I Hate Dialysis Message Board
Dialysis Discussion => Dialysis: General Discussion => Topic started by: rimbo74 on July 11, 2007, 12:20:21 AM
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My brother and I are having our transplant surgery in 3 weeks. I wanted to get a tattoo remembering the date and an appreciation to my brother. Question is, after transplant, can you get a tattoo?
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I couldnt say for sure , but i have one i had pre-dialysis and one i got after i started dialysis. When i went for the second one , the guy i go to was brilliant and very concerned that i did dialysis. He thought i did hemo and said a small amount of the ink would enter my blood stream , so advised against having one .When i explained i did pd he said it wouldnt be so bad. In all honesty i would wait a while, let things settle (not worth the risk!) There is plenty of time in the future for one, its something you will always remember! Make sure you find a good clean artist when you do decide, and most of all ..Good luck with the transplant !!!!
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I would ask your doctors, but my doctors told me I would have to wait a year if I ever wanted to get a tattoo.
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I have also been wondering about the answer similar to this question.
Any reason why one should not have tattoo work done while on hemo?
Any reason a tattoo would have an effect on receiving a transplant?
Why would a small amount of ink entering the blood be an issue for a hemo patient?
If a doctor tells you that you must wait a year after a tattoo for a transplant how do they know when you had the tattoo done?
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GJ ..dont know about all the questions , just my tatt said if i was on hemo , ink in the blood could alter blood test results. Trouble is , if doctors dont like tattoo's they wont encourage you to get one!
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I met a guy on a website who is a tattoo artist - he got a kidney transplant last year from another tattoo artist he met online. http://www.tattooartists.com/tattooforum/general-chat/1508-kidney-transplant-may-4th.html
You could probably go to his website and post a question on the contact page http://www.egonetattoo.com/.
As you know, you are at greater risk for infection when on immunosuppressants.
If you are on blood thinning drugs like warfarin and *maybe* something like heparin, it might be an issue. Talk with a doctor too regarding the drugs you're taking.
There is info here for hemodialysis patients, but would also apply regarding piercings and tattoos in general: http://www.kidney.org/atoz/atozItem.cfm?id=80
basically saying:
You may have an increased chance of getting hepatitis B, hepatitis C, or HIV if you:
* have sex with an infected person
* inject illegal drugs
* live with an infected person and share items such as razors and toothbrushes with the person
* have been exposed to sharp instruments contaminated with infected blood, such as needles used for tattooing, body piercing and acupuncture (these needles should be carefully cleaned and disinfected before use, or disposable needles should be used)
* have hemophilia
* are a patient or work in a home for the developmentally disabled
* your parents were born in Southeast Asia, Africa, the Amazon Basin in South America, the Pacific Islands or the Middle East.
The following steps can help to prevent exposure:
* do not inject illegal drugs
* do not share toothbrushes, razors or other personal care articles that might have infected blood on them
* follow safe sex guidelines
* if you are considering getting tattoos or body piercing, make sure the tattoo artist or piercer follows good health practices such as washing hands and using disposable gloves
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and having said that, here's a news article from last year:
Superbug Infects Tattoo Customers
Mike Stobbe, Associated Press
June 23, 2006—A worrisome superbug seen in prisoners and athletes is also showing up in people who get illegal tattoos, federal health officials said Thursday.
Forty-four tattoo customers in Ohio, Kentucky and Vermont developed skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The infections occurred in 2004 and 2005, and were traced to 13 unlicensed tattoo artists, according to an article in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
These are the first documented cases if tattoo-related MRSA infections, said Dr. Mysheika LeMaile-Williams, a CDC infectious disease investigator who co-authored the report.
MRSA is an antibiotic-resistant bacteria that fights off the body's immune system and destroys tissues. The community-associated variety, seen in the tattoo infections, has been diagnosed in otherwise healthy athletes, military recruits and prison inmates.
The skin infections can be transmitted from person to person by contact with draining sores, or through contact with contaminated items or surfaces.
MRSA generally causes mild skin infections, but in some cases has led to pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and a painful, flesh-destroying condition called necrotizing fasciitis.
Clusters of MRSA cases were seen in Ohio in June 2004, November 2004 and April 2005, involving 33 people. A four-person cluster was reported in Kentucky in May 2005 and a seven-person cluster was in Vermont in August.
Four of the patients were hospitalized, but all recovered, LeMaile-Williams said.
Ohio, Kentucky and Vermont require licensing for tattoo artists, but all the affected customers went to unlicensed artists. Instead of doing the work in tattoo parlors, the body art was done in the homes of the tattooists or the recipients, or even in public places such as a park.
The tattooists sometimes did not use masks or gloves, did not properly disinfect skin and did not properly clean the equipment. One Ohio tattooist used a homemade tattoo gun made from a computer ink-jet cartridge and guitar strings, LeMaile-Williams said.
Three of the Ohio tattooists had recently been jailed, she said. Customers sometimes seek out unlicensed tattooists because their services are less expensive, or because they are younger than 18 and cannot go to a licensed tattooist without parental consent, she said.
