Publication:Sea Talk Summer 2003/Tattoos & piercing

Navy policy and health advice on tattoos and body piercing

By Fleet Medical Office Tattoos

Although a traditional mark of the seafarer, the RAN would prefer its sailors not adorn themselves with tattoos. The main reason for this is that tattoos can and do present serious hazards to health.

The medical and social complications of tattooing are being included in regular health lectures to ships' companies. Added emphasis is also being given in lectures to junior members of the Service.

Commanding Officers, Divisional Officers and Medical Officers have a responsibility to the parents of young members of the Service and they are taking positive steps to discourage the practice of tattooing.

Under individual State laws, junior trainees and recruits under the age of 18 years are prohibited from having themselves tattooed.

Tattooists and tattoo parlours, as a general rule, are not renowned for their compliance with strict cleanliness and aseptic precautions. Tattooing requires the insertion of dyes below the outer layer of skin by the use of needles. Unless this is done with strict aseptic technique, the recipient runs the risk of infection.

Apart from infections that produce a suppurating wound, viral infections such as hepatitis and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) may be transmitted. Syphilis may also be transmitted by tattooing.

It is extremely difficult to remove a tattoo. Complete removal is virtually impossible short of plastic surgery and extensive skin grafts. Because of this, anyone considering getting a tattoo should take heed of the content and placement of a tattoo before subjecting themselves to its permanency. What may look good on someone of 21 may not look so good when they reach 71.

Finally, those with a religious bent should be reminded that Leviticus 19.28 states 'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves.'

Body piercing

The RAN would also prefer that its sailors not undergo body piercing, again for health reasons. Although a popular form of body art, the process of body piercing is not without medical complications, and is generally discouraged, particularly in foreign ports where standards of hygiene are lower than in Australia.

Personnel should not undertake body piercing unless they can be assured of the ability to wear jewellery for the necessary period of time to allow skin to grow through the pierced tract (normally six weeks).

Medical complications include scar formation, suppurating wound infections, hepatitis and AIDS.

As the wearing of body piercing jewellery in non-exposed body parts creates a risk of unnecessary injury to the individual it is a breach by the member of their occupational health and safety duty not to increase the risk of injury to themselves.

In the workplace, there is the chance that any exposed jewellery may become caught on machinery/work equipment and cause serious injury. There is also the possibility that heat from machinery or the environment may raise the temperature of metal jewellery enough to cause flesh burns.

Hazards that have occurred in the past include the swallowing of jewellery (from tongue piercing), lacerations of the scrotum caused by jewellery catching in overalls, and lacerations of nipples resulting from a fire hose lift during an exercise.

Personnel should make themselves aware of the potential risks of body piercing. Under no circumstances will the policy on the wearing of body piercing jewellery be waived for the purposes of allowing skin growth in the pierced tract or in treating infections of the tract.

Given the ADF requirement for all members to be deployable, any hindrance to that deployability, including injury due to body piercing jewellery, could result in a review of a members employability.

The RAN policy on the wearing of nonvisible body piercing jewellery is as follows:

• Shore establishments. Personnel may only wear body piercing jewellery in non-exposed body parts when not on duty.
• Ships. Personnel may only wear body piercing jewellery in non-exposed parts when proceeding directly to or from shore leave.

The RAN policy on the wearing of visible jewellery is contained in ABR81 paragraphs 462 to 469. The RAN policy on tattooing and body piercing is contained in DI(N) PERS 31-18 of 11 July 2001.