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What Is An Electronic Tattoo?
By Mircea Tampa 1, 2, † , Madalina Irina Mitran 3, 4, † , Cristina Iulia Mitran 3, 4, *, † , Clara Matei 1, † , Andreea Amuzescu 2, † , Alina Andreea Buzatu 5, *, † and Simona Roxana Georgescu 1, 2, †
Since ancient times, people have tattooed their skin for various reasons. In the past, tattoos were associated with low social status; nowadays, tattoos are very popular and are considered a form of art. However, tattoos are associated with various clinical problems, including immune reactions, inflammatory disorders, infections, and even skin cancer. Epidemiological and clinical data of infections on tattoos are scarce. Tattoo-related infections are mostly bacterial; only a few localized viral infections have been reported so far and are caused by molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV), human papillomavirus (HPV), and herpes simplex virus (HSV). In most cases, the lesions were strictly confined to the area of the tattoo. In this review, we have analysed reported cases of viral infections localized on tattoos and discussed the possible mechanisms involved in the occurrence of these infections.
Tattoos represent the introduction of exogenous pigments into the skin to obtain a permanent design [1]. In the last two decades, the prevalence of tattoos has increased significantly [2], ranging from 5 to 40% in adults [3]. Many individuals will have their first tattoo at the age of 16–20 years [4]. Throughout history, tattoos have been performed for various purposes, representing simple decorative elements, a marker of social rank, or the sign of belonging to a certain group [5]. Varying by circumstances, tattoos acquired positive valuations (heralds of distinction and spiritual devotion) and negative overtones (symbols of shame) [6]. Individuals with tattoos may experience stigma, stereotyping, and discrimination [7]. While the temptation of valuing the act of tattooing has been displayed since archaic epochs (Herodotus documents Thracians and Scythians distinguishing tattoos as emblems of nobility, while Greeks and Romans are reported to equate them with stigmata, slavery, and punitive measures) [8], the scientific evidence supporting tattoo correlation with deviant behaviour is demure [9, 10].
The Dangerous Art Of The Tattoo
Tattoos are classified as traumatic, cosmetic, or decorative and can be performed in professional settings or by amateurs [3]. Tattoos can be black or polychrome, but the black colour is predominant; in over 60% of cases, this type of ink is used. They are found in almost all areas of the human body [11]. Histological examination of the tattooed skin revealed the presence of pigment particles in the cytoplasm of various cells, such as fibroblasts and macrophages [11]. Recently, a pigment capture–release–recapture model was described in mice [12]. Macrophages loaded with pigment die after a variable period, the pigment is released, and neighbouring macrophages take it up; in this way, the long-term persistence of tattoos is possible [12, 13]. Tattooing represents an important aggression of the skin that leads to the disruption of the epidermal basement membrane and even cell necrosis [1]. Between 1–5% of those who get a tattoo experience tattoo-related skin infections [4]. Infections after tattooing can be caused by endogenous microorganisms, i.e., microorganisms that are part of the normal flora, as a result of altered skin barrier or exogenous microorganisms that enter the skin by inoculation during tattooing [14]. Epidemiological and clinical data regarding infections on tattoos are scarce. The aim of our review is to bring together data on viral infections located on tattoos and to discuss the possible mechanisms involved in the occurrence of these infections.
Throughout centuries, tattooing has served a deluge of socio-cultural functions, eliciting the perusal of anthropologists, historians, philosophers, sociologists, art critiques, or behavioural economists. Early tattoos employed homemade tools, as indicated in a detailed record of Egyptian practices of the 19th century [15]. In terms of colouring schemes, antique practice examination recounts the prevalence of dark pigments. Nonetheless, brighter colours have also been heavily used, as artefacts of ancient Egyptians and Romans demonstrate a fascination for colours, with red, blue, green, and yellow as prevalent chromatic options [16].
While tattooing is an ancient art, academic consensus over the world’s oldest tattoos was only reached in late 2015. Following archaeologists’ perusal through extensive radiocarbon dating, in which an unidentified mummy specimen belonging to the Chinchorro preceramic culture has been compared with Ötzi (a Tyrolean Iceman), the latter obtained the title of the world’s oldest tattoo remains. Discovered in 1991 at the Austrian–Italian border, the specimen had been preserved in ice for more than 5000 years, thus allowing for comprehensive scrutiny of 61 tattoo marks across his body. The body parts (wrist, legs, lower back, torso), alongside the tattoos pattern distribution, hinted at social, symbolic, and therapeutic functions [17].
What You Should Know Before You Get A Tattoo In College
In Ancient Egypt, it was a tradition employed by women, assumed to have consider it to have protective powers, as a remedy during pregnancy. Historical and ethnographic texts register women tattooing as an aid during the reproductive process, as fertility amulet, or for protection in pregnancy and birth phases [18].
Polynesian cultures alone provide a full-bodied universe for examination, with heavily infused cultural expressions and meticulous geometries. Tattoos compensated for the absence of a form of written culture, thus acting as ways of signaling ancestry, identity narratives, abilities, awards, social status, personal accomplishments, and collective experiences [19]. Thereupon, the etymology of the modern term “tattoo” stems from this cultural space, where tatatau or tattau means to hit or to strike [16].
The configuration of modern Western tattoos was shaped by colonialism, seafaring, electric tattoo machine technology, health regulations, and the consumer marketplace [20]. Academic papers and public discourse alike mention Captain James Cook as the bearer who introduced cross-cultural tattooing practices into the continent, following his 1770s Tahiti, New Zealand and the Pacific region explorations. Nonetheless, recent scrutiny of primary sources indicates the dissemination value of these voyages, rather than the acquisition of novel cultural contacts, in an attempt to demystify the absence of recorded European tattoo practices before the adventures of Captain Cook [21].
