Can You Get A Tattoo While On Immunotherapy

What Are The Risks Of Getting A Tattoo

For anyone getting a tattoo the biggest risk is from dirty needles that can spread diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. Tattoo artists should always use sterile equipment and fresh needles.

Other risks include:

• Infection see below
• Allergy to pigment this is very rare but some studios do offer a patch test before a tattoo
• its possible to get tattoos removed but its expensive and can be very painful. Theres also no guarantee that a tattoo can be completely removed.
• The colour fading the pigment will naturally fade over time. To reduce initial fading avoid swimming, sunbathing, using a sunbed or doing exercise that makes you sweat for two weeks after having a tattoo. You can use a high factor sunscreen on your tattoo to help reduce fading

The tattooed area will be swollen, red and may itch but this should go away over time. You may also have some bruising to the area.

If any redness or swelling doesnt go away and you develop a high temperature or feel feverish you may have an infection. If you think you have an infection contact your GP, nearest urgent care centre or A& E as soon as possible as you may need antibiotics.

Understanding The Science Of Tattoos

Before we can discuss tattoo removal, we must first have an understanding of how tattoos permanently adhere to the skin. This involves knowing a bit about the science of your bodys immune system. It also involves understanding what is actually in tattoo ink and how it is applied.

Whats in Tattoo Ink

Tattoo ink is basically a simple solution with two parts a colorant and a carrier that moves the colorant where it is supposed to go. Most colorants are pigments created from metals, which do not require a chemical reaction to remain permanent. This is the benefit of pigments overdyes dyes need to react with the chemistry of the skin in order to keep their color.

The colorant is dissolved into a carrier, which is a fluid that is typically made from distilled water or a form of alcohol. Carriers may also contain glycerin or witch hazel. It is important to note that many manufacturers do not release proprietary ingredient blends, and some artists actually mix their inks themselves, so research is always advised before getting a tattoo.

The Dermis and Epidermis

The first two layers of skin are called the epidermis and dermis. The epidermis is the outer layer that acts as a waterproof barrier to the outside world. It protects from exposure to ultraviolet radiation, harsh weather conditions, and intruders such as bacteria and viruses. As the first line of defense, it is also the layer that takes the most damage over time.

Tattoo Ink Placement

Its All About Immune Response

Watching For Skin Cancer When You Have A Tattoo

If youve tattooed over or around existing moles, keep an eye on them. Report any color, size, or texture changes to your dermatologist. Also watch for any new moles that might pop up inside the tattoo.

Even if youre vigilant, though, dont rely solely on your own mole checks. See your dermatologist once a year or more often, especially if you have skin cancer risks like a family or personal history, light skin, and lots of past sun exposure. Your doctor has a magnifying device called a dermatoscope to look deep into your skin and see the differences between tattoo pigment and melanoma pigment that are invisible to the naked eye. If any spot looks suspicious, theyll it.

And dont forget about sun protection: A tattoo sleeve isnt clothing and it wont shield you from UV rays. Tattoo pigment is in the deeper layers of your skin. The sun damage that causes skin cancer affects the upper layers of skin, Dr. Patel explains.

Bottom line? Tattoos dont cause melanoma, but if theyre on top of moles or on highly sun-exposed areas, they could hide a melanoma. If you have a family history of skin cancer, think hard about if a tattoo is worth it, and if you decide it is, opt for a safer spot and make sure to see your dermatologist regularly.

Tattoo Popularity: Ipsos Poll. . More Americans Have Tattoos Today Than Seven Years Ago.

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Beware Of Getting A Tattoo If Your Immune System Isn’t Up To Scratch Doctors Warn

by British Medical Journal

Getting a tattoo may have some unexpected complications if your immune system isn’t up to scratch, warn doctors in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

The warning comes after they treated a woman for chronic pain in her left hip, knee and thigh some months after she had been tattooed.

She had been taking drugs to dampen down her immune system for several years after receiving a double lung transplant in 2009.

Her right leg had been tattooed several years earlier, with no ill effects, and she decided to have another on her left thigh.

Immediately after this one, she experienced mild skin irritation, which is not unusual, explain the authors. But 9 days later, she developed pain in her left knee and thigh. Her symptoms were so severe that she needed strong painkillers.

Although her symptoms eased, they were still troubling her 10 months later. So she was referred to a rheumatology clinic, where she was tested for various conditions, the results of which all came back negative.

But a biopsy of her thigh muscle revealed that she had inflammatory myopathychronic muscle inflammation. This is often accompanied by muscle weakness and pain.

In many cases, the cause of this isn’t known, and it may arise spontaneously. But in this case the doctors believe that it is likely to have been linked to the tattoo process itself, the effects of which may have been compounded by a compromised immune system.

More information:BMJ Case Reports

S Of The Tattoo Process

While on the CT simulation machine, laser beams are used to mark the treatment area with a marker.

