![]() The manufacturer's certificate of analysis of the chemical characteristics of the tattoo components identified various heavy metals (e.g., lead, copper, zinc, chrome, arsenic, cadmium, barium, and mercury) but no ferric oxides. (Ouch.) The authors of this study actually reached the manufacturers of the woman’s tattoo ink. This case study reports a woman with permanent makeup tattooed onto her eyelids experiencing first degree burns during an MRI. “MRI involves the use of a strong magnetic field to obtain images of structures within the body,” writes nurse Myrna Armstrong, “and the metallic compounds in tattoo pigments, especially iron oxide, distort that field."īut the burns can happen to people without iron oxides in their tattoo ink, too, it seems. “These compounds can theoretically create an electric current that increases the local skin temperature, enough to cause a cutaneous burn,” explain the authors of one paper that reports on a professional football player who was burned in this way. The authors argue that this might be particularly important for sports doctors to pay attention to, “given the frequent occurrence of cosmetic tattoos in athletes requiring magnetic resonance imaging to diagnose a musculoskeletal injury.”Īside from being painful, tattoos with magnetic ink can also distort the MRI image. The likely culprit is the metallic, iron oxides found in some tattoo pigments. While it’s not common, there are a handful of case reports and studies that look at burns-some serious- that have occurred inside an MRI machine. Covering them isn't likely to help, and if skin irritation or burning happens, the MRI must be stopped at once to avoid a burn. Brown at Everyday Health, the ink in some tattoos can become a problem in the MRI machine:ĭuring MRI, skin or eye irritation - even first degree burns - can result when dyes in tattoos, even from tattooed eyeliner, heat up. The machines work using extremely strong magnets, and there are all kinds of horror stories of people leaving metal in their skin or on their body, to disastrous effects.īut it’s not just piercings and jewelry people have to worry about. Before sliding into an MRI machine, patients are supposed to remove all metal from their bodies: underwire, jewelry, piercings, everything.
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