A cystic fibrosis patient was left in chronic pain after getting a tattoo because of her compromised immune system.<\/p>\n
The woman, from Scotland, had a large coloured ink tattoo on her left thigh in 2015 – but developed chronic pain within months.<\/p>\n
Doctors today called for people with weak immune systems to steer clear of getting a tattoo because of the landmark case.<\/p>\n
The unidentified 31-year-old’s reaction to her inking is believed to be the first ever recorded case of inflammatory myopathy.<\/p>\n
Medics at the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde published the unusual tale in the British Medical Journal Case Reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The woman, from Scotland, had a large coloured ink tattoo on her left thigh in 2015 – but developed chronic pain within months<\/p>\n
They wrote: ‘To our knowledge, there have been no previously reported cases of tattoo-associated reactions causing an inflammatory myopathy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘This is a unique adverse reaction following a tattoo, and given the increasing popularity of inking, it should remain an important point for medical professionals to consider during a consultation.<\/p>\n
‘Doctors should counsel immunosuppressed patients appropriately at an early stage of the dangers relating to tattoos.<\/p>\n
‘Patients have a responsibility to consider carefully the decision whether to undergo the tattoo, and if so, to time this appropriately such as a time when on minimal immunosuppression.’\u00a0<\/p>\n
Developing type 2 diabetes in middle age may be an early…<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Could YOU recognize the signs of OCD? Mental health…<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Did England listen to Rihanna before winning their first…<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Comfort eating is caused by stress at the dinner table in…<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n The unnamed woman\u00a0with cystic fibrosis had a large coloured ink tattoo on her left thigh in 2015, doctors led by William Wilson wrote.<\/p>\n But within months she began to get chronic pain in her left hip, knee and thigh but doctors were initially puzzled what was causing it.<\/p>\n Complications from a ‘bad tattoo’ are quite common, ranging from minor skin irritation to severe infection causing death.<\/p>\n The woman had been taking drugs to dampen down her immune system for several years after receiving a double lung transplant in 2009.<\/p>\n An MRI scan shows a section of her left distal thigh\/knee showing extensive oedema (watery fluid) within her vastus medialis – a muscle in the thigh that extends the knee<\/p>\n An MRI scans shows a section of\u00a0 her left distal thigh\/knee showing extensive oedema within vastus medialis and effusion within the knee joint<\/p>\n Several years before that she had a tattoo on her right leg without any side effects, so decided to have one on her left leg too.<\/p>\n Immediately she experienced mild skin irritation, which is not unusual. But nine days later, she developed severe pain in her left knee and thigh.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although her symptoms eased after she was given strong painkillers, they were still troubling her 10 months later, so she was referred to a rheumatology clinic.<\/p>\n Tests came back negative – until a biopsy of her thigh muscle revealed that she had inflammatory myopathy, or chronic muscle inflammation.<\/p>\n It often results in muscle weakness and pain, and often the cause is unknown.<\/p>\n Doctors concluded the woman’s reaction was likely to be linked to getting the tattoo and her compromised immune system, although there was no definite proof.<\/p>\n She had a period of physiotherapy for basic quadriceps strengthening exercises and one year after the onset of her symptoms, her condition started to improve.<\/p>\n Three years later, she is pain free and back to her normal activities, Mr Wilson and his colleagues wrote in the journal.<\/p>\n Experts said doctors should advise patients with a weakened immune system of the risks of getting an inking.\u00a0<\/p>\n An MRI scan of her left distal thigh\/knee shows a build-up of oedema in her vastus medialis<\/p>\n The prevalence of tattoos has been increasing, as has the incidence of associated complications.<\/p>\n Writing in the BMJ Case Reports, William Wilson, of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: ‘These have been well documented and can be local or systemic infections as well as variety of skin reactions.<\/p>\n ‘To our knowledge, there have been no previously reported cases of tattoo-associated reactions causing an inflammatory myopathy.<\/p>\n ‘This could be a rare occurrence or represent an under-diagnosis for patients presenting with similar symptoms having had tattoos.<\/p>\n ‘Inflammatory myopathies are a group of diseases that involve chronic muscle inflammation, which can lead to pain and muscle weakness.’<\/p>\n He added that it is ‘well recognised ‘that adverse tattoo reactions can arise from the type of ink or colouring agent used.<\/p>\n Most commonly issues are seen with red ink. But there was a variety of coloured ink used in the woman’s tattoo, which may explain her reaction.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mr Wilson said: ‘The prevalence of tattoos has been increasing, as has the incidence of associated complications.<\/p>\n ‘These have been well documented and can be local or systemic infections as well as variety of skin reactions.<\/p>\n ‘To our knowledge, there have been no previously reported cases of tattoo-associated reactions causing an inflammatory myopathy.<\/p>\n ‘This could be a rare occurrence or represent an under-diagnosis for patients presenting with similar symptoms having had tattoos.<\/p>\n ‘Inflammatory myopathies are a group of diseases that involve chronic muscle inflammation, which can lead to pain and muscle weakness.’<\/p>\n He added that it is ‘well recognised ‘that adverse tattoo reactions can arise from the type of ink or colouring agent used.<\/p>\n Most commonly issues are seen with red ink. But there was a variety of coloured ink used in the woman’s tattoo, which may explain her reaction.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mr Wilson said: ‘The tattoo industry has no regulated or professional body to enhance standards across the UK.<\/p>\n ‘And there have been cases of black ink being diluted to grey ink with non-sterile tap water, causing infection.<\/p>\n ‘In this case, the tattoo application by an unregulated parlour, combined with the patient’s immune suppression could have resulted in the adverse reaction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A cystic fibrosis patient was left in chronic pain after getting a tattoo because of her compromised immune system. The woman, from Scotland, had a large coloured ink tattoo on her left thigh in 2015 – but developed chronic pain within months. Doctors today called for people with weak immune systems to steer clear of Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-220739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220739\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/healthmedicinet.com\/i\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nHOW CAN A TATTOO LEAD TO CHRONIC PAIN?\u00a0<\/h3>\n