Eye tattoo: Understand why it's not a good idea to get into this wave
Getting eye tattoos to change your colors is becoming a fad all over the world - especially in Brazil. The wave is so big that it is no longer limited only to body painting fanatics, as it already has adhesion of even some artists and celebrities. However, what many people seem to overlook is that this type of practice carries a number of risks, from facial blemishes to total blindness.
Before moving on to the problems that arise with this unusual practice, however, it is worth knowing its three main variants: the coloration of the sclera (the white part of the eyes), the iris color change tattoo (the region that defines it). natural shade) and the placement of a fixed colored contact lens.
From prisons to the world
Painting the white part of the eyes is a practice that has been recorded for over two thousand years, but which gained attention again in 2010. At the time, two US prisoners, Paul Inman and David Boltjes, surprised the authorities by performing the painful and dangerous procedure inside their cells without professional follow-up.
The two criminals did not reveal how they were able to create (or obtain) the paint, but they did show a little of how the process can be done. “You can't use a conventional or homemade tattoo gun. You can use a hypodermic needle, but I'm not saying that's what we use. It's painful, as if someone were sticking ice picks or knives in their eyes, ”they said.
Few tattoo artists worldwide have the qualification for this type of procedure, one of them being Brazilian Rafael Leão Dias (whose work we already mentioned here). According to him, the ink used is different from conventional tattoos, being imported from the USA and applied at three points of the eye. The method makes use of a special curved needle that applies the material like a syringe but without puncturing the eye. The eyeball tattoo costs, on average, one thousand reais.
The colors of fame
The second method, which changes the color of the iris, is performed through surgeries in Mexico and Panama and has been done by Faustão dancers and even a humorous television actress, according to blogger Fabíola Reipert. The operation costs about $ 25, 000 and is full of risks. "It is a procedure that, for a futile reason, endangers a noble organ of the body, " says ophthalmologist Leonardo Marculino.
For the process, a superficial layer of the cornea is opened with a specific medical device to allow an ophthalmologically tested ink to be applied to the top of that part of the eye. According to the doctor, this brings an aesthetic improvement for those who have a whitish tone due to vision problems. "And even these tattoos do not last that long, " he warns, noting that an anesthetic eye drops are used in surgery.
Vain Contact
Another technique that also involves surgery, released in Brazil for blind people, has also been riskyly adapted for vanity: the placement of colored contact lenses fixed inside the eyes. “If this surgery is performed erroneously, contact between the lens and the iris can cause an eye problem and lead to corneal decompensation, ” says Marculino, who does the procedure only on those who have lost sight in one eye. .
According to him, surgery is only recommended for patients who, due to partial or total blindness, no longer have the transparent cornea as it should be, presenting it white. Only in these cases is the operation performed to improve appearance. “When this part is not white, the procedure is risky. Even when it is performed on people who no longer have vision in one eye, there may be inflammation, ”he explains.
Speaking of risks
According to experts, these practices may occasionally go nowhere, but they are always accompanied by serious risks, including inflammation, cataracts, glaucoma, and even total blindness. According to Marculino, losses can occur immediately after the proceedings or over the years. "As the procedure is done outside Brazil, they usually do not follow up, " he says.
In addition, the ophthalmologist points out that many of the changes may not show any symptoms before they become more serious. “When they get into trouble, it may be too late, with an irreversible injury, ” he says. According to him, many patients who put lenses on the eye with the purpose of just changing their color eventually lost their eyesight.
It is also worth noting that none of these procedures can make you see the world in other colors. This is because it is the pupil, the black part we all have in our eyes, that allows light to pass through and make us see, and it receives no ink by these methods.
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