Woman with Weak Immune System Develops Knee Pain After Getting a Leg Tattoo (Study)

Tattoos might not go well with weak immune systems

Tattoos are quite fashionable, but it might be better not to get one if your immune system is weak. Doctors released this warning while presenting the case of a Scottish woman who had undergone a lung transplant and was suffering from cystic fibrosis. After getting a leg tattoo, the woman started experiencing pain in her knees and thighs.

Tattoos might be dangerous for weak immune symptoms

Tattoos usually come without risks, but they might interact with certain drugs. Although most artists don’t warn people beforehand, doctors are cautioning those who take immunosuppressants. Usually, these drugs are prescribed after transplants or for those with autoimmune diseases. Therefore, they might have quite a big impact on the immune system.

However, it’s quite understandable why these people should think twice about getting tattoos. Since their immune system is weak, they are more prone to infections. Therefore, all these people should get medical advice before any such interventions.

The leg tattoo didn’t interact well with the medication

Unfortunately, the 31-year-old Scottish woman didn’t do it before her leg tattoo. Ten months after the procedure, she ended up in the hospital with terrible pains. The knee of the tattooed leg had swollen and she couldn’t sleep because of the discomfort. This was strange, since she had other tattoos on her other leg and had no trouble with them.

Researchers were quite baffled, since they found no clear origin of the problem. They discovered no bacterial infection, but the MRI scans showed the muscles near the leg tattoo were inflamed. After finding out about the treatment the woman was undergoing, they started putting the pieces together.

However, it’s still not clear the leg tattoo was the direct cause of the inflammation. However, given the moment when the symptoms appeared and the location of the pain, they found no other explanation. The case of the woman was described in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons