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The Ontario government may ban eyeball tattooing after one Ottawa woman’s botched tattoo job severely damaged her left eye.In a letter to Ontario’s Health Minister Eric Hoskins, the Eye Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (EPSO) has proposed banning the sale of scleral (sclera is the white part) tattooing and eyelid jewelry (ouch). The new rules—an amendment to Bill 160—are currently being debated.Speaking to VICE in September, Catt Gallinger, 24, said after her ex-boyfriend (they were dating at the time) injected purple ink into the sclera of her left eye, it started leaking and became swollen, causing her to lose her vision. Her ex-boyfriend said it was normal, Gallinger told VICE. Then he dumped her.Instead of doing the procedure over a few days, with a small needle and ink diluted with saline, Gallinger said her boyfriend put “pure ink” in her eye with a large needle. He completed the “tattoo” in 10 minutes.Months later, Gallinger told Global News her sight is still blurry, even having undergone several corrective procedures. She said she is considering having the part of her that contains ink removed. But if she waits too long, and the ink solidifies, she may need to have her eye removed.“The depression has hit very serious, scary moments where I have had to wake people up in the middle of my night because I was scared of what might happen,” she told VICE.She also said she’s lost weight, quit modeling and is living with her mother.If the EPSO’s recommendations pass into law, Ontario will become the first province in the country to ban eyeball tattoos. While we normally make fun of our nanny state province, this might be for the best.Follow Manisha Krishnan on Twitter.
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