scarmongering you with the old threat of hepatitis is not a very professional approach for a gp, a bit outdated in my view, you said that you are not on blood thinners and dont have clots, the immune response to the likes of a tattoo could well start off a flare that could in turn make such changes to the blood around the affected area as the healing process starts, the main problem with lupus is that the immune system is so overactive, as you probably know, that the immune system would regard getting a tatto as an attack on the body and it would probably respond by sending too many antibodies to the affected area, this could cause a bit of swelling which in turn would delay the healing time, thats just the immune system and the blood, the tattooed area could well be prone to malar rashing as the skin tissue is damaged and therefore more vurnerable, this could make it difficult for the tissue to heal as your doctor stated possibly even cause scarring around the tattoo though i feel your doctor should have went into a bit more detail than just "it wouldnt heal", from my experience gp's are not really the ones to ask about complex lupus situations, they just dont know enough about the condition to give good advice to their patients, which is not thier fault by the way, a few doctors i have came across seem quite on edge when trying to advise on upus situations and some even start pulling books out to look it up.... i found an article that might interest you on lupus and tattoing that contradicts everything i have just said above but then what i have said is full of coulds and mights that are worth taking note of, im no professional but i have extensively studied lupus over the past 12 years as a means of understanding what my wife goes through with having lupus, she has had two strokes, and is on blood thinners, she would love a tattoo but her periods of remission are few and far between these days, if your young and you look after your lupus properly and you pay special clinical attention to the aftercare of the tattoo, then i would say go for it, but get your INR and ANA done before and afterwards just to be on the safe side, introduce some (not too much) garlic into your diet for a while afterwards, this helps keep infection at bay and keeps your INR very slightly above your target range for a short time until the tattoo heals, if you get rashing around the tattooed area your gp can prescribe you a tablet form steroid which could increase the healing time of the tattoo as well, i say tablet form because im unsure if a topical steroid would be advisable over a tattoo that just been done, these are my personal thoughts about your question, have a chat with your lupus specialist.





Marc

sorry but i have tried to fix the link several times but the website stills changes it apon publishing, basically copy and paste the link into your browser but remove the following characters in the link before requesting the page: a mp;

I have SLE which is active at the moment & is being treated with antimalarials & I just got my 7th tattoo done only yesterday,it was a good 2 hour sitting & I coped with it fine,I never bleed too much & have never had problems with healing in fact my tattooist has often remarked that I heal very quickly & have certainly never had any infection,your doctor has fed you a load of old b*** s***,I have found that reputable tattoo studios today are the cleanest most hygenic places you will see,all surfaces are disenfected & spotless, the tatooist always without fail wears gloves, all instruments are deep steam cleaned after every use,fresh needles are used for each sitting from sterilised sealed packs & are NEVER shared amongst clients & neither are inks,there is no reason at all for you not to get your tattoo, you go for it