Body Tattoos.. How Do They Affect Your Immunity and Health? Discover the Hidden Shocks

Types of Inks and Pigments Designed for Industrial Use

                                  

Body Tattoos: How Do They Affect Your Immunity and Health? Discover the Hidden Shocks

From small designs on the wrist to full-body tattoos covering the arm or body, tattoos have become a common form of self-expression in many societies and cultures. However, what is not visible to the naked eye is what happens inside the body after the tattoo ink is injected, specifically how the immune system reacts to it.

While many sources consider tattoos generally safe, a growing body of scientific research indicates that tattoo inks are not as biologically inert as previously thought and may affect the immune system in ways that are still being studied.

Tattoo ink consists of a mixture of pigments that provide color, liquid carriers, preservatives that prevent bacterial growth, and trace amounts of impurities. Interestingly, many of these pigments were originally designed for industrial uses, such as car paint, plastics, and printing inks, not for injection into the human body. 

Some inks contain traces of heavy metals such as nickel, chromium, cobalt, and sometimes lead. These metals are known to trigger allergies and affect the immune system with prolonged exposure.

Some inks also contain organic compounds such as azo dyes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Laboratory studies indicate that these substances may break down, through prolonged sun exposure or during laser tattoo removal, into compounds suspected of being linked to genetic damage or cancer.

What happens to the ink inside the body?

When getting a tattoo, the ink is injected into the dermis layer beneath the skin. The immune system treats the ink particles as foreign substances, and immune cells attempt to eliminate them. However, the size of these particles prevents their complete removal, so they become trapped within skin cells, giving the tattoo its permanent appearance.

Studies have shown that the ink doesn't remain confined to the skin. Its particles can travel through the lymphatic system and settle in the lymph nodes, which are key centers for regulating the immune response. The long-term health effects of ink accumulation in these nodes are still unclear.

A recent study suggests that some tattoo inks may affect the immune system, causing inflammation and potentially reducing the effectiveness of certain vaccines under certain conditions. Researchers found that immune cells in the skin absorb the ink, and when these cells die, they release signals that keep the immune system activated, potentially leading to inflammation in the lymph nodes that can last for weeks.

The study also noted that the presence of tattoo ink at the injection site altered the immune response to certain vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine. This does not mean that tattoos make vaccines unsafe, but rather that tattoo inks may interfere with the chemical signals the immune system uses to regulate its response.

Long-Term Risks

To date, there is no strong epidemiological evidence directly linking tattoos to cancer in humans. However, laboratory and animal studies suggest that some tattoo inks may break down over time or with ultraviolet light, producing toxic or potentially carcinogenic compounds.

Allergies and chronic inflammation remain among the most documented complications, especially with red inks, which have been linked to persistent itching, swelling, and the formation of inflammatory nodules that may appear months or even years after the tattoo.

Like any procedure that penetrates the skin, tattooing carries a risk of infection if proper sterilization is not maintained. This includes bacterial infections such as staphylococcus or viral infections such as hepatitis, although this is rare in centers that adhere to strict health standards.

One of the main problems lies in the weak regulation of tattoo inks in many countries. They are not subject to the same stringent standards applied to medical or cosmetic products, and manufacturers are not always required to fully disclose their ingredients.