This Dude Got A Tattoo Of Baby Yoda Drinking A White Claw
The 18th and 19th century in Europe and the U.S.A. present tattoos as constitutive characteristics of marginalized communities (financially destitute or socially corrupted groups). The late 19th century captivated cultural elites into pursuing tattoos as an endeavour to signal exoticism or distinction, a short-lived frivolity [22] that ended with the democratization of the practice in 1891. Both a Navy member and a convict, Irish American Samuel O’Reilly acquired the patent number 464, 801 for the first tattooing machine [23].
These were centuries dominated by the use of contaminated ink and needles; a 19th century medical report on a syphilis outbreak in the outskirts of a naval barrack reveals the use of saliva during the process [24]. A tattoo artist of the 1950s explains this misunderstanding by referencing an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association; imported folklore misinterpreted tattooing risk factors with a syphilis cure, augmenting the confusion between the adverse and therapeutic effects of mercury-based pigments [25].
The middle of the 20th century is acknowledged as a period of tattoo renaissance, with the 1960’s counterculture relocating conventions through shifts in civil rights, public rhetoric, visual culture, corporality, subcultures, peripheral group perception, and the representation of alterity [26].
Tattoos And Permanent Makeup
Aided by the systemic shift from trade to art [9], tattoos of the 21st century are crafted in schools for tattoo artists and deliberated within aesthetic, art history, and cultural theories. The commodification of the praxis has been, in the realm of popular culture, heavily augmented by the mainstream discourse and digital content [20].
We performed a narrative review by interrogating the PubMed and Google Scholar databases with the following combinations of terms, “tattoo and infection”, “tattoo and molluscum contagiosum”, “tattoo and warts”, “tattoo and verruca”, and “tattoo and herpes simplex”. We have selected the articles presenting cases of viral infections confined to tattoos. We have excluded the cases reporting systemic infections after tattooing. After applying these criteria, we have identified 14 case reports of molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV) infection; 18 case reports, 2 reports of two cases, and 2 case series of warts; and 4 case reports
In Ancient Egypt, it was a tradition employed by women, assumed to have consider it to have protective powers, as a remedy during pregnancy. Historical and ethnographic texts register women tattooing as an aid during the reproductive process, as fertility amulet, or for protection in pregnancy and birth phases [18].
Polynesian cultures alone provide a full-bodied universe for examination, with heavily infused cultural expressions and meticulous geometries. Tattoos compensated for the absence of a form of written culture, thus acting as ways of signaling ancestry, identity narratives, abilities, awards, social status, personal accomplishments, and collective experiences [19]. Thereupon, the etymology of the modern term “tattoo” stems from this cultural space, where tatatau or tattau means to hit or to strike [16].
The configuration of modern Western tattoos was shaped by colonialism, seafaring, electric tattoo machine technology, health regulations, and the consumer marketplace [20]. Academic papers and public discourse alike mention Captain James Cook as the bearer who introduced cross-cultural tattooing practices into the continent, following his 1770s Tahiti, New Zealand and the Pacific region explorations. Nonetheless, recent scrutiny of primary sources indicates the dissemination value of these voyages, rather than the acquisition of novel cultural contacts, in an attempt to demystify the absence of recorded European tattoo practices before the adventures of Captain Cook [21].
This Dude Got A Tattoo Of Baby Yoda Drinking A White Claw
The 18th and 19th century in Europe and the U.S.A. present tattoos as constitutive characteristics of marginalized communities (financially destitute or socially corrupted groups). The late 19th century captivated cultural elites into pursuing tattoos as an endeavour to signal exoticism or distinction, a short-lived frivolity [22] that ended with the democratization of the practice in 1891. Both a Navy member and a convict, Irish American Samuel O’Reilly acquired the patent number 464, 801 for the first tattooing machine [23].
These were centuries dominated by the use of contaminated ink and needles; a 19th century medical report on a syphilis outbreak in the outskirts of a naval barrack reveals the use of saliva during the process [24]. A tattoo artist of the 1950s explains this misunderstanding by referencing an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association; imported folklore misinterpreted tattooing risk factors with a syphilis cure, augmenting the confusion between the adverse and therapeutic effects of mercury-based pigments [25].
The middle of the 20th century is acknowledged as a period of tattoo renaissance, with the 1960’s counterculture relocating conventions through shifts in civil rights, public rhetoric, visual culture, corporality, subcultures, peripheral group perception, and the representation of alterity [26].
Tattoos And Permanent Makeup
Aided by the systemic shift from trade to art [9], tattoos of the 21st century are crafted in schools for tattoo artists and deliberated within aesthetic, art history, and cultural theories. The commodification of the praxis has been, in the realm of popular culture, heavily augmented by the mainstream discourse and digital content [20].
We performed a narrative review by interrogating the PubMed and Google Scholar databases with the following combinations of terms, “tattoo and infection”, “tattoo and molluscum contagiosum”, “tattoo and warts”, “tattoo and verruca”, and “tattoo and herpes simplex”. We have selected the articles presenting cases of viral infections confined to tattoos. We have excluded the cases reporting systemic infections after tattooing. After applying these criteria, we have identified 14 case reports of molluscum contagiosum virus (MCV) infection; 18 case reports, 2 reports of two cases, and 2 case series of warts; and 4 case reports
