Does it hurt when you get a cat scan and have a tattoo?

January 6th, 2009

I have heard that the lead in tattoos causes pain while getting a cat scan. Is this information true, or was this person screwing with me?

Yep, they were screwing with you or maybe someone was screwing with them. Either way it falls under the category of old wives tale.

Its an old myth....they actually proved it on MythBusters I think. Plus, the ink used for tattoos now have little to no lead in them.

It's all a myth, unless you got the tattoo's done in prison.. plus I think you are thinking of an MRI not a cat scan.

There have been rumors out there regarding certain lead containing inks heating up during a MRI scan. But, this is with MRI and not CT scanning. A CT scan uses radiation, just like x-rays. Can you imagine how many people would not be able to have x-ray exams if their tattoos excluded them?

There have been VERY few reports of the ink in tattoos heating up during their MRI scans. There were rare cases of older tattoos having a higher concentration of metallic ink. But, I do MRIs on patients daily, and I have never had a patient complain of heat in the area of their tattoos. I also have 5 tattoos, and never had a problem being around MRI (or CT for that matter).

The person was screwing with you. I have had serval cat, CT, MRI, Xrays and so on and have 10 tats and never once has it hurt b/c of my tattoos.

What kind of cat is it?

Just kidding. A cat scan or a MRI will not cause you pain at a tattoo site. The only pain you need to worry about is "regret" in 30 or 40 years

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Does it hurt when you get a cat scan and have a tattoo?

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