Hepatitis and Inking

What Is Hepatitis?

Hepatitis is a highly infectious blood borne virus that attacks the liver and renders it unable to function. The virus comes in many strains designated from type A to type E, but it is hepatitis B and C that are the most direct risks to anyone involved with tattoos.

Once infected, the type B virus takes an average of 120 days to incubate before it can be detected, while hepatitis C tends to incubate at a quicker rate, usually about 45 days on average.

Hepatitis and Inking

For the purpose of this article, hepatitis and inking will be our main focus, but this deadly virus affects far more people than just tattoo devotees. Doctors, dentists, lab technicians, and a host of other medical personal all run the risk of exposure to one of the many forms of hepatitis. IV drug users run a higher than average risk of contracting the disease as well, especially if they share needles with other users.

Considering the fact that any form of hepatitis causes the eventual loss of all liver function, resulting in death, there is certainly no way you can be too careful about avoiding exposure to this disease.

How Is Hepatitis Transmitted?

According to the Center for Disease Control, commercial tattoo shops have the potential to spread the hepatitis virus, but there are no current studies to show how likely this is to occur. Because hepatitis is transmitted through blood and other bodily fluids, it can easily be passed from one person to the next through the use of contaminated tattoo guns, machines, needles, table surfaces, and even transmitted directly by an infected tattoo artist.

Hepatitis can also be transferred by using the same cap of ink from one client to the next, and that is why tattoo ink must be discarded after a single client use. This is definitely one area where it does not pay to economize.

It may also startle you to learn that the hepatitis virus can remain alive and active on tattoo equipment and other surfaces for up to two months. Just imagine the number of people who could potentially become infected by just one careless artist/shop.

Interesting Facts

• Persons infected with hepatitis are ineligible to donate organs, blood or tissues.
• Anyone receiving a tattoo is not allowed to donate blood for six months afterward, and should be tested for the virus prior to donating.

Proper Sanitation/Sterilization

Sanitation and sterilization practices must be impeccable to prevent the spread of hepatitis, as well as other blood borne diseases such as HIV and tetanus.

Step One

The first step in the preparation to ink a tattoo should consist of:

• Sterilizing the work area with a strong disinfectant. Once disinfected, the work surface should then be covered with fresh paper or plastic sheeting to catch any droplets of body fluid that may be emitted during the tattoo process, including blood, saliva and sweat. All tattoo items to be used should be freshly unwrapped, either from their factory seals, or from sealed sterilization bags that have been properly run though an autoclave.
• Your tattoo artist should sterilize as well, thoroughly washing both hands before the process begins, and wearing protective gloves and a facial mask while administering the tattoo.

Step Two

Assuming all precautions have been carried out prior to the actual tattooing, clean up after the tat is finished is the next crucial step in stopping the transmission of diseases.

• All used needles, tubing and inks should be considered hazardous waste and be properly discarded. Reusable items and equipment should be soaked in a disinfecting solution, then sealed in sterilization bags, run through an autoclave at the proper temperature and time duration and stored still sealed until it's time for their next use. Sterilization bags have an indicator strip that turns color when proper sterilization has been successfully carried out.
• The tattoo area should once again be completely disinfected. Any toweling that has been used to wipe off the fresh tattoo should be disposable and thrown away.
• A topical disinfectant gel should also be used on the tattoo itself, and the area should be covered with a sterile bandage. Meticulous care should be taken to keep the area clean until healing is complete, and any scabbing should be thrown away as well.

Preventative Vaccinations

Although it is not yet routinely used in the tattoo industry, there is a vaccine available to inoculate workers commonly exposed to the hepatitis B virus, but as yet, there is no vaccination against hepatitis C.

It's a good precaution to discuss getting a tattoo with your physician beforehand, to find out if you should receive the hepatitis B vaccine. There is no medical reason that anyone wishing to receive the vaccine should be denied. You know what they say in Scouting, "Be prepared!"

A Cautionary Tale

Actress Pamela Anderson and then husband rocker Tommy Lee thought it would be romantic to get tattooed together. As man and wife, they shared everything else together, so what would sharing a tattoo needle hurt?

As it turned out, it hurt Pam a lot. Neither were aware that Tommy had already contracted hepatitis C, and so the disease was transmitted to Pam via his contaminated blood on that shared needle.

The moral of their story? There's nothing romantic about hepatitis and inking, so never risk sharing a needle with anyone, no matter how much you trust them. It just isn't worth the risk to your health and life.