A Victorian tattoo artist and body piercer is urging people to be careful of "backyard" operators after a teenage girl came to his shop with a potentially serious tongue infection.
Artist James Brown told ABC Gippsland Breakfast the 13-year-old girl appeared at his parlour last week with the wrong type of tongue piercing.
"The piercer had used a short bar — normally a long bar is put in the first time to accommodate any swelling of the tongue, which is quite normal," he said.
"But because [they] didn't, naturally the tongue did swell, and it totally encapsulated the bar.
"So, the girl had the bar completely inside her tongue and her tongue was infected.
"It was quite distressing for the young lady. I basically referred her straight to emergency and hopefully she's OK."
In Victoria it is illegal to tattoo anyone under the age of 18.
People under the age of 16 can receive a "non-intimate" piercing — that is not on nipples, genitalia, anal region or perineum — if they have parental consent.
'All sorts of risk'
Mr Brown said the incident was not isolated.
"I've been in the industry for 35 years. Naturally, you do get people that have been tattooed and pierced in the backyard environment in an unprofessional way," he said.
"They present with infections, piercings that aren’t correctly done [that are] too deep, not straight.
"You go to these backyard environments, and you’re open to all sorts of risks.
"There are studios at home that do great work — just as long as they’re registered, that’s perfectly fine."
Youth Law Australia’s principal solicitor Kim Richardson said before committing to a tattoo, piercing or body modification, it was "really important" to ensure the person was fully qualified.
"They should be registered with the local council and should have a registration certificate they can provide you on request," she said.
"Do the research to make sure the business you’re going to is complying with all the legislation and requirements."
Moving underground
Mr Brown said it could be difficult for artists to find regular work in regional areas, leading many to take the "dangerous" backyard route.
"It's quite common for studios to come and go, close down and people get pushed into a backyard environment," he said.
"Because getting a job in a rural area — particularly if that's what your qualification is — is extremely difficult, just due to the fact that we're pretty rare on the ground.
"But it's important people go to professional environments and stay away from areas where they can put their lives at risk."
