Tattoos, also known as permanent markings or designs, have played a significant role in both ancient civilizations and modern subcultures. In the past, they were part of diverse rituals and represented protection, commitment, or affiliation. Today, their meaning is more of an aesthetic nature, and they allow individuals to tell their own stories on their skin.
Over the years, regulations regarding tattoos have also evolved. With the aim of protecting users, the European Commission has decided to limit the use of potentially hazardous chemicals for human application. Despite all the restrictions and recommendations, there can still be unwanted effects after tattooing, such as infections with hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, and/or Herpes simplex viruses, inflammatory reactions, vulgar eczema, urticaria, and hyperpigmented/hypopigmented spots.
To explore the prevalence of permanent tattoos among students of the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Ljubljana and assess their knowledge of the adverse effects of tattooing, we designed an anonymous questionnaire using the 1KA platform. Through this survey, we collected sociodemographic data and information about the presence, number, location, and color of permanent tattoos, where they were obtained, factors influencing their decisions, awareness, and presence of lasting effects, as well as reasons for reconsidering tattooing.
A total of 250 students from the Faculty of Pharmacy responded to the survey, of whom 30% reported having tattoos. The most common tattoo color is black, with 75 out of 76 tattooed respondents having it.
The majority, 86% of tattooed students, got their tattoos at appropriately registered studios. Two out of 76 respondents experienced adverse effects, one having an allergy to a coloring ingredient, and the other experiencing itching, inflammation, swelling, and blisters. Among the surveyed students, 210 or 84% of those from the Faculty of Pharmacy are aware that adverse effects can occur after tattooing. Among the non-tattooed individuals, almost 20% were unaware of the potential adverse effects of tattoos, while among the tattooed respondents, only 6.5% were unaware. Ninety percent of those who are aware of the potential adverse effects recognized inflammatory reactions as a common side effect, often appearing as granulomas due to foreign bodies. Other recognized effects include hyperpigmented or hypopigmented skin spots, identified by 53% of respondents, hepatitis C (50%), and hepatitis B (47%). There was also a lesser recognition of hives or urticaria (28%) and vulgar eczema (24%), and the least recognition of Herpes simplex virus infection (17%).
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