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Can you get an MRI if you have a tattoo?

They also wondered if any restrictions for imaging might apply to tattooed patients. What they found might surprise you. The researchers found that the risk of experiencing tattoo-related side effects from MRI is very small. This means people with tattoos can safely undergo MRI without worry.

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Tattoos are gaining in popularity these days, with four in ten Americans sporting at least one tattoo, according to Statistica. People are more likely to get ink nowadays because tattoos do not carry the taboo they once held. Many people avoided tattoos because they worry that such body art might prevent them from getting a job. Today, some people worry about getting a tattoo out of fear they might suffer side effects when they undergo certain medical procedures, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Websites, such as Healthline, warn that there is a slight risk that MRIs could interact with tattoos to cause swelling and itchiness. The site suggests the risk is higher with the use of lower-quality tattoo pigments and older tattoos. In a new study, researchers from the Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, part of Queen Square Institute of Neurology at University College in London explored whether people with tattoos are at a higher risk of side effects. The scientists considered if doctors and other medical professionals could conduct imaging studies on people with tattoos without hesitation. They also wondered if any restrictions for imaging might apply to tattooed patients. What they found might surprise you. The researchers found that the risk of experiencing tattoo-related side effects from MRI is very small. This means people with tattoos can safely undergo MRI without worry.

What Makes this Study Different?

Hospitals, research facilities and other medical organizations perform millions of scans, like MRI, on people with tattoos every year without any reports of major side effects. However, there had never been a systematic study on the safety of MRI scanning on people with tattoos. It had been difficult to study the risk of tattoo-related side effects from MRI examinations in the past because there were fewer people with tattoos, which made it challenging to find enough participants to conduct a thorough study. Research studies using small numbers of participants are not as accurate or as respected as those using a larger pool of participants. The recent trend towards tattooing has increased the number of tattooed people willing to participate in studies like this one, which makes the results more accurate and more meaningful. Prior to this study, there had been individual reports of adverse reactions. The reports typically described one of two different reactions to MRIs on tattooed skin – a tingling sensation and burns. MRIs use strong magnetic fields to create images of structures within a patient's body. The strong magnetic fields in MRI can cause itching and a pulling sensation by attracting the metallic pigments in the tattoo ink. In one case report involving a football player, scientists explained that tattoo ink may contain small amounts of metallic iron oxides that could potentially interfere with the magnetic field of the MRI. Theoretically, the metallic compounds could create an electric current that increases skin temperature enough to cause a burn.

Testing the Safety of MRI on Tattooed Skin

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Where are the best doctors in the world?

the United States Even though it is widely assumed that the best doctors in the world are in the United States, there are plenty of other countries that have great doctors as well. For example, Japan and South Korea are known for having strong medical systems.

Which Country Has the Best Doctors?

During the past few decades, medicine has become more uniform across the world, as international travel and education have become more common. Even though it is widely assumed that the best doctors in the world are in the United States, there are plenty of other countries that have great doctors as well. For example, Japan and South Korea are known for having strong medical systems. There are also plenty of countries in Europe, such as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, that are also known for having strong healthcare systems. Now, there are lots of countries in the world that have exceptional doctors, and it is difficult to decide which country has the best doctors.

Different Countries Are Better in Different Areas

First, it is important to understand that some countries do well with certain treatments but not others. For example, even though the United States has exceptional doctors that can treat a variety of rare diseases and unusual injuries, the United States continues to have one of the highest mortality rates in the world. Then, there are other countries, such as South Korea, that may specialize in a specific area. There are lots of people who go to South Korea every year for plastic surgery because of the quality of the doctors. Therefore, there are some countries that have doctors that do well in certain areas, but the doctors in that country may not necessarily do well in other areas.

What Dictates Whether Doctors Are Good?

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