fish is another example of tattooist with an artistic background. She earned degrees in studio art and film studies from the University of California Santa Barbara and taught drawing there after graduating. Fish opened a tattoo studio in Santa Barbara in 1984 so she could practice art full-time. She is best known for her Celtic designs, which are defined by intricate knotwork, braids, spirals, and circles. Clients come from all over the country for a Pat Fish original work.

The art community is beginning to consider tattoos as a legitimate art form. Galleries and museums, such as the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, are displaying photos of tattoos and b body piercings along with living examples of body art. Art journals have also taken notice of body art. For example, the July 1997 issue of Art in America featured an article on the work of Artist Tony Fitzpatrick, founder of the World Tattoo Gallery in Chicago. Fitzpatrick’s etchings an drawings are based, in part, on tattoo art.