A Chinese family has turned to an unusual measure to help protect their elderly relative with severe dementia, tattooing family members’ phone numbers onto her hand after she went missing once.
According to Bailu Video, a tattoo shop owner surnamed Chen in Quzhou, Zhejiang province, received a request from a family whose grandmother, believed to be in her 80s or 90s, needed the contact details of her loved ones tattooed onto the back of her hand.
The woman has severe dementia and had previously gone missing, leaving her family worried that she might wander off again and be unable to find her way home.
Hoping to make it easier for strangers to contact them if she went missing, her family asked Chen to tattoo the mobile phone numbers of her son, daughter and grandson onto her hand.
Chen said the grandmother was afraid of the pain, but eventually endured the procedure after being persuaded by her son and grandson.
Images of the tattoo later circulated online, prompting mixed reactions from social media users.
Some questioned whether tattooing all three numbers was necessary, suggesting that one contact number would be sufficient. Others proposed alternatives, including long-lasting temporary tattoos or sewing the family’s contact details into the woman’s clothes.
Several users also expressed concern that tattooing the back of the hand, where the skin lies close to the bones, could be particularly painful.
However, others defended the family’s decision, arguing that conventional identification methods, such as bracelets, tags and labels sewn into clothing, might not work if a person with dementia removes or discards them.
One commenter said the tattoo was a practical way to ensure the contact details remained with the grandmother, while others described the gesture as both heartbreaking and touching.
The incident has sparked discussion about the challenges families face when caring for loved ones with dementia, particularly the difficulty of preventing them from getting lost and ensuring they can be identified if they wander away from home.
