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Background: I thought of this last night as I was getting my tattoo done. Though 90% of the procedure was completely painless, and even felt a little massage-like at times, there was that 10% where it felt like someone was carving me open with an exacto-knife. I asked the artist why it only hurt in
that one agonizing spot (random spot near shoulder) and she said that it was due to the high concentration of nerve endings. She said that everyone has nerve-dense bundles scattered randomly across their skin surface. Each person has different, unpredicatable, density at various points on their body so you never know where the pain is going to hit.
So an idea was born: Before going in for your tattoo you have a nerve-density reading done on the area that you want tattoo'd. I haven't worked out the exact details yet but the basic idea is that the scanner could find those spots where it's going to be searingly painful and then you could either a) adjust your tattoo to avoid that spot or b) adjust the tattoo gun to inject some short term pain-control under the skin or c) give you time to take a shot of whiskey and clamp your teeth down on a plug of wood.
My tattoo artist's response to this brilliant thought? (Paraphrase)"Er, maybe wuss's just shouldn't get tattoo's"
I stand by it. Tattoo Nerve Ending Detector... the great equalizer.
Tattooless pain?
http://www.pennandt...niphile/tattoo.html
Not it. [jutta, Sep 23 2006]
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How would the Nerve Ending Detector work? Inject capsaicin into your entire skin surface and then ask you where it hurt more? I'd rather take my chance with the needle and a plug of wood, thank you. But if you could make a painless nerve detector, you could connect it to a computer with, say, Photoshop, and create a tattoo that avoids the most sensitive areas. That would also ensure the tattoo's uniqueness. Cool. |
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Difficult, expensive version: hook something up to your brain's nerve reaction (like, a functional MRI) and, in very small increments, move a needle across the skin. Now you feel it, now you don't - no pain, just a feeling of acute touch (on) or just pressure (off). |
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I thought the pain was part of why people got tattoos. |
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I agree with your artist. |
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If you really must get a tattoo and are a little whimpy nancy boy, get a couple of demerol from your doctor first. Or even a shot of novacaine. |
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Hmmm novocaine... yeah that's it! When the Nerve Ending Detector hit a pocket it would automatically inject novocaine under your skin just ahead of the dye.. good idea! ;) |
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I didn't mind the regular pain.. that was actually pretty fun but the 10% of blinding agony I really had a time dealing with. |
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My tattoo is really neat actually, it's adapted from a cave painting at a Cave called Le Portal in France. It's a running horse.. but very unique.. I'm really happy how it turned out.. despite the slicing and dicing. :) |
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I recall reading somewhere that nerves are involved in the wrinkling of your skin during a long bath. The doctors mentioned were checking for nerve connection by sticking the patient's hand in water, and seeing what areas went all pruney. I've never noticed wrinkling in any place other than my hands and feet (well, not until the last few years), but you might be able to work something on your arm. Try hot salt water, for instance. Or maybe look for goosebumps. |
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Sorry, with the tattooist here, if you don't fancy the pain, don't do the tatt... They could of course locally anaesthetise the area, but that's just not cricket, so gotta bone, sorry.
My (to date, one no.) tattoo took about 3 hours, and I have to admit, for the last 45 mins I was on the edge of saying, "Sod it, let's finish this another day", such did it hurt, but it's a lovely piece and it's come out a treat, and I'm awfully proud of getting through the process, which I think getting inked is irrelevant without... |
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An interesting theory when applied to dentistry... |
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