According to reports, a woman in Caerphilly recently died from blood poisoning two days after having her tongue pierced.
Despite scary stories like this, there's a lot of "body art" about. American figures suggest 14 per cent of people have body piercings and nearly a quarter have tattoos.
Celebs such as Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox are covered in them. And the number of tattoo and piercing parlours on our high streets suggests the figures are rising.
So what about the medical dangers? There are plenty. In one UK survey, 95 per cent of GPs had seen a piercing complication.
Everyone knows about the risk of hepatitis B and C - and maybe even HIV - from dodgy needles. What's unclear is exactly how big those hazards are with body art.
Tat-too far ... Angelina has several designs on her body
The figures may be skewed. After all, tattoos and piercing used to be associated with jail sentences, broken teeth and "risk taking" activity such as alcohol and drug abuse, which were linked to HIV and hepatitis risk.
Times have changed, though. These days, body art is so common that a bloke with tattoos and a nose ring is as likely to be on Neighbourhood Watch as on housebreaking duty.
So the only certainty about these serious infections is that the risk needs to be taken seriously. As does the danger of other infections. There have been reports of everything from tetanus to toxic shock after piercing.
And "minor" germs can spread to produce life-threatening infections. Even if you avoid germs, your latest metal or paint work might still cause havoc. Swelling and bleeding are common early on.
Piercings can take ages to heal, especially in the navel, nipple or genitals and can leave nasty scars.
