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Hi, my name is Mandy. I have been HIV positive for the past 4 years. I caught HIV by making the biggest mistake of my life…getting a tattoo. I know what you’re thinking..you’re probably saying..”well she could have had sex and caught it.” That’s just not so..i am a virgin..and now i have to stay that way for the rest of my life. I’m not writing this story to scare any of you, i just don’t want any of you to have to go through what i went through. Well, im gonna tell you my story now. Here Goes.

The day i turned 20 is the day i wanted to do something that i always told myself i would never do… have lots a fun. I was a junior in college, and having the time of my life. Of course, i kept my head in the books, and steered clear of the guys that were there… but i had amazing friends. They were so daring.. not like any of the friends i ever had. One of my friends had her nipples pierced, her nose pierced, eyebrow, navel, and her hood pierced…along with 5 tattoos. I’m not saying i wanted to get a tattoo because my friends had them, i just wanted to get one so i can finally express myself through art. So, the day i turned 20 is the day i decided to get one done.

We all decided to go to this place where everybody said it was the best place to get a tattoo. They did them cheap.. mine cost $60 for a large, colorful cartoon girl (the ones that look like they could be on sailor moon or any of those japan cartoons) on my back. We got there, and the tattooist was finishing up this guy who was getting a snake tattooed on his forearm. When he was done, he told me the wait would be 30 minutes because he needed to prepare everything. I waited patiently, and listened to my friends making fun of some tattoos that they had there. So, finally it was finally my turn to go in.

The other tattooist had left because it was his break, so there was this other guy there…a freaky looking guy..with all these face piercings and tattoos all over his arms. He told me to sit in this chair and life my shirt over my head so he could get the placement right. He showed me the placement and i thought it looked fine, so he continued. He didn’t explain to me what he was gonna do..or how the needles were sterilized. I asked him about it, but he said there was no need to say anything, that everything i needed to know was on the form i had signed. So i said fuck it, and let him continue with his job. I must say…getting that tattoo hurt so bad. I swear to you, it felt like a huge butter knife was going through my back. I cried and screamed. The guy kept asking if i wanted him to finish it up, and i said yeah. When it was finally done (3 hrs later) he told me that he would only charge me $60. So i tipped him $40 and left with a very bloody, sore back. He told me to clean it with Neosporin, and after 5 days of that, rub some moisturizing lotion on it.

About 4 months later, i went to my regular doctors check up. I felt fine, but im always known to be “the cautious one” in my family. He took my blood, checked my eyes, my lungs, etc etc. Only a few days later, my doctor called me back and told me to come to his office ASAP. When i got there, he had a worried look on his face. I knew something was wrong. I asked him right away what was wrong. He told me that i tested positive for HIV. I was in total shocked. I asked him how this could have happened, because i haven’t had sex with anyone in my life. He explained the possibilities…and finally said that word…”needle”…….i totally broke down and started crying….i knew it had to be when i got my tattoo……

Well…i guess you’re probably asking…”then what??”… well..they investigated the place, and found out the place was extremely filthy, and the place might have infected about half the customers that went there, including me. The place got shut down, and yada yada yada (the place reopened 2 years later)

Well…..that’s my story. I hope that all of you that are reading be careful that you check out the places that you wanna get a tattoo. Don’t make the same mistake that i made. This tattoo ruined my life. Please be careful.

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I hope her story at least makes you think. If you contract a disease like HIV from a tattoo, getting it removed will not make it go away, however if there is an allergy or other skin irritation from tattoo ink then removing the tattoo may provide some relief or prevent a long-term condition.

Our repeated advice is for people to get educated and understand the risks and dangers of tattoo inks as well your tattoo removal options ranging from laser tattoo removal to tattoo removal creams.

Check out: The Tattoo Removal Cream Store and The Secret Dangers of Tattoo Inks.

People have many reasons for getting a tattoo. Perhaps it is to memorialize a loved one or to express emotions for a current love. Some get tattoos as a way make a personal statement about themselves. No matter they are everywhere.

Perhaps you have tattoo or are considering getting one.  What I find interesting is that people seem to give little thought to the potential risks of tattoos. Risks? Well of course. The modern method of applying tattoos was based on a machine called the autographic printer, or an engraving machine.. The inventor was none other than Thomas Edison in 1876. I remember people having crude adaptations of these devices when I was kid.  The machine was later adapted to apply inks under the skin. The ink reservoirs came later.

Most people are probably not aware that the large majority of tattoo inks are based on metals. For instance red and black come from iron oxides. Yellow comes from cadmium. Green comes from chromium and so on.

I do not know if I am ready to make a pronouncement that tattoos are unsafe but it is a well known fact that the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) has begun to take close look at tattoo inks given the rising popularity of this obsessive ritual.

The mere fact that the many of the inks are based on metals is a cause for alarm since high metal content in the human body has been linked to many diseases. Additionally, there are other inks that are based on plastics that are reported to change the texture of the skin in a way that cannot be reversed even if the tattoo is removed.  The most disconcerting tidbit I stumbled upon was the knowledge that many tattoo artist mix their own inks. There is no oversight no way to know if someone is qualified to do such a thing.

The skin is the largest organ on the human body. Many people seem to forget that. Essentially whatever is applied to the skin is absorbed through the body.  This is true of soaps, lotions, perfumes, colognes, and of course tattoo inks. We know this is the case because tattoos will fade a bit over time, but not because the ink is washing off, it is being absorbed by the body internally.  So the question is, if a person were to ingest the same ink that makes up their tattoo, what would happen? My guess is that they would become very ill, very quickly.   So perhaps the effect is the same just a bit slower as the skin drinks in the inks.

I guess the more I think about it the more I am alarmed at the number of people who get tattoos and more importantly the people who have them covering nearly their entire body.

Finally there are two other considerations. The person who gets a really bad tattoo and the person who gets a tattoo and decides they no longer want it. Then what?

The business of removing tattoos seems to be growing in stride with the business of getting tattoo as people increasing are feeling remorse over their decision to permanently get inked.

But tattoo removal is no walk in the park. The methods most commonly sought are dermabrasion, laser removal, and do-it-our-self creams.

Dermabrasion  essentially is a process where the skin is filed down similar to sanding a piece of wood. This is expensive and can leave permanent scars. Not to mention, sanding down certain areas of the body has got to be painful.

Laser treatments can fade tattoos but several visits may be required and the costs can skyrocket very quickly. There is also the risk of hypopigmentation which is where the skin become lighter as a result of the laser exposure.  Laser can also cause some tattoo inks to change in color rather than fade in a desirable way.

There are several creams on the market that claim to fade tattoos. Some work better than others. The challenge for any of these methods is keeping up with the rapidly changing inks used in tattoo parlors.

Wrecking Balm makes that claim and also uses a device that is FDA approved for application.

For many the cost of tattoo removal is many times more expensive than the original tattoo application. While I personally do not have any tattoos I know many who do and a few who wish they didn’t. Given the cost I would say try the creams first. It is cheaper and if it works you can avoid some pain and potential scarring. If all else fails and you just want the tattoo gone then I guess laser tattoo removal or dermabrasion are the next options.