Thinking about getting a tattoo? New research might change your mind
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Sealed bottles of tattoo and permanent makeup ink, including some marked as sterile, contained millions of potentially dangerous bacteria, according to new research by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Editor's note: Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the maximum bacterial count found in earlier studies by the FDA.
Sealed bottles of tattoo and permanent makeup ink, including some marked as sterile, contained millions of potentially dangerous bacteria, according to new research by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“In light of our study results, we want to emphasize the importance of continuously monitoring these products to ensure the microbial safety of tattoo inks,” said Seong-Jae (Peter) Kim, a microbiologist staff fellow at the FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson, Ark., in a statement. Kim is corresponding author of the July 2 report published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
Because the ink is injected deep into the skin where some bacteria can thrive, contaminated tattoo ink can cause infections and serious injuries, said study coauthor Linda Katz, the director of the FDA’s Office of Cosmetics and Colors.
“Pathogens or other harmful substances in these inks can travel from the injection site through the blood and lymphatic systems to other parts of the body,” Katz said in an email.
When systemic spread occurs, bacteria can cause life-threatening complications such as endocarditis, a potentially deadly inflammation of the heart lining, or septic shock, which is the last and most severe stage of sepsis, the body’s extreme response to an infection that can result in multi-organ failure, Katz said.
If not quickly treated, “sepsis can rapidly lead to tissue damage, organ failure and death,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
