Culture
Tattooed New Yorkers Report All Kinds of Nasty Skin Conditions
Researchers say going under the needle can sometimes mean rashes that last for months.
Folks in New York who’ve gotten tattooed sometimes receive a little something extra—a “rash, severe itching or swelling that lasted longer than four months and, in some cases, for many years,” according to researchers.
Up to 6 percent of the city’s inked populace has incurred an irritating medical condition linked to tattoos, say NYU physician Marie Leger and others in Contact Dermatitis. The most-protracted conditions seem to strike those who get injected with certain colors; 44 percent of people reported chronic skin conditions from red ink, 25 percent from black. These numbers come from a survey Leger’s team did in 2013 of about 300 random people in Central Park.