Tattoos are loved and for some they represent an important and indispensable way of expressing themselves.
There are even those who, like the English tattoo artist Chris Woodehead, have become famous for having got a tattoo for each day of lockdown to be faced during the coronavirus emergency.
Alongside known problems, such as the fact that the drawing can fade over time or that there is the name of an ex to be forgotten, a lesser-known negative aspect of this practice is instead linked to the fact that it also compromises the way we sweat, potentially causing the body to overheat if the tattoos cover a large area.
This was revealed by research from Southern Methodist University, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
Researchers have outlined the connection between tattoos and sweat gland damage by studying tattooed and non-tattooed skin on the arms, with a test aimed at raising body temperature.
They found that the tattooed skin sections had reduced sweating rates and explain that this "is a potential problem because sweating is the body's way of cooling and regulating its temperature."
The results suggest that although the nerve signals directed to the sweat glands are not affected by the tattooed skin, the sweat glands are likely damaged during the tattoo. Tattoos are made permanent by injecting ink through the thin outer skin layer into the middle layer of the skin. known as the dermis, which contains connective tissue, hair follicles and the sweat glands.
Applying a tattoo typically requires piercing the skin with needles 50 to 3,000 times per minute, to a depth of 1 to 5 millimeters, which could cause damage to the sweat glands themselves.
(HANDLE).