Tattoos on Marina show signs of health threats

A man in his 30s takes off his shirt, exposing his chest to the tattoo artiste, as the latter deftly draws an outline for a tattoo. A few stalls away, a couple of schoolgirls asks a tattoo artiste to etch each other’s names on their wrists. 

The demand for permanent tattoo designs are high and steady for the line of tattoo artistes seated on Beach Road near the Marina. There is neither concern for hygiene among the artistes nor knowledge of the risks like hepatitis B and C that can be transmitted through unsterilised needles among customers. 

These tattoo artistes make anywhere between Rs 20 and Rs 120 for the designs, depending on the size. Using battery-operated machines, they run the same needle on different parts of the body of different customers, rubbing the tattooed area with coconut oil. When asked for details, the one artiste looks away, requesting not to be photographed. One of them pleads, “Please go away, tomorrow I won’t be able to come here if authorities take notice.”

Using the same needle for different people can transmit a range of diseases from leprosy to inoculant tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and C and even HIV, says city-based dermatologist Dr Maya Vedamurthy. She says, “Any antiseptic, leave alone coconut oil, cannot wipe out viruses. Even sterilising has to be done in high temperature in an autoclaving machine like the ones used in hospitals.”

However, a senior health official expressed surprise, when told about the tattoo artistes. “It shouldn’t be carried out in the open, since the needles direction can be disturbed by air or wind. We will look into the matter,” he says.