Prison Tattoos – What Nurses Need to Know
Tattoos have been a part of prison culture for some time. Prison tattoos are most often obtained to identify allegiance to a particular gang. Tattoos (also called Tats or Ink) can identify skills, specialties, or convictions. Read about ways tats communicate information. Tattooing is usually forbidden in the prison system, making it a daring task, as well as making it a potentially dangerous one.
Dangers of Prison Tattooing
The major danger of prison tattooing (aside from bad art work!) is blood-born pathogen (BBP) transmission. Typical methods for tattooing include use of common ball-point pen ink and crude make-shift needles. Sterilization is not performed between uses. Although most inmates fear HIV transmission, the most likely BBP is Hepatitis B. The Hepatitis B virus is extremely contagious. Hepatitis C and resulting liver damage can also be transmitted through the prison tattooing process.
A controversial program in Canadian prisons was piloted to decrease the transmission of BBP by employing inmates to provide tattoos within the facility using good technique and sterilized equipment.
Other complications from prison tattooing are allergic reactions to the pigment, aggravation of existing skin diseases, or keloid scarring. You may see these conditions during a sick call visit.
Education Opportunity
Consider adding disease transmission information about prison tattooing during the intake process. Let incoming inmates know of the dangers of submitting to the tattooing process behind bars. Other education opportunities may come during sick call or cell-side rounds. Add tattoo information to regular infection control education and information materials.
Nursing Care Dilemma
An ethical dilemma can ensue if you are asked to assess a tattoo for age. Correctional nurses have been asked to determine if a tattoo is recent (and therefore ‘illegal’). This situation places the nurse in a position to be part of a punitive action. Since correctional nurses must maintain a care-giving status with inmates alternative methods are needed for assessing and staging tattoos within the facility.
How are prison tattoos handled in your workplace? Share your story in the comment section for this post.
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I know someone who will profit by reading this article. Thanks.
Scary that there is so much blood transmission with tattoos. Not sure if its wise to get a tattoo in prison unless your asking for a disease. Cool design site!
I have to hand it to people in prison in terms of creativity. They can make something out of nothing. Anyway, it is very scary to think about all the possible diseases. Prison tattoos are not going anywhere so why not offer a program? Out of curiosity have these nurses receive training on identifying tattoo age? Maybe it’s easier with prison tattoos due to the type of ink??
Interesting Subject.
Thanks for your comments! Some prisons have had organized tattooing, but there is often community opposition, much like condom distribution. Nurses generally do not have training in tattoo identification and that is actually a misuse of the function of a correctional nurse. Nurses should not be involved in actions of a punitive nature toward patients with which they have a therapeutic relationship.
PS – so sorry for the delay in approval – I had approved this through my iPhone when you submitted it but somehow it didn’t ‘take’. I appreciate your involvement in the blog community and hope you stop by often.
Interesting how inmates can take nothing and make a tattoo needle, gun, ink, etc. If they had used that energy for something productive beforehand maybe they wouldn’t be in there in the first place.
Had to chuckle reading your comment. So true in many ways that the criminal mind seems wasted on devising ever creative ways to work the system. What would the world be like if this energy was turned toward the collective good?
[...] plenty of potential for infection and the passing of blood born pathogens like Hepatitis C. Read my blog post on what nurses need to know about prison tattoos and watch this short video for more particulars [...]
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