Tattoo ink particles can spread into lymph nodes

Conclusion If you already have a tattoo, there's nothing in this study that should alarm you. It doesn't show that people with tattoos are more likely to get cancer, despite the scaremongering headlines. The researchers explain how tattoo pigments are picked up as "foreign bodies" by the body's immune system and are then stored in the skin and lymph nodes. But they can't tell us what effects this process has on our health. The researchers weren't told any medical information about the donor samples, such as any diseases they had (including cancer) or the cause of donors' deaths. The study also has other limitations. It looked at samples from a small number of people, and an even smaller number of controls. And some of the findings might not be linked to tattoos – for example, higher levels of iron in the lymph nodes might come from blood within the samples, and aluminium in armpit lymph nodes could be from antiperspirants. If you're considering getting a tattoo, it might be worth thinking about whether you want to introduce pigments that include metals into your body unnecessarily. While we don't know much about the possible effects now, harmful long-term effects can't be ruled out. As well as asking a tattoo artist about the hygiene of their tattooing equipment, it may also be worth asking them about the types of pigments they plan to use and what's in them. Titanium dioxide, for example, is known to increase inflammation and can delay healing. Links To The Head...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news