Tattoo Health: February 2009 Archives

One of the greatest things about tattoos is that you have control over every aspect of the tattooing process. From what your tattoo design will be and where you want your tattoo to reside for the rest of your life. Well this all may change for the state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma is taking serous action against getting one body part considered illegal to get tattooed. The body part they are trying so hard to make illegal getting tattooed is the white part of the eyeball. A Senate panel has already passed the bill to prohibited this body part from being tattooed, all that is needed now to make it official is to have the full Senate pass the bill.

However, lawmakers are quick to admit that this practice of tattooing the white part of the eyeball has not caught on by too many citizens of the state of Oklahoma.  Several do fear this practice may caught on in their beloved state, due to the fact that several people living on both east and west coasts have eye tattoos.

Besides the awful pain and discomfort a tattoo in this area would cause it can also cause an even worse reaction, blindness. Ophthalmologist's say this procedure is very dangerous and should not be able to be practiced. It not only can cause loss of vision but it is also susceptible to easy infection. So if you live in the state of Oklahoma and are dead set on getting a tattoo on your eye then you will more than likely have to travel out of the state to get this tattoo done.

Last month we talked about the tattoo removal using the laser tattoo removal process. But aside fro lasers, there are other options on getting rid of that one ugly tattoo you don't like.

Here are your four options for getting rid of the tattoo you now hate:

1. Cover up tattoo
2. Excision
3. Dermabrasion
4. Lasers

Cover up tattoo

If you still want to have a tattoo, just not that one, you should consider covering it with a bigger, gnarlier tattoo. The obvious problem is that you have to think of one that will cover the old one and that you will like better so that you don't have to get rid of it five years down the road. Therefore, this decision is even more difficult than your first tattoo was, because you have to choose something that either incorporates or blocks out the old tattoo. Them's some parameters. Your tattoo artist should be of help here, if you've found a good one by now.

Cover-ups are about the same cost as getting a new tattoo (see Can you afford it? in section 2) except that it will almost always be custom work. It will probably take longer, too, as the work must be done very carefully.

Excision

Cut that sucker right out of there. You get a physician to remove the skin with the tattoo and suture the sides together. It's relatively cheap, but it won't work on really large tattoos and it will definitely leave a noticeable scar. There are two ways to remove a tattoo through excision. First, a physician can place a small balloon under the skin which is inflated so that the tattooed skin gradually stretches. When it has stretched out enough, the physician cuts the skin and stitches it up, leaving a thin scar. Second, the physician can simply cut out the skin in small patches and sew it together, which can create significant scarring.

Dermabrasion

This is fairly nasty. The skin is scraped or "sandpapered" off or, alternatively but no more appealingly, chemicals are applied, after which the skin is peeled off. This is time-consuming, but it scars less than excision and it costs less than lasers.

Lasers

This is probably the best method, as laser technology has improved significantly. It doesn't hurt and it has a pretty good success rate. However, it costs a lot and it can still cause scarring or discoloration of the skin. A laser removal session usually costs about $300 and it can take five or more sessions to remove a tattoo. Lasers are less effective at removing lighter colors such as green or yellow, so if your tattoo contains those you could be looking at a lot of money and a lot of hours in the chair. Most laser removal specialists will provide you with a free initial consultation, in which they will tell you how much the removal is likely to cost.

Peace be with you, friends, as you select, get, and remove your very own tattoo. And if, after reading this article, our sage advice has led to your decision not to get a tattoo, peace be with you too. Get a nose ring instead.

Is it true that you can't have an MRI if you have tattoos? Generally speaking, it's safe to have magnetic resonance imaging or MRI if you have tattoos. However there are a few things you should consider.

Reports have been widely circulated, concerning burns in tattooed areas-dark black tattoos in particular-during MRI scans. It's unknown how often the problem occurs but, the magnetic field and radio waves that MRI uses to created detailed cross-sectional images of your body may have been the cause.

Researchers suspect that the burns are related to the potentially magnetic iron oxide component in some black tattoo inks, which conducts electricity and heated during an MRI.

If you need to go under an MRI, tell your doctor about your tattoo. More likely your doctor may recommend placing ice packs or cool compresses over your tattoos during MRI.