What is a tattoo? According to the article ‘Tattoos: Understand risks and precautions’ published in Mayo clinic.org explains it as, “A permanent mark or design made on your skin with pigments inserted through pricks into the skin's top layer. Typically, the tattoo artist uses a hand-held machine that acts much like a sewing machine, with one or more needles piercing the skin repeatedly. With every puncture, the needles insert tiny ink droplets.”

Tattoos are artful, attractive and a popular trend, especially among teens and youngsters.. The youth get inked for various reasons; but whatever the reasons maybe, it is still considered a risky practise. It is because getting inked puts one’s health open to serious risks such as allergic reactions, skin infection, bumps and granulomas, blood borne diseases like tetanus, hepatitis B and hepatitis C and even AIDS.

Once inked, the mark stays forever unless it goes through a removal setup which is extremely painful. One should think more than twice before getting inked because the scope to regret and rectify is quite low. Removal setups can deform the body part as well.

In spite of knowing all these risks if one wishes to have a tattoo, then doing it from a licensed and reputed person/firm is highly advised. The equipment used for tattooing must be fresh and sterilised. The fresh tattoo must be covered in a sterilised gauge to avoid any infections.

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