The Surprising Way Tattoos Impact Your Immune System, According to Scientists

Beth Ann Mayer
·7 min read
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Getting inked? Here's what to keep in mind.

Tattoos might be helpful for your immune system.

If you feel a little confused by that statement, you're not alone: Previously, tattoos have been linked to diseases like hepatitis C, although there's no definitive evidence that the disease transmits when parlors utilize sterile materials. Additionally, when the European Union banned certain pigments found in tattoo ink and permanent makeup, they cited increased bladder cancer risk as one of the reasons. So, how could tattoos possibly be helpful for the immune system?

Well, one paper published in 2016 that included 29 people (mostly women), indicated that tattoos primed the immune system for dermal stress in the future. Another study published in 2019 followed 25 adults in American Samoa, where tattooing is commonplace and infectious diseases are rare, and found similar results.

"It’s a great paper," said Dr. Sharon Nachman, MD, the chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Children's Hospital. "It looks at patients with a long history of tattoos. It looks at those who got tattoos versus those who didn’t. Did they have lower infections or rates of common illness? The answer is yes…as part of immune functioning, they were better able to handle infections."

This comes at a time when the popularity of tattoos is surging. According to 2019 data from market research firm IPSOS, 30 percent of American adults have at least one tattoo, a 9 percent increase from 2012. What might this research mean for them? Dr. Nachman and Dr. Christopher Lynn, Ph.D., the University Alabama medical anthropologist and author behind the 2016 and 2019 studies, discussed exactly how tattoos could affect the immune system.

Related: What Is Your Immune System And How Does It Work?

The Skin and the Immune System

This video by the American Chemical Society explains the tattooing process. It involves an artist using a needle to puncture a person's skin 50 to 3,000 times per minute. The ink travels to the skin's middle layer, known as the epidermis, via a carrier solution.

What does this all have to do with the immune system? A lot, actually. Dr. Nachman and Dr. Lynn note that the skin is a sometimes overlooked part of the immune system, when in fact, it's the body's largest organ.

“The skin is the number one main immunological defense and barrier. It’s where the immune response starts," explains Dr. Lynn. "It’s the main defense. Anything that stimulates stress or injury anywhere on the skin turns on or stimulates a global immune response.”

Related: 14 Foods That Boost Your Immune System

Tattoos and the Immune System

According to the American Chemical Society video, the immune system reacts to a tattoo, thinking it's an invader. But it winds up helping the tattoo become a permanent fixture on your body. Macrophage cells rush to the tattoo site, which is a wound. The ink gets stuck in macrophage cells and then to the dermis, where it remains.

This process is one of the ways tattoos act as a stressor.

"The dermal injury of getting the tattoo and the pigment left in the skin—in both cases, we are purposefully injuring ourselves, but in a way that is analogous to exercise," Dr. Lynn says. "We are tearing muscles to build muscles. We are stimulating the immune system to have a more robust reaction."

Dr. Lynn says the research also draws comparisons between tattoos and vaccinations.

"[With vaccines], we introduce a challenge, cause our immune system to turn on, and when the immune system turns back off, it remains somewhat vigilant," Dr. Lynn says. "It creates new antibodies in circulation at a higher rate. Our immune system is adaptive. It interacts with our appraisal of stress."

In this case, stress is a more neutral term, unlike mental distress. Sometimes, stress can benefit us, such as the stress we place on our bodies during physical activity. Dr. Lynn has looked at how people who have previously gotten tattoos reacted to new ones.

"What we see with novel or first tattoos is that cortisol, a stress hormone, goes up, while immunoglobulin A goes down," says Dr. Lynn. "For people with relatively more tattoo experience [these reactions vary]."

In a way, you can think of tattoos as "training" the immune system. "One of the things that training the immune system is useful for is dealing with the topsy-turvy up and down of life," says Dr. Lynn. "Even if the tattoo lasts a long time and is putting stress on the body, the immune response is happening immediately and throughout the experience. That suggests there is a priming effect [between tattoos and the immune system]."

Related: 20 Doctor-Approved Foods That Fight Infection

Can Tattoos Replace Vaccines?

Dr. Lynn is clear on one thing: just because he drew a comparison to vaccines doesn't mean he's saying, "Just get inked, and you can feel free to skip recommended vaccinations."

"I would never say anything like that," Dr. Lynn says. "What we are saying is that there is an effect. Is it clinically significant? Not by itself. It is an extra influence on our health and well-being. What I usually say is, 'If you want to be healthy, there are a hundred ways under the sun to be healthy. Tattooing is part of the lifestyle…here are additional benefits.'"

Though interestingly, scientists have seen promising results for delivering vaccines via tattoos.

"This means you can use a little bit of the vaccine and get the same bang for your buck as if you got a vaccine that went into your muscle," Dr. Nachman says. "We in medicine are cognizant of the idea that your skin is an immune-functioning tool."

So, research like Dr. Lynn's can provide insights into the potential for new technologies—but it doesn't replace an annual flu shot.

Related: 7 Myths About Fevers

What We Don't Know About Tattoos and the Immune System

Dr. Lynn is unsure how long the priming effect of tattoos on the immune system lasts. He also says there's no conclusive data that tattooing cures a common cold (because no one has tested it). He also stresses that his findings are preliminary and that he wouldn't tell someone with an autoimmune disease to get a tattoo to strengthen their immune system. It's a question he gets often, and it's personal to him, as his wife is living with lupus.

"[People with the autoimmune disease] shouldn’t get tattooed to help themselves," Dr. Lynn says. "The clinical significance is not enough to say it’s going to cure anything.”

Dr. Nachman agrees, saying there's not enough evidence to indicate whether the risks for a patient with an autoimmune disease outweigh the benefits. More studies with longer follow-ups are needed.

“It’s an important scientific question, but it would be hard for someone to give you a data-driven answer," Dr. Nachman says.

Related: How Long Does the Flu Last?

Weighing the Risks and Benefits of Tattoos and Health

Medical professionals routinely perform risk-benefit analyses when they work with patients.

“There’s nothing we do in medicine that doesn’t have benefits versus risks," Dr. Nachman says. "Tattooing falls into that category…we don’t tell people, ‘If you want to tune up your immune system, get two arm tattoos and two leg tattoos.’ We just discuss the risks and benefits.”

If you're going to get a tattoo for personal and health reasons, there are ways to make the experience safer and more positive. First, Dr. Nachman suggests going to a licensed tattoo parlor. "Licensed tattoo parlors should have a much higher standard of hygiene," Dr. Nachman says.

You should also discuss your tattoo plans with your provider if you have an MRI scheduled for the coming months.

“Tattooing, itself, can leave micro amounts of metal," Dr. Nachman says. "[MRIs] can burn the tattoo off.” While tattoos do not permanently bar people from getting an MRI, your provider can inform you about the necessary waiting period.

Ultimately, Dr. Lynn says decisions about tattoos are highly personal.

"There is an expression in Samoa, ‘First tattoo your mouth,’ which means learn your culture first—what the value and importance and role of tattooing is," he says. "Then, they want their people to go get meaningful tattoos...I would summarize that by saying: do your homework.”

Next up: 70 Small Tattoo Ideas for Some Ink Inspo

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