A Tanning Booth Misadventure
When I was in college, a tanning studio with tanning booths opened in a popular student shopping area a short walk from my apartment. A friend of mine worked there, and she was able to give coupons for free tanning sessions to many of her friends. Curious, I decided to give it a try.
I was young, and while I don't like to say I was stupid, let's just say I had not yet studied medicine. At that time, society in general was also not as well-informed about the aging and cancer-promoting effects of ultraviolet (UV) rays. So off I went to the tanning studio with coupon in hand, envisioning that some free artificial tanning would give me what many people today still perceive as a "healthy" glow.
Knowing that I have very sensitive skin, I told the technician to give me a very minimal exposure to the UV rays. Maybe the equipment was poorly calibrated, or maybe the tech didn't believe me when I said I burn easily. Anyhow, I was left with prickly pink-red, slightly burned skin that didn't look - or feel - healthy at all. Thankfully, I didn't go back.
Many people today still believe that tanning booths and beds are safe alternatives to acquiring a tan "naturally" outdoors, reasoning that tanning indoors does not damage the skin. Particularly now, with spring break approaching, those heading for warmer climes may believe that indoor tanning can help jump start their tan or even protect them from sunburn while on vacation.
But indoor tanning may actually be even more dangerous than being in the sun. Natural sunlight contains a mixture of both short-wave UV-B and longer wave UV-A rays. Both types of UV rays can lead to premature ageing of the skin, and both increase a person's risk of developing skin cancer, including malignant melanoma. The difference is that UV-B rays cause more rapid tanning and burning while UV-A rays do not cause burning until exposure levels are very high.
Indoor tanning booths and beds most commonly use ultraviolet bulbs that emit predominantly UV-A rays, claiming that they offer a tan without exposure to the "burning" type of UV rays. Although UV-A rays do cause slower burning than UV-B rays, they penetrate more deeply into the skin and can even adversely affect the cells involved in the body's immune response. UV-A rays also raise an individual's risk of developing malignant melanoma and other cancers of the skin.
In short, there's absolutely no scientific evidence that the use of tanning beds and booths is any less damaging or harmful than exposure to outdoor sunlight. Of course, trying to avoid damaging UV rays with a good sunscreen is the best way to have healthy-appearing skin. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends routine sunscreen use for everyone, even for those with darker skin tones who are less sensitive to the effects of UV radiation.
Related topics: Indoor Tanning is Bad, Docs Say, WebMD Video: Tips to Getting Glamorous
Technorati Tags: skin, skincancer, UVRays, tanningbeds
I was young, and while I don't like to say I was stupid, let's just say I had not yet studied medicine. At that time, society in general was also not as well-informed about the aging and cancer-promoting effects of ultraviolet (UV) rays. So off I went to the tanning studio with coupon in hand, envisioning that some free artificial tanning would give me what many people today still perceive as a "healthy" glow.
Knowing that I have very sensitive skin, I told the technician to give me a very minimal exposure to the UV rays. Maybe the equipment was poorly calibrated, or maybe the tech didn't believe me when I said I burn easily. Anyhow, I was left with prickly pink-red, slightly burned skin that didn't look - or feel - healthy at all. Thankfully, I didn't go back.
Many people today still believe that tanning booths and beds are safe alternatives to acquiring a tan "naturally" outdoors, reasoning that tanning indoors does not damage the skin. Particularly now, with spring break approaching, those heading for warmer climes may believe that indoor tanning can help jump start their tan or even protect them from sunburn while on vacation.
But indoor tanning may actually be even more dangerous than being in the sun. Natural sunlight contains a mixture of both short-wave UV-B and longer wave UV-A rays. Both types of UV rays can lead to premature ageing of the skin, and both increase a person's risk of developing skin cancer, including malignant melanoma. The difference is that UV-B rays cause more rapid tanning and burning while UV-A rays do not cause burning until exposure levels are very high.
Indoor tanning booths and beds most commonly use ultraviolet bulbs that emit predominantly UV-A rays, claiming that they offer a tan without exposure to the "burning" type of UV rays. Although UV-A rays do cause slower burning than UV-B rays, they penetrate more deeply into the skin and can even adversely affect the cells involved in the body's immune response. UV-A rays also raise an individual's risk of developing malignant melanoma and other cancers of the skin.
In short, there's absolutely no scientific evidence that the use of tanning beds and booths is any less damaging or harmful than exposure to outdoor sunlight. Of course, trying to avoid damaging UV rays with a good sunscreen is the best way to have healthy-appearing skin. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends routine sunscreen use for everyone, even for those with darker skin tones who are less sensitive to the effects of UV radiation.
Related topics: Indoor Tanning is Bad, Docs Say, WebMD Video: Tips to Getting Glamorous
Technorati Tags: skin, skincancer, UVRays, tanningbeds
22 Comments:
Finally! A good blog from WebMd.
I totally agree with what the blogger was saying. Any type of tanning is not good for your skin and health.
I lost a good friend from high school about six months ago. She was just shy her 33rd birthday and a wife and mother of two children. She tanned ALOT during her teen years and by the time she was our age (32) her skin looked horrible. It was leathery and dry all the time.
It wasn't until she developed a bad chronic cough that she would know the extensive damage that those tanning rays did to her. She was diagnosed with malignant melanoma last year and died within four months of diagnosis. It wasn't what she did as an adult, it was what she did when she was younger that killed her. By the time the Doctors realized what was going on, it was too late. The cancer cells had a new home in her lungs and they were there to stay. She spent the last four months of her life on oxygen. Her children are left without a Mom and her husband with out a wife.
