This is going to be my first pregnancy and im thinking of getting an epidoral but a good friend of mine told me that if u have a tattoo where they put the epidoral then u cant get one b/c it has something to do with poison to your body. now im really scared b/c i cant go through the pain alone but the main question is , is that really true do tattoos stop u from getting the epidoral?

P/s: using my hubby account

Just read off from some board, I am curious myself about this, someone has answer?

Hi. I am the chief nurse anesthetist at my hospital, and I would like to offer some information about the tattoo issue and labor epidurals. My staff of CRNAs administer all the spinals and epidurals at our medical center, and we frequently have people with lumbar region tattoos. While there have been many questions lately regarding whether epidurals through tattoos are safe or not, the bottom line is that we don’t really know. There has been a very small amount written in the anesthesia literature about this issue, and the opinions expressed and the small amount of anecdotal data indicate that epidurals through tattoos have not caused problems, in spite of the theoretical risk of introducing a foreign substance into/near the spinal cord. We do know that a variety of other substances, drug preservatives, etc. DO cause irritation when introduced there, even in very minute amounts. While epidurals and spinals seem not to cause problems, keep in mind that lower back tattoos have only gained widespread popularity in recent years. Sometimes things that seem safe in the beginning turn out to be the cause of problems, but only after much time and many people have tested it. A good example is the arthritis drug, Vioxx, which was very popular for 5 years, before recently being determined to increase the risk of heart attacks and stroke.

We’ll have much better information in 5 or 10 more years to determine if there is any increased risk of tracking a needle through a tattoo to the spine. In the meanwhile, I personally will perform a puncture through a tattoo, but try for a “clean” spot of skin whenever possible. As the location of the epidural can span a wider area than a spinal, there is more latitude to place it above the tattoo sometimes. Your own nurse anesthetist or anesthesiologist may choose to do the same, or may feel it safer or more conservative to refuse the procedure if it involves transversing the tattoo. It’s a question you have to take up with the individual performing the procedure, because we each have to make judgements regarding what we feel comfortable with as being safe for the patient.

That sounds like a definatly old wives tale to me, but who knows. An epi isn't the only form of pain medication you can get though. It seems like everyone opts for these when there is so much more out there that you could be trying. Ask your doctor about different pain medications you can recieve during labor and take child birth classes to learn about child birth. Natural child birth isn't as horrible as people make it out to be and if this is your first and circumstances allow it, I would go for as long as you can before asking for pain medication. By the time I felt I needed it, it was time to push and that only lasted about ten minutes.

My conclusion? As a mother of two, I can assure you that there are so many variables when having children that it is impossible to consider and prevent any possible difficulty. I also know that doctors have a knack for finding ways to provide for their patients, despite obstacles. They're not going to refuse pain relief to a woman in labor just because she has a lumbar tattoo, even if they believe in the above theory.

If a lower back tattoo is something you really want and this is the only thing standing in your way, you can always talk to your doctor about your concerns and see what they have to say on the matter. However, it appears to me that the chances of a lumbar tattoo actually interfering with an epidural or other pain relief is very, very minimal if not nil.

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