Sufferers of car crashes, especially motorcyclists, may end up having to deal with an injury called traumatic tattooing.
What exactly are these injuries? How do they impact a person and what can be done about them?
How do traumatic tattoos happen?
As the National Library of Medicine states, traumatic tattoos can happen in many ways. First of all, what are they? A traumatic tattoo occurs when part of the skin ends up marked in some way by an injury. This can include shrapnel getting embedded within the flesh, or things like road burn which grinds away parts of the skin.
The risk of infection
One of the biggest risks of a traumatic tattoo is the possibility of it becoming infected. In an injury with debris under the skin, especially dirty debris, it is all too easy for infections to form. In the case of road rashes or other injuries that involve open wounds, it is possible for bacteria to get in through the abrasions across the skin.
Quick medical treatment
In many cases, quick medical treatment is a good way of dealing with the risks of traumatic tattoos. In the emergency room, medical staff are equipped with everything they need to clean injuries out, including tools used to attack injuries in an abrasive way to ensure that all of the dirt, grime and debris really does get removed.
It is possible that a victim of traumatic tattooing will need medication to deal with the infections they may suffer with. They might also need skin grafts or want other procedures to reduce the appearance of scar tissue in the future.