My friends want me to tattoo my body but I am very worried because of the rumours about it causing blood and skin cancer. Kindly help me to clarify this.
James (by SMS)
Tattoos can be strikingly beautiful forms of art, and they are increasingly popular. Beyond adorning the body on a permanent basis, tattoos can also provide a meaningful way of commemorating important life events, or they can be symbols of mental and emotional healing. However, some questions remain around the potential health implications of getting a tattoo, and recently, researchers have been homing in on the ways in which tattooing could affect a person’s physical health in the long run.
Some research has found a link between tattoos and an increased risk of cancer, and recent evidence appears to suggest that tattoos could heighten the risk of blood cancer, in particular. One study, published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology at the start of July 2024, tested samples of 75 tattoo and permanent makeup inks commonly used in the United States, and found that 26 of these were contaminated with infection-causing bacteria. These included Staphylococcus epidermidisTrusted Source, an infection that can cause severe health complications, and Cutibacterium acnesTrusted Source, which causes acne. More worryingly, a study from Lund University, in Sweden, which appeared in the journal eClinical Medicine the previous month, found that any-size tattoo was linked to a 21% higher link of lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.
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