About a fifth of adults reported a history of an itchy tattoo, and most said they believed that dermatologists are knowledgeable about managing tattoo complications, according to a survey of 501 adults with one or more tattoos.
The survey, conducted by researchers at Tulane University, New Orleans, found that almost 23% had had pruritus at the tattoo site more than a month after being tattooed. In addition, 3.2% said they had a tattoo that had become infected; these people were significantly more likely to have more tattoos and to have undergone more tattooing sessions, compared with those who had not had an infected tattoo.
Copyright The New England Journal of Medicine
In addition, 3.8% said they had pain at the site of at least one tattoo after the 1-month mark, reported Dr. Walter Liszewski of Tulane University and his coauthors (Dermatol Surg. 2015 Nov;41[11]:1283-9).
Their 18-question survey was administered to 501 people aged 18 years and older with at least one tattoo in the French Quarter over a 3-day period in January 2015. They were from 38 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.; almost 55% were women.
When it came to where to seek help managing these tattoo-related complications and misgivings, the dermatologist’s office ran second to the tattoo parlor. Of those surveyed, 93.2% of all participants believed tattoo artists were “very knowledgeable” or “knowledgeable” about the allergic and infectious tattoo complications, while 78.8% reported thinking the same about dermatologists – which suggests “that there is considerable trust in the ability of dermatologists to manage tattoo complications,” the authors pointed out.
Almost 70% thought primary care physicians and almost 40% thought pharmacists were similarly competent.
Almost a fifth of those surveyed said they had received at least one tattoo in a setting other than a tattoo parlor, such as in prison or at a party. And about a fifth said they had received one or more tattoos while inebriated.
The rates of tattoo regret were higher among those who were younger when they had received their first tattoo, ranging from 11.4% of those who were aged 21 years and older when they got their first tattoo to 35.1% of those who had their first tattoo before aged 18 years. Moreover, almost 43% of those who had their first tattoo before age 18 said they were would be interested in having at least one tattoo removed for free, compared with 19.1% and 14.4% of those who received their first tattoo between ages 18 and 20 years and at ages 21 and older, respectively.
“Given the incidence of pruritic tattoos, tattoo regret, unsafe tattooing practices, and desire to have tattoos removed among the study participants, dermatologists have an opportunity to provide medical and cosmetic care, as well as anticipatory guidance, for these patients,” the authors concluded.
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