Supplies for tattooing. The area is first cleaned with alcohol.

A drop of India ink is placed on the mark.

A needle is used to prick the top layers of the skin, getting the ink under the skin and creating the tattoo.

The small bluish dot in the center of this image is the tattoo.

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What Happens At An Appointment

Enhancing eyebrows is one on the most popular services. Permanent make-up artists are used to helping people who have all types of hair loss problems from alopecia, scarring and burns to people like you with hair loss due to cancer treatments.

In the case of creating a look for people with no eyelashes, a technician can offer definition of the eyes with eyeliner looks that can really help to enhance the eyes.

Taking eyebrows as an example, at an initial consultation they will normally discuss your requirements and pencil on a shape to get your agreement on the look you require. They will explain the procedure, costs and top up treatments needed.

It is very important to know that after the initial application the brow will look darker and more prominent than it will after a few weeks. The brow may also be red and maybe sore for a few days.

It can be painful an anesthetic cream is usually applied to help with any discomfort. After around 4 weeks the technician will normally need to top up the shape and define the look.

How Are The Tattoos Done

The tattoos are made by placing a small drop of ink on the skin and pricking the skin with a needle. The needle prick may feel like a pinch or a mosquito bite. It may be uncomfortable, but the feeling will go away. The needle does not go all the way into the skin, rather just through the first few layers of skin.

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Erythema Nodosum And Pyoderma Gangrenosum

These two skin conditions are exceedingly rare with tattoos. When they do occur, they cause lesions and are often associated with inflammatory bowel disease or other chronic conditions.

Pyoderma gangrenosum, in particular, can cause deep ulcers that are difficult to treat. Erythema nodosum tends to come and go, and gets worse when the underlying autoimmune condition is flaring up.

Because both of these conditions sometimes result after there has been trauma, like a needle prick, to the skin, it may be recommended by healthcare professionals that people who are prone to them not get tattoos.

Can You Have A Tattoo Removed While Breastfeeding

Lasers remove tattoos over several sessions by breaking down the ink in the dermal layer of your skin into smaller particles. Your immune system sweeps these broken-down particles to your liver. Your liver then filters them out of your body.

No studies have examined whether those particles can enter your milk supply and be passed to the baby. To limit the risk that the baby might ingest the particles, wait to remove your tattoos until youre no longer breastfeeding.

Given the uncertainty of the safety of tattoo removal and breastfeeding, it is unlikely that a doctor will agree to move forward with the procedure while youre breastfeeding.

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What Are The Risks

Immunotherapy holds a lot of promise as a cancer treatment. Still, it can cause some problems.

You might have a bad reaction. The area where the medication goes into your body could hurt, itch, swell, turn red, or get sore.

There are side effects. Some types of immunotherapy rev up your immune system and make you feel like you have the flu, complete with fever, chills, and fatigue. Others could cause problems like swelling, weight gain from extra fluids, heart palpitations, a stuffy head, and diarrhea. Most of the time, these ease up after your first treatment.

It can harm organs and systems. Some of these drugs can cause your immune system to attack organs like your heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, or intestines.

It isnât a quick fix. In some cases, immunotherapy takes longer to work than other treatments. Your cancer may not go away quickly.

It doesnât work for everyone. Right now, immunotherapy works for less than half the people who try it. Many people only have a partial response. This means your tumor could stop growing or get smaller, but it doesnât go away. Doctors arenât sure yet why immunotherapy helps only some people.

Your body could get used to it. Over time, immunotherapy may stop having an effect on your cancer cells. This means that even if it works at first, your tumor could start to grow again.

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Factors That Make Tattoos More Difficult To Remove

As mentioned previously, laser tattoo removal works on all tattoos, whether theyre old or new, but there are some factors that make a tattoo more difficult to remove and these will require more sessions to fade your tattoo to the point where its unnoticeable. Youll want to consider these factors before undergoing laser treatment so you understand how many sessions youll need to reach your goals. Of course, well discuss these factors with you before beginning your treatment.

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How Long Does Tattoo Removal Take

The amount of time it will take to fully remove your unwanted tattoo depends on all of the above-mentioned factors and how your skin responds to the laser treatments. No two patients are alike, so its not possible to predict how your body is going to react to laser treatment. Some people will respond quickly and only need four or five treatment sessions, while others may need as many as fifteen sessions over a couple of years.

Laser sessions for tattoo removal are spaced six to eight weeks apart, depending on how your skin responds to the laser. Some people will need more time to heal than others, so your session intervals will be determined once we see how your skin reacts to the laser. If your sessions are eight weeks apart, youll have six sessions in a years time, which is often enough to reach a patients tattoo removal goals, but not always.

Tattoo Ink Contains The Same Pigments Found In Paint And Textiles

Investigators initially planned to study what happens when laser light is used for tattoo removal, but then soon realized that very little is known about the composition of tattoo inks and so began to analyze popular brands.

