Category: Medical
Real Life Horror: Eyeball Tattooing
You read that right. Not “eyeball tattoos”, as in tattoos of eyeballs.
Eyeball tattooing. As in tattooing your eyeballs.
With the red pictured above, it’s easy to believe that maybe I was misinformed. It looks like an injury. Or possibly a bad infection.
But what about now?
According to the The Eyeball Tattoo FAQ, the technique of injecting tattoo ink into the whites of the eye has been around, in its current incarnation, since 2007. The site estimates that “… there are several hundred people with tattooed eyes.” Several hundred people, including two convicts who tattooed each other’s eyes while in prison. Yum, sanitary.
You may have noticed by now that I have a thing about eyeballs. I wear contacts from time to time, but that’s about the most I can handle. Eyeball stuff freaks me out. And having sat for several large tattoos, I can’t imagine the sensation of a needle, even hand-held, repeatedly jabbing me in the eye.
It’s just…you only have one pair of eyes. I’m an incredibly visual person — reading, writing, knitting — everything I do relies on my vision.
Side effects of tattooing your eyeballs could include: blindness, years-long headaches, and permanent blurry vision or light sensitivity that cannot be treated. One guy ended up with a permanent black eye when his black ink leaked into the tissue under his eyeball.
It might look totally badass…
…and I will always support the right of people to modify their bodies as they wish, but I hope people think long and hard before trying this particular experiment, especially while it’s in its relative infancy.
(photos belong to Modblog/BME, where eyeball tattoos are far from the most extreme body modification. Some posts are extremely not safe for work or for minors; visit with caution.)
How Artificial Eyes Are Made
It’s interesting to see the process involved. Completely bloodless, of course, though it may make you uncomfortable.
Frankly, I think the aluminum button he fits at the beginning of the video looks pretty badass, in a robotic-superhuman sort of way.
Body Bag: an Anatomical Sleeping Bag
As you read this, I’m off in the woods, hopefully not being murdered. Though if I get eviscerated tonight, it just might look like this:
Apparently these were available to purchase from Japan, but the web store sadly shows no such product. Too bad…I could have had some fun with this one, casually cozying up in my own guts…
(via geekologie)
Sidenote: I went to pack my backpack and found that I had a little stowaway…
Article: Creativity Linked to Mental Health
“New research shows a possible explanation for the link between mental health and creativity. By studying receptors in the brain, researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have managed to show that the dopamine system in healthy, highly creative people is similar in some respects to that seen in people with schizophrenia.”
…
“Thinking outside the box might be facilitated by having a somewhat less intact box,” says Dr Ullén about his new findings.
Read the rest of the article here.
I’m not schizophrenic, but I do have my fair share of nutty, and I’m pretty gosh-darned creative. I’ve never thought of the two being associated.
What do you think?
(via my pal Chainsaw, who is presently blogless)
Real Life Horror: LASIK Eye Surgery
I’ve decided to give contacts another go. I still love my glasses, but it’s nice having the option, especially for DayJob. I’m not at the point yet (and may never be) where I feel like wearing contacts every day. Sometimes they dry out. Sometimes I have trouble getting them lined up correctly (hello, astigmatism, you bastard). Sometimes I’d rather have the extra couple minutes of sleep in the morning.
Why don’t I just get LASIK, then?
This.
This is why:
THE EYE FLAP. If I was in an accident and part of my eye CAME OFF, you can bet your ass I’d be screaming all the way to the emergency room. I wouldn’t dream of getting it done on purpose.
I should be clear: I’m not saying LASIK is bad. Lots of people are happy with their LASIK results. More power to them; they’re braver than me. It’s the actual procedure that freaks me out: something about scalpels and eyeballs sets my hair on end. And yeah, yeah, bladeless options, blah blah, it’s too late. I saw the video. The damage has been done. I’ll keep my malformed eyeballs, thank you.
(It should be obvious: don’t watch this if you’re considering the procedure. Have this instead.)
sniderwriter 