Homemade tattoos - The dangers and consequences

Its happening more and more everyday - people are doing their own tattoos.

These tattoos are being done in several different places:

• Prisons
• Homes
• Cars
• On the street

These non-professional tattoos - known as stick and poke or hand poke tattoos - are done with a sewing needle, thread and India ink.

The thread is wrapped around the needle, dipped in the ink and poked into the skin, one dot at a time. The tattoos often take a painstakingly long time to complete because of the simple tools involved, and therefore are quite basic. (A professional tattoo artist will use an electric gun that has several needles.) Dr. Lisa Kellett, a Toronto-based general and cosmetic dermatologist, said she's removed a significant number of "amateur tattoos" from people between the ages of 15 and 78. She states that the immediate health risk isinfection and the second is traumatizing the skin. Also infected needles can transfer HIV and hepatitis.

These infections can be spread in several ways in an unprofessional standing:

Using unsterilized needles

Not using gloves while performing the tattoo

Dirty environment

While the health risks are real, so are the consequences. It takes one treatment to get the tattoo, but several to have it removed. Many people who give homemade tattoos think sterilizing the tools with alcohol will do the trick. In fact, professional tattoo artists use autoclaves, which clean equipment using a combination of heat and steam. The fact that many hand poke tattoos are done under the influence could change opinions the mainstream public has about tattoos. It's only in the last decade that professional tattoo artists have become more accepted.

http://www.examiner.com/article/homemade-tattoos-the-dangers-and-consequences