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Getting inked could be a painful experience for body art lovers, who have most of their body covered with numerous tattoos. But you never would have thought these very tattoos are boosting your immune system. A study led by researchers from University of Alabama suggests that getting inked more than once could make you resistant to common cold.

Researchers have compared the body art that to gym for a starter. A person at initial days of hitting gym gets temporary pain the following day. But on repeating the exercise regimen, the pain fades away quickly. Similarly, getting a tattoo is a painful experience that may get better with time. However, if one keeps on getting inked again and again, the immune system gets tougher making one strong and gives ability to withstand the pain.

“After the stress response, your body returns to an equilibrium. However, if you continue to stress your body over and over again, instead of returning to the same set point, it adjusts its internal set points and moves higher”, said anthropology professor Christopher. Getting repeatedly inked also offers protection against cold as per new study. Immune system receives a boost on getting multiple tattoos.

To arrive to their findings, University of Alabama took into account the factor such as number of tattoos and time spent on each tattoo. Volunteers from a local tattoo shop in Leeds and Tuscaloosa help collect the data. With the help of local tattoo parlors, the researchers took saliva samples from customers. The samples of saliva were analyzed for levels of antibody immunoglobulin A and stress hormone cortisol.

The result indicated that participants who got one tattoo had their levels of increasing cortisol causing a fall in immunoglobulin A. On the contrary, in the case of those with multiple tattoos, levels of immunoglobulin A fell slightly which could be due to stronger immune system.

According to a report in PulseHeadlines by Eduardo Loreto, "Researchers from Alabama University say that when you get your first tattoo you have a low resistance, but the more tattoos you get, the more your immune system starts getting stronger and prevent you from getting sick."

Researchers recruited 29 participants and asked them questions about their tattoos, the numbers of tattoos they had and the time involved in the procedure. They took samples of saliva from the participants before and after tattoo sessions. Researchers analyzed these samples and measured the levels of immunoglobulin A and cortisol.

"New research has found that tattoos can offer a surprising health benefit. Having multiple tattoos can boost your immune system and help you fight off various common infections including a cold," according to a news report published by I4U.

"After the stress response, your body returns to an equilibrium. However, if you continue to stress your body over and over again, instead of returning to the same set point, it adjusts its internal set points and moves higher."

In a report published by the HuffingtonPost, "According to the research, "Tattooing may stimulate the immune system in a manner similar to a vaccination to be less susceptible to future pathogenic in? ltration." While the study has a small sample size and is not yet conclusive, it provides fascinating evidence of how well the body can be "trained" to respond to stresses over time."

"They don't just hurt while you get the tattoo, but they can exhaust you," he said in the release. "It's easier to get sick. You can catch a cold because your defenses are lowered from the stress of getting a tattoo."