Tattoos are no longer taboos. One in three Americans currently have at least one tattoo. As inking becomes more common, potential risks and side effects are being scrutinized more vigorously. Last year, a series of curious headlines suggested a link between tattoos and lymphoma. These horror stories were based on study Of the 1,400 people with lymphoma, more than 4,000 controls without cancer.
Authors of this study I insisted Their study showed that getting a tattoo increased the risk, but their data suggested that the differences were in fact not statistically significant. If tattoo ink causes cancer, you will expect people who have more tattoos on their bodies to be at greater risk. Importantly, the author couldn’t find this. Even if the data are more persuasive, the form of this study makes it impossible to determine whether links are causal. There are factors that make you more likely to get lymphoma or tattoos.
These health risks were exaggerated, but this study made me think about tattoo inks. Where does it go in our skin and stay there?
Where does tattoo ink go on our skin?
When tattooed, ink accumulates as pigment in the dermis of the skin, explains the dermatologist Dr. Lauren Proch. It is located below the top layer of the skin (epiderm), but above the fat of the skin. Dermis cells are exchanged much more slowly than the epidermis. Therefore, the tattoo does not disappear as the skin cells are washed away. The first consideration before getting a tattoo should be needle hygiene. A dirty needle spreads infection and disease.
When tattoo ink enters your skin, your body will recognize it as a foreigner, says the dermatologist. Lauren Moy. This will replenish the body with immune cells to the area. This is whether newly tattooed skin becomes inflamed or sensitive. In most cases, careful care after touch can alleviate most of these reactions. This includes keeping the skin area of your tattoo clean, using moisturizers, and avoiding exposure to the sun and water.
The newly tattooed skin-filled immune cells include the munching macrophages of foreign molecules – experts. These cells devour the pigment, but they struggle to break it down. This means that tattoo ink is distributed between skin cells and immune cells. when Macrophages Die, they release their contents, but their ink is rapidly eaten by other macrophages in the area. This “capture” and “recapture” process holds skin ink in place.
However, if your body has an allergic reaction to ink, thick, red or pink, glossy areas can form on your skin, says Prock. Some of these allergic reactions are caused by Immune cells called lymphocytes. Certain types of inks are more likely to cause these pseudolymphomatous reactions. One study of 104 skin biopsies from people who have an allergic reaction to tattoos Showed 78% of the reactions were related to the red pigment. These responses can occur even months or years after the tattoo is inked.
Can tattoo ink be moved from the skin?
“Tattoo ink can move your body technically, but it usually doesn’t move that far,” explains Prock. This is because when ink moves, the immune system divides the pigment into sizes and supplies it to the lymph system that can be drained into the lymph nodes. Decomposition of this pigment contributes to the blurry or decline of the tattoo. Nevertheless, even pigments that have been crushed into bits and closed from the skin by the immune system can still cause problems.
2018 Case studies When her surgeon pointed out that her lymph nodes had become dark, she reported a case of a patient with severe tattoo cancer, where the mastectomy was moving in an unexpected direction. A false diagnosis could lead to a woman being treated for malignant melanoma. Luckily, her doctors noticed that the colour of broken tattoo ink is caused by accumulation in the nodes. Their analysis showed that discoloration was not dangerous.
Link to Ink?
Decomposition of the pigment also occurs when the tattoo is removed. “Most lasers on the market today essentially break down the pigment into small parts, allowing it to be cleared quickly and efficiently by the lymph system,” says Ploch. Moy said the process can release chemicals such as iron and zinc oxide from the dye, causing further reactions.
But ultimately, these reactions are generally mild, Prock says. Regarding any cancer risk, Moy points out that the relationship between tattoos and cancer has been gaining attention in an increasingly ink-filled world. “If a tattoo was really bad, I think we’ve all heard of it,” she concluded.
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