RESUMO
Introduction Tattooing and piercing, which were uncommon in affluent countries, have recently spread throughout societies. Over the past two decades, young people have shown considerable excitement for the practice. This reported growth creates more difficulties because of the numerous operations performed without awareness of health and hygiene requirements. This study aims to assess the knowledge and attitudes of the general population toward the cutaneous complications of tattoos and piercings in Saudi Arabia. Methods This was a web-based descriptive cross-sectional study. An online questionnaire was developed by the study researchers, which included participants' demographic data, their knowledge of tattoos and piercings with associated health effects and possible infections, their attitude towards tattoos and piercings, and their practice and experienced complications regarding tattooing and body piercing. The final validated questionnaire was made publicly available via social media until no more new responses were obtained. Results Eight hundred and forty-eight individuals completed the study questionnaire. The ages of the participants varied from 18 to more than 55 years old, with a mean age of 25.2 ± 13.9 years, and (589 [69.5%]) were female. The most reported health effects and infections were bacterial infections in place of body modification (479 [56.5%]), purpura (380 [44.9%]), cutaneous abscesses (380 [44%]), melanoma (338 [39.9%]), hepatitis B virus (321 [37.9%]), HIV (311 [36.7%]), sepsis (306 [36.2%]), allergic contact dermatitis (296 [35%]), and hepatitis C virus (279 [33.1%]). In total, 336 (39.6%) had an overall good knowledge of tattooing and body piercing hazards, with higher knowledge among females with high education (p< 0.05). Conclusion This study revealed that one in three individuals knew about the health risks and infections associated with tattooing and body piercing. Higher awareness was found among females with high education levels. Of all the associated complications, procedure-related infections were the most common among participants.
RESUMO
Este artículo reporta los resultados obtenidos específicamente con practicantes de body arts (piercings y tatuajes) que constituyeron el grupo de sujetos entrevistados como parte del proyecto Prácticas Corporales y Construcción del Sujeto, el cual, a través de un enfoque cualitativo-interpretativo, ofrece una comprensión de la relación entre las prácticas corporales, la percepción del cuerpo, el cuidado de sí y el sentido de sí mismos que construyen personas vinculadas a diferentes prácticas corporales. Los autores se aproximan a una comprensión de la forma en que los sujetos construyen su "sí mismo" desde sus prácticas corporales, en este caso, específicamente del tatuaje.
This article reports the results obtained from a study with a group of tattoo practitioners integrating the sample of subjects interviewed as a part of the project entitled Corporal practices and the construction of self. By means of a Qualitative-interpretative approach, it offers an understanding of the relationship between the corporal practices, the body perception (body concept), the selfcare and the sense of themselves that people build when they link to different forms of corporal practice. The authors approach to an understanding of the way in which persons build their "selves" from their corporal practices, in this case, specifically from tatooing.