Several of the infected patients were under 18, she added.
The tattoo cases are not surprising, said Dr. Kate Heilpern, an Atlanta emergency room physician and Emory University researcher who has studied MRSA.
The superbug is appearing in locker rooms, homes and many other unsterile places where people are in skin-to-skin contact.
"We are still riding a big wave of this bacterial infection and I really don't see any end in sight," she said.
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George...I'm sorry if my post was unclear. My doctors said that I would have to wait a year after my transplant to get a tattoo.
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Thanks for everybody's response. Looks like I will impatiently wait for a year or two. :clap;
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In the meantime, you can entertain yourself with these -
http://www.beldecal.com/tattoo_paper.cfm
Think of the fun you could have. . . ;D
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This was a question I've been wondering about, also. I have tattoos that are many years old, and have always wanted to add more (which I never quite got around to).
I did ask another one of my kidney forums, and no one was really sure, but one person did say to keep in mind the fact that tx patients often do have skin problems somewhere along the line, and that may affect what the tattoo looks like in future. So that's worth considering also.
No one in their right mind would go to an unlicensed tattoo artist (I would hope), so all needles should be either disposable or sterile, and their other practices all clean as well. Heck, I think I'll just travel back to my home town and track down the same tattooist I went to all those years ago, I'm pretty sure he's still there. He's a good artist and he has good practices.
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Thats funny Jbeany, I may just get one of those. I'm with you cycobully, I have a sun on my back shoulder that I've been wanting to add to. I really want to get this tattoo. Both my brother and I are going to get it on our shoulders. It's a chain link - meaning unity. In the middle of one link will have the chinese symbol for older brother (my brother Paul), the other link will have the chinese symbol for younger brother (me - hee hee). Underneath the chain link will be the date of the transplant, either format - 073107, 07-31-07, 07.31.07.
I cant wait!!! :2thumbsup;
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Interesting that you say that. My husband also has a sun on his back shoulder. :)
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Then he must be a really cool guy! :2thumbsup;
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I have had two transplants and two tattoos. I got the tattoos about 15 years after the first transplant and about 6 years before the second one and am currently on the list for a third transplant. One has never affected the other. As others have mentioned, the immunosuppressant drugs can be an issue, but if you go to a licensed artist, you shouldn't have too many worries.
Cyco, what that person may have meant about the skin problems is that because your immune system is suppressed, you're more likely to develop skin cancer than someone in the general population. Also, I think some of the drugs may also make our skin look a little dried out after many years of being on them.
Anyway, rimbo, the tat that you and your brother are talking about sounds really cool! Best of luck with everything.
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Wade's hoping to get tattooed this weekend. Hes on hemo, and heparin, but was going to check with the doctor today at dialysis.
The tattoo artist who started Wade's sleeve on his forearm (not fistula arm, thank god!) is based out of upstate NY, but just so happens to be in Virginia this weekend! This is really Wade's best chance of getting his piece finished, so we're hoping it is possible! Once we get the word from his doctor, I will let you all know!
Plus, if he gets a new tattoo, I can get one too!
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Here is a computer generated picture of our tattoo that my brother and I will be getting. The links means unity, chinese symbol on the left is "Big Brother", Chinese symbol on the right is "Little Brother", and our transplant date. We are going to try and find a good artist to make the links appear metal and life like.
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rimbo, It would be cool if you guys could have the date tattooed in the common space the two links share instead of underneath it (the area that is common for both links/circles). Just a thought. Anyhow I like what you two are planning. I would defiantly have something done myself if that date were to come for me.
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Rimbo, i love that design, its great. :thumbup;
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This is an issue my wife and I discussed a lot. When I was first diagnored with ESRD, we talked about both getting tattoos after I had got "a bit better", as a sort of bonding thing.
That was ten years ago, my wife got hers, I never got around to getting mine. I guess after having been on and off of haemo for the last ten years, I don't really need anybody else sticking me with a needle. :o
I would also guess that it was probably best to avoid breaking the skin any more than I have to now that I have a working transplant. I'm not taking any risks of losing this one!
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I would also guess that it was probably best to avoid breaking the skin any more than I have to now that I have a working transplant. I'm not taking any risks of losing this one!
This was the one thing that concerned me. I still havent completely decided, but I feel that I may never get any more tattoos for this reason. I did want to get some more work, but I'm just not sure that it's the ideal choice for me. I'll have to think about it some more. And if I do, I would travel back to my home town (Mildura) and go back to the artist that did all my other work.
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That is a cool chinese symbol.
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chinese symbol on the left is "Big Brother", Chinese symbol on the right is "Little Brother", and our transplant date.
So which of you is the "big brother" and which is the "little brother"?
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Im the younger brother. My brother is 2 1/2 yr older than I am. :thumbup;
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I have a friend who i met at my dialysis center. He received his fourth kidney transplant last year. He now lives in another state. He is covered in tats from his neck to his feet. They are the most beautiful tats i have seen. He has had kidney disease since he was a kid. I met him when he was in his late twenties. From what he told me he got a tattoo when ever he felt like it. The graph he had in his arm was hard to see with all the tats. He and i were quite a pair he in his twenties and me in my fifties. He alway tried to talk me into getting one but then i didn't like needles. Now, however...
