It’s often a great interest for many to get inked on their body. Tattoos, as people term it, is quite an art in itself and getting a dose of that art close up to the body, how could anybody not be interested in? No doubt, why the popularity soared such high for tattoos. But hold on, is everything as sunny and bright as it seems.

Not that it is. Tattoos are worth getting inked for but only when you have control over your body and in a good steady condition. Getting inked while suffering from diabetes or any other medical complications would cause enough harm for you.

We here would deal with the relation between tattoo and diabetes in our today’s column. We’d further seek answers as to whether getting a tattoo is safe for diabetic patients. So off we go for ‘Diabetes and Tattoos: Is it Safe for Diabetics to get Tattooed?

How does tattoo affect a diabetic patient?

Getting a tattoo isn’t wrong on its own. It’s more about the after effects and the healing process that affects a diabetic patient while getting a tattoo. A diabetic patient should be known to the disease management issue and should possess a sound control over the blood sugar and glucose levels.

If a diabetic patient without having proper control over their condition seeks to have a tattoo, the healing process and more can cause dangerous consequences for the person.

The risk factors involved with tattoos

There are quite a few risks to be fair with getting inked for diabetic patients. On a general note, the infection and complications are what affects a diabetic patient after undergoing through the needle. Going up, more cases like an allergic reaction, skin relation infections like keloids and more surface with it. Another major risk is the slow or non-healing of wounds after getting tattoos.

As often, diabetic patients can’t get their wounds healed quick enough which further causes infections and other diseases. It generally occurs in the high blood sugar levels that the wounds heal slow and late and cause gangrene or heart disease in the long run.

Read Also: Diabetes Skin Problems, Symptoms & Conditions

How to find whether a Diabetic is in control of the body?

A simple yet conventional method that pops up in the head is a blood test. We’ve often heard of the blood test thing being a common precursor for diabetic patients and the same can be said here. The resultant blood test would help seek the Hemoglobin A1C levels in the body.

As of norm, if the last test of the diabetic patient in A1C show results as under 8%, then the patient is good to go for tattoos. Although keep in mind to have your heart, kidney, and neurological functioning at the optimum levels too. Match that, and you can get yourself inked with any form of tattoo you want. Just be sure to keep your blood sugar levels in check.

Precautions needed while getting Tattoo

Here are a few things that you need to take care of beforehand while opting for tattoos. That way, you would be on the safe side of things.

• Before getting yourself inked, do convey your health status to the tattoo artist and let him be aware of your diabetic condition. The artist shall offer proper advice to you whether you should go for the ink or not.
• If the tattoo you’ve wanted is large and big, then do check the pulsation and sensation of that specific area of the body.
• Always have a stable blood sugar and glucose levels while going for tattoos as the long overdue procedure of getting inked can cause low blood sugar levels for the time being.
• As of the opposite, there are also cases where the blood sugar and glucose levels rise up as a result of painful tattoo application procedure. There’s not much to worry about it, as it will go down on its own the very next day.

Specific body areas to get tattooed on

Well, let’s put it this way. You have your blood sugar levels at the optimum and have control over your disease management. And you also have the urge to get tattooed. So is there anything more that you should know about. Apparently, there is. A careful positioning of the tattoo is a must for you.

Just to stay away from any complications down the line, it’s better to select the location beforehand. Always consult your tattoo artist and the physician before getting inked. A better advice would be to avoid getting tattoos on the poor circulation areas like ankles, feet, buttocks, shin and more. Also, it’s better to avoid the area where injections are commonly thrust upon like arms, thighs, and abdomen.

Get the location or the tattoo placement right and your tattoo wound would heal quickly with time.

What does the future speak of?

You didn’t expect this one, did you? Nevertheless, here’s a glimpse of the future for you. Scientists on their behalf have been developing the breed of special tattoos that would offer to monitor of glucose levels in the diabetic patients. That way, you can get yourself inked without any fear.

As per the research, scientist has been using nanotubes wrapped along in polymer that’s glucose sensitive to help create a blood sugar readable ink. The ink can be read with the aid of a hand held device and offer accurate readings of the same.

Is it safe for diabetics to get tattooed?

The main point is that can diabetics get tattoos safely? – Going through all these, we can assume that it’s not all dull and gloomy for diabetic patients when it comes to getting a tattoo. You can get our body inked with your liking of the tattoo if you’ve got proper control over your body. Just make sure, your blood sugar levels and all are at the optimum and you can be good to go.

There are cases arising where the tattoo wounds heal late when the blood sugar levels are quite high. So keep them in check, and there would not be much to fear off.