Piercings and tattoos have been popular for centuries and are just one of the many ways that people have to express themselves and their individual sense of style.
A 2002 study of 454 university students found that half had piercings and a quarter had tattoos.
Nearly 20 percent of those who had piercings reported a medical complications due to the procedure itself or how it was taken care of afterwards.
Common medical complications included bacterial infections, bleeding and skin and tissue tears around the pierced area. Additionally, some people play with their piercings, biting, pulling on and twisting them, which creates problems.
Tattoos have many health risks as well. According to a CNN report, people with tattoos are nine times more likely to carry the hepatitis C infection. The general population has an infection rate of 3.5 percent versus a 33 percent infection rate for those with tattoos, states a March 2001 journal article in Medicine.
Other risks from tattoo needles include tetanus, tuberculosis and HIV. Additional problems such as scarring or deformity can result from surface infections around the tattoo.
There are several things to look for in a piercing studio or tattoo parlor in regards to safety when trying to find a place to get something done.
It may be sound like a cool idea at 3 a.m. when you're plastered to go to the first guy with needles and dyes, but make sure they have sterile needles, disinfectants and the person performing the procedure is wearing gloves.
Another important thing to check for is to make sure they don't try to use a piercing gun because these can't be autoclaved. These have been commonly used in places that do ear piercings, however these guns have poor accuracy and often times cause piercing errors.
Follow up care is key for tattoos and piercings.
Tattoos should be kept clean with soap and water and moisturized with petroleum jelly for the three week period of healing afterwards.
Follow-up care for piercings is dependant on the body part pierced. In skin and oral piercings soap and water should be used but keep away from using alcohol in oral piercings, because it increases bleeding.
Tongue, nipple or genetalia piercing has become increasingly popular in recent years. The logic behind these types of piercings for many people is that they will increase sexual pleasure for themselves or their partners.
Science has yet to concur with these word-of-mouth claims. However, scientists do agree that sucking on or bitting these areas increases the transmission of bacteria and greatly increases the chances of infections in particularly suseptible and sensitive areas.
Another popular trend of late has been upper-ear cartilage piercings.
According to an Associated Press report, seven teenagers in Oregon developed permanent disfigurement as a result of infections they got after having these types of piercings done.
Like any other type of bacterial infection, upper-ear cartilage infections can be treated with traditional antibiotics. However, since the cartilage in the upper-ear lobe has poor blood flow in comparison to other areas of the body, its not always an effective way to treat bacterial infections.
Of the seven Oregon teens, four went so far as to have cosmetic surgery to repair the damage done from the cartilage infections.
Researchers attributed the severity of their infections to unsanitary at the piercing studio where all of them went for their respective procedures. As a result of this case, proposals to Oregon state law banning piercing guns have been made.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.