What is cross contamination?
Cross contamination is, in its simplest most relative form, when someone touches anything clean with dirty hands and vice versa. Anything handled during an individual tattoo or body piercing procedure, should be considered contaminated, and used only for that singular procedure and then either thrown out or sterilized. If an item has been covered with a plastic barrier, it should still be cleaned with a class 3 tuberculocidal detergent such as madacide; this includes tattoo machines and hard surfaces, such as the tattoo workstations.
Cross-contamination is when bacteria are transferred from one object to another. That object could be food or a food surface. For example, blood juices from meats can leak onto vegetables stored below them, thus contaminating the vegetables. Cross-contamination could also occur when a kitchen rag that contains bacteria is used to wipe a kitchen surface that was previously clean and sterile.
Cross contamination is when bacteria are transferred from one object to another. That object could be a food or a food surface. For example, blood juices from meats can leak onto vegetables stored below it; thus, the vegetables have now become contaminated. Cross contamination could also occur when a kitchen rag that contains bacteria is used to wipe a kitchen surface which was previously clean and sterile.
Cross-contamination is the spread of micro-organisms from one surface to another. This can happen if a person (even if wearing gloves) touches a contaminated surface and after touches another surface then contaminating it. There are many bacterias and other micro-organisms that are aided in multiplying in this way. Hepatitis can live in dried blood exposed to air for over a week!!!!! Ask your tattooer if they ever taken a course in regards to safe-tattooing or bloodborne pathogens. Your tattooer should have cleaned the work station and safe guarded his equipment with plastic bags. Your tattooer shouldn’t be touching unprotected surfaces or his/herself with thier soiled gloves. If they touched their clothes or hair with gloves on while you where there, chances are they did so with the person before you! Thus, they just did cross-contamination. New ink caps should be used for ink so as not to contaminate ink bottles. If your tattooer needs more ink, they should be discarding thier gloves
