Yup, tattoos still seem like they’d be the perfect solution for PWDs who resist wearing the all-important medical ID jewelry. And yet the concerns over infections remain. Dr. Bill Quick reports that the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) is all for medical tattoos these days, and has some excellent tips on avoiding infection.
Meanwhile, one of the entrants in this year’s DiabetesMine Design Challenge is actually working on tattoos that will change color when blood sugar is on the rise – wow!
Below, a look back at where we were on this topic about four years back. Despite these updates, not very far at all from where we are today, it seems…
Tattoos for Life
Part of me has always regretted not getting a tattoo during the years we lived in Amsterdam (which part of me I need not share). But I definitely tingled when I recently ran into this post: “I have a friend who had ‘diabetes mellitus’ tattooed on one arm and a syringe tattooed on the other when he was a teenager. Looks kind of cool. He didn’t have any problems with having it done, but if you are considering it I’d sure check with my doctor and make sure a very reputable artist did the work and used clean needles! I’d be a little leary of it myself.”
Now there’s a whole new set of thoughts for me, as a relative newbie: Forget wearing 
medical ID jewelry. I could get a tattoo! But put it somewhere where emergency personnel would find it straight away. Oh no, where would that be?! And of course: being a diabetic constantly using needles, I am SCARED of infection.
So as usual, I did a little homework. First of all, LA Raider Dustin Rykert made headlines with his diabetes tattoo a few years ago. In his case, medical alert tags wouldn’t stand up to the roughhousing of football, so he had a medical alert symbol tattooed on his chest, along with his name and the fact he has type 1 diabetes. The articles all warn that achieving good blood glucose control first is essential to proper healing and preventing infection. In other words, if you’re not a professional athlete with a full health-monitoring staff, beware.
I found a doctor’s advice column that says: “I have some patients who have gotten tattoos. My recommendation is that your hemoglobin A1c be below 8% before considering it and that you check out the reputation and sanitation of the tattoo parlor you are planning to use. Also, remember that this tattoo will be with you the rest of your life. What is it going to look like when you are 60, 70, 80? Are you still going to want it at that age?” Um, OK, less interested now.
And further: “If you are not in good control, you will have problems with healing. Your blood glucose levels can go up during the tattoo process itself due to the stress from the pain level, but your levels should come back down the next day.”
Proceed with caution, yes, but wouldn’t tattoos be just the perfect solution for diabetic kids or teens who resist wearing the all-important medical alert gear? As discussed in Diabetes Health a while back, parents who normally wouldn’t sanction a tattoo on their child for any reason (over my ….!) do realize that a medic-alert tattoo might well mean survival for a person with a life-threatening disease.
Luckily, some clever souls came up with the idea of marketing temporary tattoos for this purpose. Wouldn’t it be nice to be free of clunky Medic Alert jewelry while swimming and sunbathing this summer?!
Duly noted: there have been increasing incidences of allergic reactions to temporary tattoos, but as Dermatology Online Journal points out, this is most likely due to the use of artificial materials instead of the natural henna that humans have been painting themselves with for thousands of years. So you’ll want to be careful where you order yours from.
SafetyTat sells FDA-approved Temporary Medical ID Tattoos that last about 3-5 days and won’t irritate the skin, they claim. I’m thinking of ordering some myself, just to see where I might decide to put them!
I’m looking into getting a tattoo very soon, the problem I have is what should it look like?
Diabetes will be a part of me for the rest of my life, but I don’t want the tattoo to say “Hey, look at me, I have a lifethreatning disease!”.
I want it there to remind me to take care of myself and that I’m in control.
So when the day comes, that you get one shot a week/month/year, and it’s basically cured. It’s still there to remind me of the care my body needs.
I’ve often considered getting a diabetes tattoo. I’ve got other “ink” and it’s never caused me any trouble, but I saw another comment one time on this topic that has changed my mind…tattoos are permanent. However unlikely, there’s that little glimmer of hope that my diabetes isn’t. I don’t want to jinx the cure by getting the tattoo!
The pains are sometimes reflected as something very badly; this is a warning of some ailment which we pruned to suffer. Sometimes we feel a pain in the waist and one in one of the kidneys which we can worry about. These pains are deceptive and sometimes the importance is not relevant. For this reason it is recommendable to get a physical control to recognize the ailment that causes the pain and power and to fight its origin. The pain in the waist, that can be acute or long lasting can return as chronic and is know to medics as lumbar pain. This is a disease that strikes millions of people throughout the world; findrxonline and said that according to statistics 70% of people who have suffered at some point in their life.
Its really followed that endocrine disorders. AACE also conducts continuing education programs for clinical endocrinologists, physicians whose advanced, specialized training enables them to be experts in the be keen on of endocrine disease, such as diabetes, thyroid disorders, growth hormone deficiency, osteoporosis, cholesterol disorders, hypertension and obesity.
I have two tattoos and four piercings. Never had a problem, been diabetic since birth and got everything starting at the age of 15 and now I’m 38, still getting tattoos!!!!
I have been diabetic for 18 yrs, I am 28 now. If i had been asked 10 yrs ago if I wanted a medic alert tattoo branding me of my diabetes…HECK NO! I don’t think any parent should make that choice for their child. I have struggled for years to accept this disease but now I am proud to be a diabetic. As hard as it is to embrace this, I have and I am most definitely getting a tattoo. I just have to design it. I already have 2 tats and multiple piercings and haven’t had an issue with anything healing.