{"id":3529,"date":"2012-10-24T07:23:41","date_gmt":"2012-10-24T11:23:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/?p=3529"},"modified":"2012-10-24T07:23:41","modified_gmt":"2012-10-24T11:23:41","slug":"answering-parent-medical-concerns-regarding-tattoos-and-piercing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/10\/answering-parent-medical-concerns-regarding-tattoos-and-piercing.html","title":{"rendered":"Answering Parent Medical Concerns Regarding Tattoos and Piercing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.freedigitalphotos.net\/images\/agree-terms.php?id=10062411\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-3530\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2012\/10\/teen-tattoo.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"267\" height=\"400\" \/><\/a>With so many teens wanting tattoos and piercings, many parents have asked about medical issues involved. Medical concerns should factor in to any decision.<\/p>\n<p>In this blog, I am not dealing with should a teen tattoo or pierce. That is the subject of another blog.<\/p>\n<p><strong>This is not \u00a0an endorsement of these procedures,<\/strong> but a response to the many comments I received regarding medical concerns. I am in no way advocating a position, but I also don&#8217;t want to put my head in the sand when parents ask for help. My intention here is to help parents who may be dealing with a teen who wants to tattoo or body pierce, or who has recently done either. Apart from how you feel about these procedures, parents and teens need to be informed regarding medical issues.<\/p>\n<p>Because I am affiliated with a medical school, I was able to take this \u00a0information from a newsletter I received from the Children\u2019s Hospital of the King\u2019s Daughter. Pediatrician, Dr. Bolduc, provides this information for parents concerned about tattoos and piercings. Here is a summary of Dr. Bolduc\u2019s remarks. He practices with Children\u2019s Hospital of the King\u2019s Daughters Medical Group in Newport News, Virginia:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tattoos can put your child at risk for contracting diseases such as HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis. Risk is decreased if the shop is clean, safe and professional.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tattoos can bring on skin infections such as impetigo, dermatitis and possibly an allergic reaction to the tattoo pigment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Risks associated with piercing involve: chronic infections, prolonged bleeding, scarring, hepatitis B and C, tetanus, HIV, skin allergies, abscesses or boils, irreversible holes, chipped or broken teeth, choking and speech impediment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Piercing a tongue can breed bacteria.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Eyebrow skin is extremely sensitive and thin.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cartilage at the end of the nose can wither away because blood can\u2019t get to it properly when the nose is pierced.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ear lobes are usually OK to pierce medically they are made of fatty tissue that allows for good blood supply after the piercing. This helps ward off infections.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Piercing shops should use an autoclave to clean needles and instruments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Shops should use single service equipment\u2013all needles and tubes are individually packaged, dated, sealed and autoclaved.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The person who tattoos should use guidelines created by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for the handling of body fluids.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The person doing the tattoo or piercing should wear gloves.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t pick or tug on the area of piercing or tattoo. Clean with soap not alcohol.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tattoos are sensitive to sun and need sunscreen protection of SPF 30 to protect.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A new tattoo needs to be dressed like an open wound with antibiotic cream for several days.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Along with your feelings and beliefs about tattoos and piercings, parents should also discuss these medical concerns involved. This information is not typically discussed, but can impact health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With so many teens wanting tattoos and piercings, many parents have asked about medical issues involved. Medical concerns should factor in to any decision. In this blog, I am not dealing with should a teen tattoo or pierce. That is the subject of another blog. This is not \u00a0an endorsement of these procedures, but a&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[914],"tags":[1767,644,1769,1765,1768,1766,1764,1763,51],"class_list":["post-3529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-relationships-2","tag-body-piercing","tag-family-relationships","tag-health-and-tattoos","tag-medical-concerns-of-tattoos-and-piercings","tag-parents-and-teens","tag-pediatricians-and-tattoos","tag-piercings","tag-tattoos","tag-teens"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Answering Parent Medical Concerns Regarding Tattoos and Piercing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/10\/answering-parent-medical-concerns-regarding-tattoos-and-piercing.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Answering Parent Medical Concerns Regarding Tattoos and Piercing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With so many teens wanting tattoos and piercings, many parents have asked about medical issues involved. Medical concerns should factor in to any decision. In this blog, I am not dealing with should a teen tattoo or pierce. That is the subject of another blog. This is not \u00a0an endorsement of these procedures, but a&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/10\/answering-parent-medical-concerns-regarding-tattoos-and-piercing.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-10-24T11:23:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2012\/10\/teen-tattoo.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Answering Parent Medical Concerns Regarding Tattoos and Piercing","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2012\/10\/answering-parent-medical-concerns-regarding-tattoos-and-piercing.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Answering Parent Medical Concerns Regarding Tattoos and Piercing","og_description":"With so many teens wanting tattoos and piercings, many parents have asked about medical issues involved. Medical concerns should factor in to any decision. In this blog, I am not dealing with should a teen tattoo or pierce. That is the subject of another blog. 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Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. Check out her latest book Hope and Healing for Anxiety, a whole-person approach to eliminate anxiety. .","sameAs":["https:\/\/drlindamintle.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/x.com\/drlindamintle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/author\/lmintle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3529"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3535,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3529\/revisions\/3535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}