There are people who get tattooed to look like stars or be smart. However, some ignore that tattoos may be harmful if made carelessly.–Yves Didier Irakoze
Dr Elie Mupera: “…this group of people who are allergic to tattoos includes those hemophilic people who suffer from a sickle cell disease, a kind of hereditary disease where a patient loses a big quantity of blood.” ©Iwacu
According to Dr Elie Mupera, a dermatologist, tattoos are drawings or signs that people put on their bodies using the ink with sharp or pointed objects. Some do it in order to be smart, others to identify their ethnic groups or for medical treatment purpose. However, people ignore that bad consequences are enormous and can occur if the practice is not done carefully, not controlled or regulated. Dr Elie Mupera mentions that due to the fact that people who tattoo use sharp or pointed objects, there are cases where the skin can offer a door to a virus into the body very easily.
“Those people are not also spared by the HIV/AIDS if they don’t pay much attention,” points out Dr Mupera.
Moreover, says the Doctor, the different types of ink that are used to tattoo is made of some metals like antimony, mercury,… Therefore, when introduced into the body, they may cause a kidney complication or allergy to the body due to those substances composing the ink.
“Researchers made test and proved that the ink may also causes cancer because it destroys cells that protect the body from the sun’s ray,” states Dr Mupera.
He goes on saying that since they inject the ink into the blood during tattooing, there are people who are not allowed to do such practice, to mean that there is a group of people who are allergic to that practice. Unfortunately, he says, here in Burundi, there isn’t any centre where people can test and know if they can be tattooed because there is no regulation.
“For instance, if a person is under aspirin treatment and wants to tattoo his/her body, he/she may get some problems. As aspirin medicine prevents the blood coagulation to avoid the forming of blood clots, if one is injured due to tattoos he/she may lose a big quantity of blood and not be able to stop it,” points out Dr Mupera.
He also underlines that this group of people who are allergic to tattoos includes those hemophilic people who suffer from a sickle cell disease, a kind of hereditary disease where a patient loses a big quantity of blood. Dr Mupera also warns people who have heart pacemaker set to avoid tattoos.
In Burundi, the tattoos’ practice is not regulated
According to Dr Mupera, the problem in Burundi is that the way people become tattooed is not regulated and sometimes people regret after undergoing such practice. “It’s easy to have tattoos but it’s hard or quite impossible to remove them,” indicates Dr Mupera.
Dr Mupera calls upon the government especially the Ministry of Health in partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs to make a follow up and analyze the objects used to tattoo people’s bodies in order to avoid any complication or problem in the community.
IWACU Open Data
