Getting a tattoo may be a little riskier than first thought.

An NYU study has found that 10% of people get short term complications like a rash or an infection after getting a tattoo. This compares to 6% of people who can have complications that last up to four months. In some cases side effects can continue on for a year.

According to Today Health, "after interviewing 300 randomly selected people with tattoos in New York City's Central Park, researchers found that 4 percent had experienced a short duration rash right after getting "inked," while an additional 6 percent reported skin problems that lasted longer than four months, according to the study published Wednesday in Contact Dermatitis.

I've taken care of patients who have had problems with their tattoos and was curious about how common this was," said the study coauthor Dr. Marie Leger a dermatologist and assistant professor at the New York University. "I was surprised at the results.

The reactions can be quite striking, Leger said. "The colored portion can sometimes raise up as much as a centimeter above the skin and can affect the texture of the skin and the way the tattoo looks," she explained.

It could be the chemical in the ink that is causing the issues and they could even be related to color. The study found that red ink tattoos were most likely to have issues.

Some experts hope that the chemicals in tattoos will be examined for safety on a national level.

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