Just like I would (and often do) advise no one to get elective surgery right now, I would say also that this is absolutely not the time to be getting tattoos either. And this is spoken from a tattoo loving gal who sports two of them herself. I have talked to a bunch of people over the last year who have acquired MRSA from tattoos, both in parlors and in-home. Here is a bit of what ABC News had to say today in their warning about MRSA and tattoos:
When four teenage girls in Anne Arundel County, Md., contracted a tough-to-treat bacterial skin infection last fall that landed two of them in the hospital, the county health department quickly zeroed in on the cause: their new body art.
“The common factor was … these tattoos,” says Elin Jones, a spokeswoman for the Anne Arundel County Department of Health.
The girls had picked up methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — or MRSA — from a local tattoo artist working out of his basement. MRSA, which can appear as pimples or boils, grows rapidly, resists common antibiotics, and can infect the blood and bones if left untreated — not exactly a desired after-effect of having your body inked.
No kidding. Trust me on this, it is not worth it.
Awareness, CA MRSA, Maryland, MRSA, tattoos .gif)
2 responses so far ↓
sam // Jan 25, 2008 at 7:50 pm
what if u already have it how do the tattoos come out
john // Aug 13, 2008 at 1:34 pm
As a tattoo artist this post makes it seems more alarming than it is. If you get tattooed in a clean professional shop you will be fine. Notice that these girls were tattooed in a basement. Also, the tattoo can heal fine. I have personal experience with a staph infection occuring throughout a new tattoo of mine, and after antibiotics the tattoo healed with VERY LITTLE damage. It is KEY to visit your doctor at the first sign of anything wrong with a new tattoo.
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