Docs: Control tattoo business
By LAM LIJOHOR BARU: Strict controls should be introduced on tattoo and body-piercing businesses to minimise the risks of communicable diseases, including hepatitis and HIV, said the Malaysia Medical Association (MMA).
Its president, Datuk Dr N. Athimulam, said tattoo and body-piercing could lead to health risks involving mild bacterial infection, allergy reaction to the dye and to the more deadly Hepatitis B and C and HIV infection.
“Tattoo involves multiple intra-dermal injections of the skin with multiple needles connected to dispense the dye which takes seven to 10 days to heal.
“Risk of HIV infections is theoretically possible although no case has been documented in Malaysia but the risks of Hepatitis C is most worrying.
“The public should be made aware of such risks and the Health Ministry ought to introduce some guidelines for tattoo and body-piercing practitioners to follow to reduce such risks through hygiene controls,” he said.
In recent years, tattoo and body-piercing practitioners have become an increasingly popular fashion statement among the young, especially urbanites in their teens and 20s.
There are no regulations or accreditation procedures governing tattooists or body-piercing practitioners as anyone with the skill and interest can set up shop with a normal business licence.
MMA urged the Health Ministry to register such businesses and conduct regular inspections on the shops to ascertain that precautions and proper working procedures were followed.
Among the procedures suggested were using approved sterilisation methods and packing all items individually and opening them only before use.
MMA also proposed that those below 18 years old be barred from having tattoos as well as the introduction of consent restriction.
“Tattoo artists and body-piercing practitioners should be given permits to operate and if they violate any of the conditions, their businesses should be closed,” Dr Athimulam said.
In Malaysia, there were no reported cases of complications arising from unprofessional tattoo and body-piercing services but in England, the Chartered Institute of Environment Health found about 500 cases in a survey.
The survey among general practitioners revealed that complications included infections and bleeding in the damaged nerve.
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