Contents:
- Medical Video: Tattoo ink toxic: Study finds tattoo ink may leave particles that affect lymph nodes - TomoNews
- How to make a permanent tattoo?
- Where are tattoo ink spread?
- Can all types of tattoo ink enter the lymph nodes?
- So, is tattoo ink dangerous?
Medical Video: Tattoo ink toxic: Study finds tattoo ink may leave particles that affect lymph nodes - TomoNews
A courageous soul and strong determination are needed to get a permanent tattoo. Most people may spend their time thinking about what designs will be used as tattoos on their bodies, but only a few people think about what will happen to tattoo ink when injected into their skin.
Actually, scientists are still investigating this. Why can tattoo ink survive under the skin? Will the ink go deeper into the body? Find out what the experts say below, yes.
How to make a permanent tattoo?
To make a permanent tattoo, a tattoo artist uses a small needle that pierces the skin at a frequency of 50-3,000 times per minute. Syringes penetrate the skin through the epidermis to the dermis layer and leave color pigments in the entire area. The dermis consists of collagen fibers, nerves, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, blood vessels, and various other components that keep the skin connected to other body parts.
Every time the needle pierces the skin, the puncture causes injury to the skin and causes the body to begin an inflammatory process which is the method of the skin to deal with the danger. Immune system cells will arrive at the wound site and begin to repair the skin. These immune system cells make tattoos permanent on your skin.
Where are tattoo ink spread?
Most pigment tattoo ink stays on the skin after someone is tattooed. Ink that is not cleaned by immune system cells, called macrophages, will remain in the dermis layer of the skin, so that tattoo designs can be seen on the person's skin.
Researchers say that usually tattoo ink will not move too far from the injection site. However, there are still some ink that can move to other parts of the body, especially the lymph glands. In a study published in Journal of Scientific Reports, it was proven that tattooed people could develop lymph nodes and found tattoo ink pigments in their lymph nodes.
Can all types of tattoo ink enter the lymph nodes?
To investigate the side effects of the spread of tattoo ink pigments, the researchers used several different tests to analyze the form of ink that could enter the lymph nodes and the damage that the pigment might cause. The experts found that nanoparticles or particles that are less than 100 nanometers in size are most likely to move and enter the lymph nodes.
The study found that carbon black, which is one of the most commonly used ingredients in tattoo ink, seems to easily break down into nanoparticles and end up in lymph nodes. They also found titanium dioxide (TiO)2), which is a common ingredient in white pigments which is usually combined with other colors to create certain nuances in the lymph nodes. This type of ink does not seem to break into particles as small as black carbon, but some larger titanium dioxide particles can still be detected in the lymph nodes in the study.
So, is tattoo ink dangerous?
Researchers found that some potentially toxic heavy metals derived from tattoo ink also entered the lymph nodes. They detected particles of cobalt, nickel and chromium in the lymph nodes. Heavy metals are usually added to tattoo ink as preservatives.
Other studies have shown that tattoo ink pigments can move elsewhere in the body, besides lymph nodes. A 2007 study with experimental mice tattooed on the back found that tattoo ink pigments were also found in liver cells. The ink pigment is detected in a special cell in the liver that functions as a purifier of toxic substances, called Kupffer cells.
However, the study cannot ensure that humans who are tattooed will cause pigments in their hearts. This is because mouse skin is thinner than human skin, causing pigments to tend to be more likely to enter the bloodstream.
Researchers say, even though we know that tattoo ink can be stored in the lymph nodes and liver, it is not yet known whether it will cause a certain danger to the body. So far, evidence shows that these pigment deposits can cause enlarged lymph nodes and blood clots. However, long-term research is still needed in humans to know exactly the effects of tattoos on the human body.
