Tattoo implications

Sep 12, 2014 Editorial

There was this young man bemoaning the fact that he could not donate blood for a much need transfusion for his fiancée. The reason given to the distraught man by the medical practitioners was that he had too many tattoos about his body. Quite apart from that experience it is simply amazing that there has been no public information about the implications of tattooing from a personal health perspective.
The police have made some strides in determining that members of a certain criminal gang have tattoos emblazoned on their bodies as a means of identification. Of course there is really no way that the force could tell if someone merely has a similar emblem inscribed for some reason other than as a signal of criminality or criminal affiliation. Each tattoo has personal meaning and people sport tattoos of various shapes and shades for a variety of reasons, sometimes known only to them. Therefore caution needs to be exercised when using this particular feature for the purpose of profiling.
A look around Georgetown will show up all categories of people wearing body art on all visible parts of their bodies challenging even the most outrageous locations that can be found in North American and Europe. Of course, one would be hard pressed to guess that some of the more staid among us are indulging in this practice under their conservative attire. A 2010 Pew Research Poll found that 23 percent of Americans have a tattoo. But is there a downside to exposing body art?
Another twenty-something adult male decided to join the police force, but because of tattoos on his forearms he was rejected and told to get them removed if he was to be accepted. Now imagine an understaffed police force refusing applicants for that reason, when from empirical observation a significant percentage of the young adult population who might conceivably express an interest in joining the force wear tattoos.
A more pertinent question is what is to be done about ranks already in service who adorn themselves with visible tattoos. Surely in light of the prevailing fashion statement that body art is supposed to be making, it would be the height of folly to send them packing.
Now there are work places with dress codes which include a ban on body art and piercings which effectively places those adornments in the realm of liabilities. This is understandable, since depending on the nature of their business, and clientele served, an employment policy may reflect a deliberate decision to err on the side of caution.
In the same way that other interests argue against discriminatory practices, it might be argued that any ban on tattoos violates the constitutional right of persons to free expression etc. etc. But then again employers also have a right to a dress code which they may formulate to exclude visible tattoos, particularly if the job requires interface with the public. The best advice that can be given to someone who really must have a tattoo is to consider locating it (them) in places that can be covered during working hours. It may be argued that a talented individual should not be denied a job for a little thing like a visible tattoo, but the converse view is that there may be someone equally talented if not more so, who might be competing for that position.
Anecdotes abound about the remorse that some people suffer after being tattooed, simply because they did not think things through. With no idea of the health implications of what is essentially an invasive procedure, people later regret what turns out to be an impulsive act in the first place. The late comic-actor Rodney Dangerfield once said that he loved meeting a woman with a tattoo, because he knew that he was looking at someone who has at least one regret.
The problem is that tattoos are intended to be permanent and therefore any removal is likely to be expensive. The prospective policeman ended up with scarred forearms from surgical excision. The medical experts will have to advise on whether considering allergic reactions, skin infections, blood-borne diseases and other complications, it makes sense to attempt the removal of tattoos, or if it would be safer to leave them well enough alone.

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Tattoo implications

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