Eyeball Tattooing : Worst Risks Involved

Eyeball tattooing, eye tattooing also known as Scleral tattooing, has become a trend these days. This dangerous procedure has become insanely popular in the body modification community.

Scleral tattooing is the process of tattooing the white part of the eye, know as Scleral. The ink is injected between two layers of the eye, where it spreads out over a large area. Ink is not injected in the eye tissue.

You might be aware of the news that a young 24 years old Canadian model Catt Gallinger became partially blind after getting a purple tattoo on her sclera. Sclera is a part of the eye commonly known as the “white”. She says she wanted the whites of her eyes to be purple.

To illustrate, eyes are very sensitive part of our body, why would someone even think of getting a tattoo on the eyes? It sounds dangerous and weird at the same time. Just because some people are lucky enough who have gotten away with it, doesn’t mean it is safe.

Why Eyeball Tattooing is not Safe:

Specialists say it’s unlikely Gallagher will ever fully regain sight in that eye. In an update on her Facebook, she mentions her vision is improving but that there’s still “a lot of buildup around.”

Furthermore, another bad example of eyeball tattooing is a 24-year-old man who wanted the same thing and underwent an eyeball tattoo procedure. While the tattoo artist was injecting ink into his first eye, the guy experienced a sudden, painful loss of vision.

Ophthalmologist Philip Rizzuto, who is a spokesman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, says “I would strongly recommend against it.” He added that procedure of eyeball tattoo can cause people permanently go blind.

Now, maybe Gallinder is planning to remove the tattoo. In a recent Facebook post she mentioned that she is so much pain.

Additionally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any of the pigments used for tattoos, including ultraviolet and glow-in-the-dark tattoos.

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Risks Involved In Eye Tattooing:

There are a large number of risks associated with injecting ink in the eye, for example,

• Decreased vision or complete blindness
• Prolonged headaches
• Sensitivity to light
• Staining of surrounding tissue
• If you have existing eye conditions or wear contact lenses, then are much more risks.
• Worst thing that could happen is partial blindness or even complete loss of the eye.
• Perforation of the eye which may lead to blindness
• Retinal detachment
• Feeling like something is in your eye all the time
• Infection inside the eye, which may lead to blindness
• Bleeding and infection
• Removal of the eyeball tattoo is likely impossible.

Scleral or eyeball tattooing is still a new body modification art. The potential long-term effects have still not manifested themselves.