ABSTRACT
Body piercing and tattooing are increasingly common. As well as the risk of infection and scarring, allergic reactions are also reported. This is the first multi-centre study to assess the frequency of consultations for allergy. Of the 138 allergologists who answered our two questionnaires, 7.9% reported allergic reactions associated with body piercing and 18.9% identified allergies associated with temporary henna-based tattoos. Contact eczema, rhinitis and urticaria were related to nickel allergy. Contact eczema, generalized eczema, pruritus and edema were caused by tattoos. In 20 out of 28 cases, sensitization to para-phenylenediamine (PPD) was observed. The authors review the literature, underscoring the risk of serious allergy to PPD, the need for long-term monitoring of the risk of skin lymphocytoma, the difficulties met during treatment and the necessity of regulating tattooing and body piercing practices.
Subject(s)
Body Piercing/adverse effects , Hypersensitivity/epidemiology , Hypersensitivity/etiology , Tattooing/adverse effects , Humans , Retrospective StudiesABSTRACT
Recently Meisler et al. (1980) reported the results of mouse/human somatic cell hybrid studies which indicated that the locus for human uroporphyrinogen I synthase (UPS) (EC 4.3.1.8) maps to chromosome 11. To evaluate further this assignment we have children with a trisomy of the region 11qter. We confirm the results of Meisler et al. (1980) and demonstrate that uroporphyrinogen I synthase activity is increased by a factor of 1.5 in trisomy 11qter. In erythrocytes of one child with a trisomy 11p, the expression of this enzyme was normal.
