Clinical Review

Health Risks Associated with Tattoos and Body Piercing

Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management. 2014 July;21(7)

References

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Removal is more painful and laborious than the tattooing itself, and complete removal, with no scarring, is often not possible. The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery reports that in 2011, its doctors performed nearly 100,000 tattoo removal procedures, up from the 86,000 performed in 2010 [36]. Pulsed lasers have been used to remove tattoos for more than 20 years. With this procedure, pulses of high-intensity laser energy pass through the epidermis and are selectively absorbed by the tattoo pigment. The laser breaks the pigment into smaller particles, which may be metabolized or excreted by the body, or transported to and stored in lymph nodes or other tissues [37].

Other removal techniques include dermabrasion and surgical excision. Do-it-yourself tattoo removal ointments and creams can be purchased online, but they have not been approved by the FDA and there is no clinical evidence that they work. Furthermore, tattoo removal ointments and creams may cause unexpected reactions, such as rashes, burning, scarring, or changes in skin pigmentation [37].

Clinician’s Role

Body art provides a window into an individual’s uniqueness, and acknowledging body modifications can help build trust and develop the physician/patient relationship. The health professional armed with knowledge about body modifications can forge more functional relationships, obtain critical historical information, and provide better treatment and referral for this population [5].

Having a clinician who is a trusted, nonjudgmental source of information and intervention for patients who choose body art will reduce the health risk of complications associated with tattooing and piercing [1]. Unfortunately, only 14% of the population identify health care professionals as a common resource for information on body modification. Instead, young adults endorsed friends (82%), body piercing shops (61%), and tattoo shops (51%) as their top information sources. Clinicians should help patients make informed decisions about body art and counsel them about the importance of universal precautions [35].

Corresponding author: Susannah Grimm Poe, EdD, 176 Gilboa Rd., Fairmont, WV 26554, spoe@hsc.wvu.edu.

Financial disclosures: None.