According to a new study, Coloured Tattoos could be depositing toxic metals in your Lymph Nodes.
The scientists from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France have discovered that coloured tattoo’s needle can shed minuscule particles of nickel and chromium. These particles can cause allergic reactions when a particular pigment is used in the tattooing.
A particular pigment, white titanium dioxide is often used to mix with colours such as red, green and blue for colourful tattoos. It can leave people to inculcate an allergic reaction by their own tattoos.
A study in 2015 discovered that 10 percent of the 300 people surveyed experienced an adverse reaction. Redness, swelling, and rashes around the tattooed area were the most common reactions.
However, this was attributed to the ink, rather than the microscopic metal, back then.
The latest study reckons that it’s the metal that causes a bad reaction. They are also planning to do further research to discover other potential effects of these toxic metals.
“We were following up on our previous study, by trying to find the link between iron, chromium and nickel and the colouring of the inks”, said Ines Schriever, one of the authors for ESRF.
Another author, Hiram Castillo, said – “There is more to tattoos than meet the eye”.
These toxic metal particles measure in at between 50 nanometres to two micrometers long. To put that into context, two micrometers is about the same length as a bacterium cell.
Though it sounds small and harmless, nanoparticles are considered to be more harmful. They have a larger surface area per volume, which increases their potential toxicity.
