Tattoos make skin less sensitive to touch… says Allen

tattooing news fred smith 49My one of the friends is very sensitive anyone’s touch. I still remember that one day she went to the extent of slapping a person. I would like to suggest her to ink herself in order to lessen her sensitivity. You do not believe me. Ok I will tell you about a recent research by Todd Allen at the University of Northern Colorado, in Greeley, US, which proves me right.

Allen recruited 54 people to conduct his experiment out of which 30 persons had tattooed themselves. Skin sensitivity was revealed using a common scientific device called an aesthesiometer. The device consists of two adjacent plastic points that can be moved further apart. If the distance between the points is small when this happens, the skin area being tested is highly sensitive. On the other hand, the two points will not separate on less sensitive areas until they have moved very far apart. Allen tested participants’ reaction to the aesthesiometer on five body parts: the lower back, the back of the calf muscle, the inner forearm, the tip of the index finger and a cheek. On tattooed regions, the points had to be at least 32 millimeters apart, on average, before participants felt two distinct points. The normal distance for their corresponding unmarked body parts was 28 mm.

‘There is a relatively small but significant decline in sensitivity,’ says Allen.

There are several possible explanations as to why tattooed skin has lost this sensitivity. The repetitive stimulation of nerves in the skin during the tattooing process could cause them to become less easily active.

‘Another possibility is that the ink injected into the skin may be interfering with the pressure of touch,’ he conjectures.

I hope you believe me now, otherwise read Newsscientist.com for more details.

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