Blood as Ink

[Brian-M]

Out of idle curiosity, I was wondering about the properties of blood when used as ink.

Writing in blood sometimes pops up in the cliche of signing a deal with the devil in blood.

Apparently real-life practitioners of the occult sometimes use blood (mixed with sour salts to prevent it coagulating) to write spells.

There's the controversial Blood Quran supposedly written using ink made from Saddam Hussein's blood.

According to this site: "Using one’s own blood to write Buddhist sutras is an ascetic practice, that can be included in along with other, more drastic ascetic practices that were practiced in China over the centuries [...]"

So I was wondering, does blood actually make a passable ink? Does it fade with age? Would it damage the paper it's written on in time due to acidity? Does it pose a health hazard?

ETA: Forget the acidity question, looking it up I see that blood is slightly alkaline.

ETAA: But then again, "sour salt" is another term for citric acid, so blood mixed with sour salt to prevent it coagulating would be acidic.

 

[rsaylors]

citric acid, sodium citrate and dextrose in water is an anticoagulant.

404 science, mathematics, medicine, or technology not found.

 

[catsmate]

Blood as ink fades rapidly IIRC. I think one of my old textbooks covers this, I'll have a look.

 

[GlennB]

Blood as ink fades rapidly IIRC. I think one of my old textbooks covers this, I'll have a look.

Hopefully it hasn't faded.

 

[Dinwar]

I'm waiting on some goose feathers from an uncle (I have a Medieval ink recipe I want to try, but the acid and salt destroys metal nibs). I can make a few tests once I get them. I bleed enough as it is--I probably wouldn't even have to intentionally cut myself to do it.

I will say that blood on non-porous plastic can last a while. It turns a muddy brown, but it's still there. Fun things you learn doing field work.

 

[paperskater]

Being a pen/ink enthusiast, I've come across this topic of discussion quite a bit.

First and foremost, writing something in blood technically makes it a biohazard. So, don't go dropping off your blood magnum opus in the mail and writing "BLOOD MAGNUM OPUS" on the side.

As to whether it poses any other health hazard, I'd be most worried about viruses in the blood itself, since viruses can just hang out and wait for their next host. But whether a virus can jump from dried blood to a new host's finger, I don't know. Bacteria isn't present in healthy blood, so that really shouldn't be an issue. But, anything that deals with blood should be treated as a biohazard anyway.

Since, as you mentioned, blood is very slightly alkaline and so it would probably not destroy any paper that it was written on. Adding an anticoagulant would make the blood mixture more acidic, but my sources tell me that wouldn't really be an issue, especially if written on acid-free paper. I have an acquaintance that wrote an entire journal entry with his pure blood and it has lasted 20+ years. The only difference is that the blood has dried down to a dark rusty brown color. He hasn't noted any fading, but this journal entry was written in a notebook. I have no idea if blood would last being exposed to UV light.

Oop, sorry, got to head out. I know a guy that's really knowledgeable about this subject, but he's not online right now.

 

[funkmon]

I know this is an old thread, but I am going to actually try this to prove a pedantic point to a friend. I will tape it and update you guys when I get the syringes.

 

[Modified]

Given how many washings it takes to get fish blood out of my jeans, it seems like it would hold up pretty well.

 

[Soapy Sam]

I'm waiting on some goose feathers from an uncle (I have a Medieval ink recipe I want to try, but the acid and salt destroys metal nibs). I can make a few tests once I get them. I bleed enough as it is--I probably wouldn't even have to intentionally cut myself to do it.

I will say that blood on non-porous plastic can last a while. It turns a muddy brown, but it's still there. Fun things you learn doing field work.

You may find this amusing.
Iceland. Outcrop of obsidian.
I'm holding a field guide book while examining a specimen.
I glance at the book and read a warning about specimens being extremely sharp. As my eye reaches the end of that line, a drop of blood lands on the page...

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

...First and foremost, writing something in blood technically makes it a biohazard. So, don't go dropping off your blood magnum opus in the mail and writing "BLOOD MAGNUM OPUS" on the side.

As to whether it poses any other health hazard, I'd be most worried about viruses in the blood itself, since viruses can just hang out and wait for their next host. But whether a virus can jump from dried blood to a new host's finger, I don't know. Bacteria isn't present in healthy blood, so that really shouldn't be an issue. But, anything that deals with blood should be treated as a biohazard anyway. ...

