Permanent Makeup and HIV: Protecting and Protecting

Useful material in the heading " The ABCs of a Beginning Master " with comments by microbiologist-virologist Anna Esypenko.

Permanent makeup is very closely intertwined with many sciences, including virology - the invisible side of the master's work, but one of the most important! But do we all know that with any impact, especially associated with a violation of the skin, it is possible not only to awaken a virus sleeping in the body, but also to infect a patient or yourself with it?

B - HIV infection

HIV infection is a slowly progressive disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus. As a result, the immune system is inhibited, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) develops, the patient's body loses the ability to defend itself against infections and tumors. At the first stage, and it lasts an average of about 5⎼8 years, depending on the subspecies of the virus, a person may not be aware of his disease, although the immune system will already give him distress signals. The virus is very insidious and knows how to disguise itself, or rather, aggravate and provoke other processes in the body. So, weakened immunity provokes the appearance of HSV, HPV, VZV.

Therefore, I would strongly recommend that you have a negative HIV test document with you!

The highest risk of HIV infection during the permanent makeup procedure is:

- old-style equipment with non-replaceable metal parts - these parts of the equipment come into contact with the customer's blood or lymph, and are used repeatedly. Modern equipment is equipped with a sterile disposable module, which includes a needle (or a bunch of needles) and a tube. The needle and the tube are separated by a membrane that prevents the penetration of the dye into the body of the device.

- pencils and brushes for sketches;

- reusable packages with anesthetics and dyes used for micropigmentation;

- switch and other parts of the equipment not protected by disposable coatings;

- reusable instruments used for tattooing, which are sterilized by the master himself (needles, caps, nozzles, tubes, etc.). Here, the thoroughness of the disinfection of materials by the master after the procedure is important, the "human factor" plays the role.

During permanent make-up, the master periodically turns off the apparatus or adjusts its speed. Since the master touches the device with dirty gloves, he himself runs the risk of becoming infected.
In some salons, there is a vicious practice when, after the procedure, the master puts the used gloves in his pocket, and then puts them back on when working with the next client. Often unfortunate masters do not even think about how many pathogens of dangerous diseases are transferred in this way. AIDS virus

How to guarantee the safety of permanent makeup?

Modern technologies make it possible to make the procedure absolutely safe if the PM master complies with all hygiene requirements.

The procedure applies:

- equipment with a disposable module in a disposable package, which includes a needle, a pigment nozzle and a tube;

- a needle of a modern design with a membrane for protection of the equipment;

- disposable consumables: caps for pigments, brushes, etc.;

- means for anesthesia in individual packing.
Turning to the tattoo parlor, pay attention to the working conditions of the master, to the cleanliness of his workplace.

Hygiene requirements:

- during the tattooing procedure, the master must wear a gauze bandage to protect against infectious diseases transmitted by airborne droplets. The bandage will protect against SARS, influenza, whooping cough, tuberculosis, etc.;

- tattooing should be done with disposable gloves;

- before the procedure, the specialist must disinfect hands, gloves used when working on the surface;

- consumables (needles, cartridges) must be in sterile disposable packaging. They should be unpacked with gloves and placed in the machine shortly before starting work in the presence of the customer;

- the pigment container must not come into contact with the pigment cup or nozzle opening;

- after the procedure is completed, everything that has been touched with gloves (for example, a lamp) must be thoroughly disinfected. These items can also serve as a source of infection.

All used consumables - cotton swabs and swabs, pigment cups, gloves - should be immediately discarded after the procedure. And the stand for the vessel with the pigment and the sleeve for the handle must be carefully disinfected.

Summing up, I want to note: the opinion that, using disposable consumables, you can avoid infection, inflammation, etc., unfortunately, is a very common misconception. It is true that we will protect the patient from viral infection, such as hepatitis B, C, HIV infection, which is transmitted through contact with blood and wounds. But, in addition to a viral infection, there is also a bacterial, fungal infection. Insufficiently well-processed gloves or tools can “reward” with conditionally pathogenic microflora, from which there will be nothing for a person with high immunity, but in case of reduced resistance, the body may suffer. There is a golden rule in medicine: do no harm! And although not many PM masters have a medical education, let's follow the rules of sanitary norms and procedures in order to be not only a specialist with a capital letter, but also remain a person.