Once tattoo ink enters the body, it does not stay put. Beneath the skin, tattoo pigments interact with the immune system in ways scientists are only just beginning to understand.

Tattoos are generally considered safe, but growing scientific evidence suggests tattoo inks are not biologically inert. The key question is no longer whether tattoos introduce foreign substances into the body, but how toxic those substances might be and what that means for long-term health.

  • _lilith@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Oh hey look another AI article loosely based on that study about tattoos on mice. Fuck off

  • dohpaz42@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    I’ve kind of wondered this myself; anecdotally, of course.

    Back in 2015, I got a 3/4 sleeve done with lots of colors (blue, black, red, yellow, and mixes of other colors). Not long after, I coincidentally also started suffering from fatigue, malaise, and other health issues. I love my tattoos, but I wonder (especially now) if it were a huge mistake given everything I’ve struggled with these past 10 years.

      • dohpaz42@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        I have. A few actually. The most that came from it was learning I had celiac disease. Other than that, all teats have come back normal. It sucks. 🤷‍♂️

        • snowdriftissue@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          The most that came from it was learning I had celiac disease

          Well that is kind of a big deal lol. You may already know all this but celiac causes malnutrition as well as direct symptoms.

          Iron deficiency from gut malabsorption can cause pretty significant fatigue, malaise, mood issues, and other problems. The criteria for determining what is considered iron deficiency have recently changed as well so that a LOT more people are considered deficient compared to before, and not all docs are up to date yet. Assuming you’re an otherwise healthy person, you’d probably want to have a ferritin (iron stores) of at least 50 ng/mL but ideally around 100 ng/mL if you’re symptomatic. There are several other vitamins that are commonly deficient in celiac as well.

  • BCsven@lemmy.ca
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    4 days ago

    I have several tattoos in various areas. Some for the early 90s some from 2016. The newer ones occasionally have a burning sensation. Not often, maybe 2 or 3 times a year, just randomly. Makes me wonder if my immune system is attacking it once in a while

  • xep@discuss.online
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    4 days ago

    Rather unsurprising if you think of tattoo ink as a foreign substance that your body doesn’t recognise as part of itself. The body will respond with inflammation, like with everything else.

  • just_another_person@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    These are some of the stupidest choices in tattoo and location I have ever seen in my life. I truly hope this is AI 🤣

  • CptOblivius@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    I biopsy a lot of lymph nodes. I like it when people have tattoos because they lymph nodes turn black from the dark ink and I know I got a good sample.