WABC – NY Updated Tue, May 14, 2019 at 11:47 AM UTC ...

Still, medical tattoos are becoming more popular, especially for those whose conditions are permanent. Cherry's medical interest comes in part due to his stint in the Navy.

Meanwhile, Becker is raising awareness about medical tattooing so her patients won’t need to. “Many of my clients, the last thing they want to do is have to put up another fight,” Becker said.

The 31-year-old decided months ago to get a 3½-inch tattoo on her left forearm that includes the medical symbol and identifies her as a Type 1 diabetic.

But a tattoo’s legibility can fade over time, and it’s difficult to update critical changes to a person’s medical condition on a design already inked into the skin, he said.

Scientists from Harvard Medical School and MIT have designed a tattoo ink that can monitor a person’s health by changing color to indicate dehydration or an increased blood sugar level, for example.

The American Medical Association "urges" the use of "evident .. durable" alerts but has no policy about medical alert tattoos. There's also no guarantee first responders will honor your ink.

Tattoo artist Mike Martin believes the placement of medical tattoos are extremely important. He's designed about 100 medical tattoos in his career. "It has to be spotted.

"Most physicians would honor a medical tattoo provided that [it] wouldn't cause additional risk," Zbiegien says. But, he advises, "You want to put it in a place where we're going to see it quickly." ...

Taylor Jaimes of Sauler Institute, specializing in medical tattoo services. | Photo: Courtesy Located in MiraMed and Day Spa on State Street, Sauler Institute of Tattooing is not your regular tattoo ...