Not exactly, but you make a very good point. The process of using blood to write puts people at risk at least some of the time.

For blood to be defined as a biohazard, in the US anyway, it needs to either be blood contamination on a sharp object like broken glass or a needle (the pen would qualify), or it has to be dripping, or you can squeeze blood out, or caked and can flake off. Dried blood on paper would not qualify as a biohazard.

As for viruses, HIV and hep C wouldn't survive drying. Hep B virus is viable for about week or two in dried blood. It would still need to get on a persons mucous membrane or under the skin. That leaves a few miscellaneous viruses like West Nile and unknown viruses but I wouldn't worry that much about them.

Malaria parasites and some other tropical disease might be issues if the risk was applicable to the source of the blood.

The bottom line, however, is you are right. People should not be playing around with trying to write in blood. It puts other people at risk.

 

[Tiktaalik]

You may find this amusing.
Iceland. Outcrop of obsidian.
I'm holding a field guide book while examining a specimen.
I glance at the book and read a warning about specimens being extremely sharp. As my eye reaches the end of that line, a drop of blood lands on the page...

Do not take your dog walking in a place called 'Obsidian Dome'.

Yes, I realized it in time to turn around before anything untoward happened.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

I know this is an old thread, but I am going to actually try this to prove a pedantic point to a friend. I will tape it and update you guys when I get the syringes.

This sounds like a bad idea. See the above posts.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Do not take your dog walking in a place called 'Obsidian Dome'.

Yes, I realized it in time to turn around before anything untoward happened.

Back in college I went on a field trip with my geology class to the obsidian flow in Eastern OR (Paulina Lakes). It was a running joke that preparation was not the best with this class. Sure enough, some guy got a nasty gash and all that was in the first aid kit was a triangular bandage. That was it, the box was otherwise empty.

Fortunately I had a few supplies with me.

 

[Dragoonster]

I sometimes create artwork out of my blood after I suffer a cut. Been doing this for at least twenty years and the stuff I made back then hasn't faded. If anything blood tends to darken. And if using a ton of it it'll get a nice shiny glaze look.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

I sometimes create artwork out of my blood after I suffer a cut. Been doing this for at least twenty years and the stuff I made back then hasn't faded. If anything blood tends to darken. And if using a ton of it it'll get a nice shiny glaze look.

You do know that's creepy, right?

 

[funkmon]

This sounds like a bad idea. See the above posts.

Considering I don't have any diseases like those mentioned, find me poisoning myself unlikely, and my habit of regularly wipe my blood on my pants or whatever I have on me making most things I have ever touched a "biohazard," I find zero compelling reasons to not do it.

Dragoonster: with any utensil? I was going to do it with a quill and a Fountain pen to test. Do you have any examples for us to see?

 

[McHrozni]

citric acid, sodium citrate and dextrose in water is an anticoagulant.

404 science, mathematics, medicine, or technology not found.

Dextrose is there to keep the cells alive for longer. Citrate is the anticoagulant

McHrozni

 

[Soapy Sam]

Do not take your dog walking in a place called 'Obsidian Dome'.

Yes, I realized it in time to turn around before anything untoward happened.

The one at Mammoth? Been up there. Yes, it's not exactly dog walking country. Rough on boots , too.

 

[jasonpatterson]

My daughter put both hands through our screen door window and cut her wrists (not terribly badly, luckily, but it still scared the daylights out of everyone.) She bled on the porch before we left for the hospital and the blood had time to dry before we returned. The brown stain lasted on latex porch paint in the path that we walked, exposed to the weather (in Cleveland, OH) for 1.5 years before I repainted the porch. The blood stuck to the paint better than the paint stuck to the wood beneath it, basically.

Clearly that's not writing, and it was a lot more blood than anyone is likely to use in their pen, but just as an example of how durable it can be...

ETA: In case you're wondering why we didn't scrub it off, she wanted to see how long it would last. Some 5 year olds like princesses - mine likes long term investigations of her own blood's durability. I know which of those choices I prefer.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Considering I don't have any diseases like those mentioned, ...

And you know that, how?

All three diseases, hep B, C and HIV can have long periods of latency meaning the person has no symptoms.

People can be exposed to blood from shared tools, from the barber or hair cut place, and from medical mistakes.

In addition there are other infections that can be transmitted in blood.

I find your attitude rather cavalier.