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body piercing in the context of providing routine anticipatory guidance to your ado- lescents and should educate them about safer piercing strategies to help minimize associated health risks.
Complications associated with tattoo-
ing are similar to piercing, but they are more permanent. Piercing can always be removed, but tattoos are designed to be permanent in design and color. Medical complications to tattooing are common, especially the formation of keloids, scarring that is raised and textured, and hypersensitivity due to the insertion of dyes and pigments into the skin. The tat- tooing pigment can cause chronic contact dermatitis, granulomas (nodules under the skin) and psoriasis-like eruptions. Also, any time needles are inserted into the skin there is a great risk of exposure to Hepatitis B and C, viral infections that can destroy the liver. These may be long- term complications, but remember tattoos are applied without any topical analgesic, which means depending on the site, size and amount of detailing tattooing can be an extremely painful procedure. What about the complications of tattoo
removal? If, over time, you decide this symbol of who you are or what you used to be is no longer the image you want to project, how do you remove BMs? Depending on the type of piercing, you can simply remove the jewelry, but some sites may need surgical repair. Tattoos are a different story. Their removal requires a more complex process such as: derm- abrasion, surgical excision if the tattoo is small and chemical removal — all of which are painful and cause visible scar- ring. Although new laser technology has emerged specific to tattooing pigments, it is not completely successful at removing all the evidence of a tattoo and requires
Ready, Set, Grow
Depending on the type of piercing, you can always remove the jewelry, but some sites may need surgical repair
multiple treatments. In addition to the cost, risks associated with removal are hyperpigmentation, loss of pigmentation, allergic reactions, scarring and, of course, the inability to remove the tattoos. If you or your teens are considering
BMs, now is the time to start the dialogue. Talk about what is happening in your/ their life, why you/they want them, how our culture may view them now and 20 years from now, the possible risk of infection and disease transmission. Your provider can help you with these difficult conversations and offer guidelines to help you become an informed decision-maker when it comes to safe application, BM care, body sites to consider, the long- term social implications and physical manifestations of BMs, how to recognize complications and, most importantly, when to seek help.
Jan Odiaga, DNP, CPNP, is an Assistant Professor at Rush University, College of Nursing, Chicago. She is also Program Director of the Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program.
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