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I have a friend who i met at my dialysis center. He received his fourth kidney transplant last year. He now lives in another state. He is covered in tats from his neck to his feet. They are the most beautiful tats i have seen. He has had kidney disease since he was a kid. I met him when he was in his late twenties. From what he told me he got a tattoo when ever he felt like it. The graph he had in his arm was hard to see with all the tats. He and i were quite a pair he in his twenties and me in my fifties. He alway tried to talk me into getting one but then i didn't like needles. Now, however...
He sounds like Wade and his friends!
I've realized that it's a totally different thing - tattoos and needle pricks. I HATE needles, but can deal with getting tattooed! Go get one!
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Transplant coordinator today saw a tattoo on my arm and suggested if I had been thinking of having some work done that I should do it now, PRE-transplant. More risk with the suppressed immune system down the road and the docs will try to discourage it.
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Are transplant recipients allowed to get tattoos? I would think so, but not positive. I want to get one in rememberance of the person/life I get one from...my mom is ok with it, my boyfriend thinks its stupid I'd get one in "memory of someone I didn't even know or don't know anything about". Any advice?
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i have been wondering the same thing. i have been planing to get a tattoo for sometime. and now im scheduled for a transplant next month.
tattoo parlours are supposed to be sterile and the needles are new and must be opened in front of you. so the procedure is pretty safe.
i think the only thing to worry about is the aftercare of the tattoo, you might be prone to skin infections and you might not heal very quickly.
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When I was getting my kidney biopsy for the Hep C I got in the dialysis center, there was another guy in there getting one as a result of a tattoo.
Yes, tattoo parlors are supposed to be sterile but, then, so are dialysis centers.
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I have seen this topic before in many transplant groups. The official word from the transplant center varies, mine says not to get one. Patients who have gotten one after transplant have had no problems. It's a matter of choosing a good facility, keeping the area clean as much as possible afterwards, and something I am foorgetting.
www.transplantbuddies.org has the topic under the kidney, pancreas transplant forum if you would like to read their responces. I can post a link later of the topic. If I have 2 Internet Windows up at the sametime on this hotel pc, I'll never get anything done.
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It depends on where you get your tattoo, i wouldnt accept one from someone who comes to your house.or the neighborhood tattooist. go to a reputable tattoo parlor and watch them open a new package of sterile equipment.. Ive gotten a couple after my last transplant
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I did finally get another tattoo. The studio I chose is excellent, extremely clean and sterile. They don't even touch their chairs, lamps etc without having the handles covered with a plastic-type wrap. I kept the tattoo clean with antibacterial wash, as per their recommendation, and used after care cream to prevent any infection.
This tattoo took about 4 or 5 separate sittings, and I had no trouble at all, not a single sign of infection.
Unfortunately, I did have a nasty acne rash when these photos were taken. >:(
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v724/cycobully/IMG_1019.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v724/cycobully/IMG_1018.jpg)
Here's another one, which I got done when I was 17, back in the early 1990s.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v724/cycobully/Indian.jpg)
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My 2 tattoos: My children's names and a Sacred Heart of Jesus. God & family: not too tough. I wanted to get another one. When I got these I was unable to donate blood for 1 year. If I get another will that postpone a possible transplant? I am not even on the list yet but do not want anything to postpone me getting on the list.
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I doubt it would postpone it, because the workup to transplant is pretty intense, with a lot of screening. However, I would check this very clearly with your renal clinic before going ahead. A tattoo can wait, a transplant is far more important! :)
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Awesome Tats Cycobully and YLguy
Im so glad to see other transplant reciepents getting tattoos. i have been planning my tattoo for months now, but everyone
is against it. they think it will cause rejection. :(
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As long as you do all the right things to avoid infection, there is no reason why it would cause rejection.
I have heard differing opinions from doctors, too. All you can do is be very educated on the issue and make your own decision.
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Here is my newest tattoo...a donor awareness ribbon/butterfly
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Im so glad to see other transplant reciepents getting tattoos. i have been planning my tattoo for months now, but everyone is against it. they think it will cause rejection. :(
I had a transplant nine years ago, about three years after that I got my first tattoo, all together I've gotten seven over the years. My nephrologist urged me not to because of infection and hepatitis, but he never said no.My primary care physician doesn't mind them and neither do my other doctors. I just made sure to go to a reputable tattoo parlor and took very good care of my tattoos while they were healing. I don't think there's any real evidence that tattoos cause kidney rejection... and I really don't see how it could, you would have to get one nasty infection or something. One thing I was told by my tattoo artist is that you should try to keep tattoos above the waist because the closer to the heart the easier/faster it heals.
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I was on dialysis for about 18months an I got a monster big tat an my Dr said it was no big deal an the trans cented=r said they didnt see anything wrong wwith getting one.........so I did! I have about 9 or 10 hours in on this tat an its not done yet. So I would say ask the trans center an see what they say...........good luck!!
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I got these yesterday!