A Model Almost Lost Her Eye After Getting a Sclera Tattoo. Here ’s Why She Did It

A Canadian woman nearly lost her eye after undergoing a dangerous and increasingly popular procedure to permanently color in the whites of her eyes. Catt Gallinger, a 24-year-old model, had sought out a “sclera tattoo” — a relatively new trend in which people get ink injected into their eyeball to turn the sclera, or the white part of the eyeball, into a different color. Gallinger’s procedure last month went wrong and left purple ink oozing out of her eye, which quickly became swollen, infected and painful. “It hurt. It burned,” Gallinger told TIME on Friday. “At its worst, it’s like having a migraine and then also being punched in the face at the same time. It’s taken a big toll on my mental health.” Gallinger said she expects to undergo eye surgery to remove the ink next week, but the vision in her right eye will likely never go back to normal. She’s now speaking out against the dangers of sclera tattoos to spread awareness about the life-changing risks the procedure poses. Here’s what to know about the trend. (Warning: Graphic photo below.) How do you get a sclera tattoo? A sclera tattoo is not exactly a tattoo, although it is permanent. It happens when a mixture of ink and saline is injected into the eye through a small needle. The mixture is injected right under the surface of the conjunctiva, which covers the front of the eye and lines the inside of the eyelids, according to the American Academy o...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized onetime public health Source Type: news