Swierk and undergraduates in his laboratory interviewed tattoo artists to see what they knew about the inks they use on their customers. Although the artists could quickly identify a brand they preferred, most werent familiar with the actual content of the ink.

Surprisingly, no dye shop makes pigment specific for tattoo ink, Swierk said in a release. Big companies manufacture pigments for everything, such as paint and textiles. These same pigments are used in tattoo inks, he said, adding that no federal or local agency regulates the contents of the inks themselves.

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Why Get A Tattoo

Why do so many breast cancer survivors want a tattoo?

First, many women feel empowered by the tattoos they receive following their cancer treatment. Tattoos can give women a sense of control over their bodies by masking mastectomy scars or mimicking the look of nipples. Women might also get tattoos to commemorate their breast cancer journey.

Are Tattoos Safe for Breast Cancer Survivors?

Ultimately, a breast cancer survivors decision to get a tattoo is one of personal significance and is best left to the survivor.

Before you take the plunge, however, consider the risks tattoos can pose to breast cancer survivors. While tattoos pose general health and safety risks to all who get them, breast cancer survivors may be at a slightly higher risk than the general population.

Infection is the most prevalent risk associated with tattoos. Because tattoo inking involves continuous skin puncturing and ink injection, unsanitary equipment can cause prolonged redness and swelling paired with a fever. If you experience any of these symptoms after your tattoo appointment, contact your doctor immediately.

Our Breast Cancer Care

The Regional Cancer Care Associates team hopes this guide will help you reach a sound decision about whether you, as a breast cancer survivor, should get a tattoo. If you still have questions about tattoos, stop by one of our locations to speak with a member of our staff today to help you reach a conclusion with confidence.

Thinking About Tattoos And Cancer

Hester Hill Schnipper, LICSW, OSW-CProgram Manager Emeritus, Oncology, Social Work

Probably tattoos and cancer are not an obvious pairing for most people, but, for those in the know, there are a number of connections. Probably the most common are the tiny dot tattoos that are inked during the planning session before radiation therapy. We are advised not to later have them lasered/removed as they provide a permanent map of the radiation field. As you likely know, it is dangerous to have radiation to the same spot more than once, so this is important. Radiation tattoos are so small that, if you have any freckles or moles or any shade darker than lily white skin, they are practically invisible anyway.

I have heard a few sweet stories of women noting another woman’s chest tattoos and bonding over their shared radiation experience. It is unlikely that anyone without a matching set would notice or recognize them, so you can consider it your badge of a special club.

“Normal” tattoos are also sometimes a cancer accompaniment. Many of us collect scars as part of our cancer treatment, generally from surgery. They come in all shapes and sizes and can be anywhere on our bodies. Some people are able to view them as symbols of their courage and experience while others would prefer to camouflage them. Do you know the line from the Carly Simon song: It takes a very big man to love a very big scar. I love those words and my man who fits the description.

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Process May Be Associated With Severe Muscle Pain

Date:

BMJ

Summary:

Getting a tattoo may have some unexpected complications if your immune system isn’t up to scratch, warn doctors in a new article.

Getting a tattoo may have some unexpected complications if your immune system isn’t up to scratch, warn doctors in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

The warning comes after they treated a woman for chronic pain in her left hip, knee and thigh some months after she had been tattooed.

She had been taking drugs to dampen down her immune system for several years after receiving a double lung transplant in 2009.

Her right leg had been tattooed several years earlier, with no ill effects, and she decided to have another on her left thigh.

Immediately after this one, she experienced mild skin irritation, which is not unusual, explain the authors. But 9 days later, she developed pain in her left knee and thigh. Her symptoms were so severe that she needed strong painkillers.

Although her symptoms eased, they were still troubling her 10 months later. So she was referred to a rheumatology clinic, where she was tested for various conditions, the results of which all came back negative.

But a biopsy of her thigh muscle revealed that she had inflammatory myopathy — chronic muscle inflammation. This is often accompanied by muscle weakness and pain.

The woman was given physiotherapy to strengthen her thigh muscles, and one year after the start of her symptoms, she began to improve. And after three years, she was pain free.

Story Source:

Older Black And White Vs Color Tattoos

If your older tattoos are in black and white instead of color, youre also going to have an easier time removing them. This is because dark colors absorb light more readily, so the laser will be more effective on black, dark blue, dark brown, and gray colors. If those colors are already partially degraded from sun exposure and body rejection, theyre going to require even fewer sessions than full-color tattoos, even those that are older.

Moreover, if your tattoo is a single color, regardless of what that color is, itll probably be easier to remove than if you have many colors involved in the tattoo. The reason for this is that single colors require just one specific wavelength to target the ink rather than multiple wavelengths, which have to be administered over multiple sessions. For example, during one session, the reds will be targeted and in the next session, it will be the blues.

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