Pregnancy is a unique experience that has a set of challenges. One of the big questions is whether you can get an epidural with a tattoo in the lower back. Is it a myth or does it really carry serious health risks?
Those women with lower back tattoos may wonder if epidurals will still be safe. Here's everything you need to know about getting an epidural on tattooed skin, including when it's best to decide not to.
How does the epidural work?
An epidural is a pain-relieving medical procedure often used to help women in childbirth or post-surgical patients have fewer painful symptoms. Also people with chronic pain and inflammation can also receive epidural injections to help decrease pain. In most cases, epidurals are done during labor (but before delivery) or directly after surgery.
It is a relatively painless procedure, designed to block pain signals traveling from the spine to the brain. The pain-relieving effects of an epidural can begin to be felt after just 10 minutes.
A catheter-based epidural provides a complete and useful anesthetic conduit for a person's spine. The spinal column contains several nerve bundles and functions as the main pathway of the nervous system. The use of anesthetics to block nerve signals can completely prevent pain without patients losing all feeling in the lower body. This allows someone under the epidural to walk and move slowly, while remaining immune to stronger pain signals.
Can a tattoo interfere with an epidural?
Most women with tattoos on their lower back or lower back can safely and effectively receive an epidural before giving birth. However, there may be other unrelated reasons why a doctor or nurse may decide not to apply it.
In some cases, a lower back tattoo could be a problem for this injection. There are two main reasons why a medical professional may judge an epidural to be unsafe if:
- The lower back tattoo is fresh and still healing.
- The tattoo is raised, reddish, scaly, or infected.
Although small amounts of tattoo ink can migrate through the bloodstream or lymphatic system after a tattoo session, these amounts are usually tiny and harmless. An epidural performed on recently tattooed or infected skin could cause deeper infections and complications related to the spine or nerves.
If we are about to give birth or go into surgery, it is better to postpone any tattoo sessions that we have scheduled. Introducing the ink after having a baby or successfully recovering from surgery may help reduce the risk of unexpected infection or a blood-borne disease such as HIV.
Some people may also develop a small epidural scar near the catheter insertion point, especially after back surgery. This scar tissue will change the appearance of any tattoo on the skin. As such, a healthy lower back tattoo might not affect the epidural procedure, but an epidural can damage a tattoo.
exceptional cases
If we have a lower back tattoo and are considering an epidural before the birth of a child or after surgery, the doctor may choose to modify the plans to accommodate the tattoo. Most anesthesiologists will drill a skin area without ink along the small of the back.
Any gap in the tattoo design could ensure that the doctor can perform a standard epidural. Although the spinal area is completely tattooed, the anesthesiologist may attempt to locate a more feasible site. However, as we said before, there would only be a risk if the tattoo is recent or infected. In cases of healthy tattoos, there is no danger of putting the epidural.
In the worst case, a medical professional may find it unsafe or impractical to administer an epidural to a heavily tattooed lower back. Fortunately, an epidural is not the only option for pregnant women or post-surgical patients. Non-opioid pain relievers, nitrous oxide, and alternative forms of local anesthetics may still be an option.
Possible dangers
The main risks of getting epidural anesthesia with a lumbar tattoo in poor condition is the infection internal. Infected or scabbed tattoos are usually due to recent tattoos. This assumes that the pregnant woman has had it done shortly before giving birth, without taking into account the risks that she may pose to the fetus. Specifically, experts warn of an increase in the chances of get hiv.
However, the main danger of accepting an injection through a wound is infection. This could compromise the health of the nerves and the spine. Although it is a common practice to relieve pain in childbirth, many anesthetists report the risk of this injection and its possible side effects. If to this is added the piercing of a tattoo in poor condition, the risk is multiplied.
Even so, health professionals will refuse to give an epidural if they see bad skin. Previously, the status of the lumbar tattoo should have been discussed, since it will have happened in the weeks prior to the pregnancy. Even the tattoo artists will advise pregnant women so that they do not run the risk shortly before delivery. Let's also remember that the skin is very tight, so it is better to do the tattoo after giving birth, when the skin has recovered its usual position. In this way we will avoid deformations.