Courtesy Futurity.org:
Evidence points to a premixed gray ink, the type used in currently popular portrait or photography tattoos as the cause of the rashes. The recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine documents the 19 cases in the Rochester, NY, area.
Mary Gail Mercurio, a dermatologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center, saw 18 of the 19 individuals infected. She says some people with tattoos have allergies or experience other dermatologic complications, but it’s not common.
“I’ve seen people with tattoo-related issues over the years, but never this many: The volume of patients impacted makes this a real public health concern.
“Patients and doctors need to have a certain level of suspicion when they see a rash developing in a tattoo. Many of the patients I saw thought their skin was just irritated and the issue would go away during the healing process. In actuality, they had an infection that needed to be treated with an antibiotic; it wasn’t going to go away easily on its own.”
The investigation of the outbreak, which was also highlighted in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, started with a previously healthy 20-year-old man who had a history of multiple tattoos in the past without any issues. In October 2011, he received a new tattoo on his arm and subsequently developed a persistent, inflamed rash in that area.
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Evidence points to a premixed gray ink, the type used in currently popular portrait or photography tattoos as the cause of the rashes. The recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine documents the 19 cases in the Rochester, NY, area.
Mary Gail Mercurio, a dermatologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center, saw 18 of the 19 individuals infected. She says some people with tattoos have allergies or experience other dermatologic complications, but it’s not common.
“I’ve seen people with tattoo-related issues over the years, but never this many: The volume of patients impacted makes this a real public health concern.
“Patients and doctors need to have a certain level of suspicion when they see a rash developing in a tattoo. Many of the patients I saw thought their skin was just irritated and the issue would go away during the healing process. In actuality, they had an infection that needed to be treated with an antibiotic; it wasn’t going to go away easily on its own.”
The investigation of the outbreak, which was also highlighted in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, started with a previously healthy 20-year-old man who had a history of multiple tattoos in the past without any issues. In October 2011, he received a new tattoo on his arm and subsequently developed a persistent, inflamed rash in that area.
MORE