Can A Tattoo Cause Serious Health Risks? New Study Shows 1 In 10 People Suffer A Reaction!

A new study claims that getting tattoo may end up putting people at risk for long-term skin problems, swelling, bacterial infections and itchiness.

About one quarter of American adults have a tattoo, but 1 in 0 inkers are not aware of what can accompany them: a serious, ongoing skin reaction, a new study warns.

Senior investigator Dr. Marie Leger said, "We were rather alarmed at the high rate of reported chronic complications tied to getting a tattoo."

Dr. Leger is an assistant professor in the dermatology department at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.

"Given the growing popularity of tattoos, physicians, public health officials and consumers need to be aware of the risks involved," Leger said in a Langone news release.

Researchers surveyed around 300 New York City adults with tattoos, aged 18 to 69. Most of them had no more than five tattoos. The most popular tattoo site? the arm (67 percent ), according to records on WebMD.

Nearly 6 percent of the study participants experienced some sort of tattoo-related rash, severe itching, infection or swelling that at times lasted for more than four months, and in some cases the problem continued for years, according to the investigators. The longest-lasting complications arose from ink shades of red and black.

Red ink appeared to be linked with rashes more often than other colors, according to the US study.

"While we know infections are a risk of tattoos and can be dependent on tattoo parlor practices, a lot of the complications in our study - and that I have seen in my patients - do not have to do with the tattoo artist or parlor practices, but rather the qualities of ink and how the body's immune system responds to it," Dr. Marie Leger told Yahoo Health.

Dr. Marie Leger noted that those who develop problems at first usually go to the tattoo artist where they had the procedure rather than going to the doctor, which only less than a third do. That being said, there are no nationally enforced standards in the UK or mandatory courses for tattoo artists. Neither is there a reporting system to check how widespread the side effects are.

"Tattoo inks aren't very closely regulated in the United States," Leger told Live Science. The cause of tattoo problems is not clear in all cases, though there are hints for some.

"Some of the stories we got do definitely sound like tattoo allergy," Leger said. "They'll have a red tattoo, and then a few years later, they will get a new tattoo - and, all of a sudden, the new red and the old red tattoo become itchy and raised."

It's important that people who experience these symptoms see a doctor. Those who choose to have their tattoos removed, should go to someone experienced in the removal process, Leger said.

Referring to the dangerous allergic reaction that involves the closing of the throat along with an alarming drop in blood pressure, Leger said, "There have been case reports of tattoo removal in certain kinds of ways that can cause anaphylactic reactions."