Tattoos and MRI’s: What’s The Deal

I have a few pieces of black work tattoos. A few tattoos that I thought looked good in plain black ink, and I still think they look good in plain black. However according to an article from TheMayoclinic.com, dark tat’s can cause some problems during MRI’s. If you follow the highly fictional TV show House (I say “Highly fictional” because I don’t know anyone that gets that kind of medical service, unless it’s private.). Anyway, on an episode of House, famous rap artist L.L. Cool J played a con with the usual mystery illness that the cast members try to figure out. It’s like E.R. Meets C.S.I.. They go to put LL Cool J in an MRI and he starts screaming in agony and they say it’s because of his prison tats, which as most know is mainly black-work with cheap or fabricated inks. Now if you wanted to know more about dark tattoos and MRI’s, here is your chance.

MRI is a diagnostic test that uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed cross-sectional images of your body. Reports of burns in tattooed areas — particularly in dark black tattoos — during MRIs have been widely circulated. It’s unknown how often the problem occurs, however.

Some researchers suspect that the burns are related to the iron oxide in dark tattoo ink. Iron oxide is potentially magnetic. It also conducts electricity. If the iron oxide is heated during an MRI, the affected area may be burned.

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