When you are young you think it is cool to tan. There are way too many alternatives out there to get that healthy glow. I know that her death made me more conscious of the damaging rays and long term damage that comes with them.
I'm very glad that not only I see what tanning does to people. Not just the artificial light, but also going outside. My younger sister just went tanning a couple of days ago. The lady that owned the place told her she was "albino". What an ignorant woman. Doesn't anyone ever take into fact that genes are a big part of being tan/light-skined/etc? I only have a slight amount of American Indian in me so being german, irish, and scottish doesn't really help in the tanning department. When I was younger, I used to always be tan because always out in the sun. I played a lot of sports but still used sunscreen. Now I can't tan for my life. To be honest, I don't care. I'd rather have people joke with me because i'm so pale then for people to stare at me because I'm missing a nose from cancer. Over the past 8 years, I've watched my mother get chunks and chunks of cancerous skin cut out of her. and just recently, it was the tip of her nose. I cried with her everytime she looked in the mirror. Now she needs a rhinoplasty (nosejob) to make it look normal. It's a damn shame that something that is silent can ruin so much before it's caught. Especially self-esteem. So for anyone who reads this.. just remember everytime you go out in the sun or go to a tanning salon, that skin cancer is a longterm process. You may think "Oh, well at least I'll die looking good." WRONG. By the time you die from skin cancer, you will look 10 years older then you already are. It may not effect you now, but sooner or later it will come back to bite you in the ass. Karma's a bitch, what can I say?
Do you want to look like George Hamilton? I know I don't...Toledo,OH
I have heard that some sun is good for you though. That since we all started wearing sunscreen and not going out in the sun we are missing some key nutrients, namely Vitamin K. Has anyone else heard this? Do we know how much sun helps and how much is too much?
Since I have had a melanoma in my lifetime, I hesitate to visit the tanning salon for my son's upcoming wedding. If I get a spray on tan, will I turn out orange and is it healthy?
Dear WebMD: My uncle, age 80, takes Prevacid, 30mg, Cozaar, 25mg, and Avodart, 0.5mg, each once a day. Can they be taken together or should he take them apart, like one in the morning and the others in the afternoon or evening?
I had a spray on tan done at a salon for a wedding recently and was happy with it. I've had several people comment on how natural it looked --including my skeptical husband. Many of the girls wanted to get it done after they saw it. As far as safety, I don't know the answer to that, but they say it is safer.
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I have been indoor tanning for years and i am 46 now and stil look like i am in my early 30's...I worked at a tanning salon and learned from a very intelligent owner who had us all take courses on tanning and learningabout cetain bulbs which give off too much uvb, every tanning place has the cancer society come in with a meter to check that the level are safe and no one is at risk, people need to get educated and use lotions and moisturizers and dont over use your time in a ranning bed...
Regarding the comment from the person who "looks 30." I tanned in a tanning booth in the early eighties. I was diagnosed in 2/2005 with melanoma. One year later, I have ugly scars and am still fighting the disease. You may look good now, but you may end up paying the piper later. I hope you listen to the warnings that are all around you.
Anonymous 6:26PM:
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Regarding spray on tans, my sister and I both got one for her son's wedding and were very pleased with the result. We were told it was a natural sugar base. It gave us a very nice light tan (so we didn't look pasty white) which only lasted 4 or 5 days. I would do it again for a special occasion.
First of all it isn't the sun that gives you the cancer. It's what you put in your body that causes the cancer, the sun is just bringing it up and out of your body. The sun is a powerful curative and todays society is full of medicines and food additives that shouldn't be in the body in the first place. I am a raw foodist and I don't even get a sun burn any more. In fact, it got to the point where I didn't tan any more before I changed my eating habits. Now I have a healthy glow all year long. I don't take any medicines and I don't eat any thing in a box or jar.
10 minutes of natural sun helps with keeping our bodies in vitamin D. This is with your face and arms exposed.
Birth defects-nucleic acid-drip-IV-Or shots. Is HCON-H is hydrogen-C is carbon-O is oxygen-N is nitrogen.
I do not think that you can say tanning in a bed is safe, but you can say that it is safer than tanning outdoors. Outside you do not know how much UV light you are getting. At least with a tanning bed it is monitored. Of cours like so many things in life it should be done in moderation and always wear your eye goggles and use a good tanning lotion.
10 minutes of natural sun helps with keeping our bodies in vitamin D. This is with your face and arms exposed.
I have a question about it. I prefer to have my face protected completely from the sun - with European Mexoryl-containing sunscreen to filter out UVA. Will exposing legs and arms for the same amount of time be enough to get the same amount of vitamin D? I really need vitamin D because I have POF and it significantly increases my osteoporosis risk.
I have been using a tanning bed for the past two years. Since then my skin has never burnt outdoors anymore. Doctors also prescribe it to people who suffer from depression. The tanning beds give off vitamin D, which improves your mood, and helps absorb calcium. Anything can be potentially harmful, but the key is moderadion, and to know your limits. Just like outdoors you wouldn't want to burn, so in a tanning bed start out with the correct time for your skin type, and you will be fine. Wear your goggles, and use proper lotion provided by your salon and you will be fine.
I am kenyan/black (for medical reason only!) and i recently moved to America, i am a medical college, recently i check my WBC counts on one of the hematology machine and found out that my WBC count is so low, actually 2.3. i have no symptom of any ailment, no stress, not being in a hospital for the last 5 years, except for minor flu that's so frequent in seattlle, am generally fine. what could be the course of this level of WBC counts,
Thanks, KAMAU KURIA
I work now at a tanning salon and too many people try to come in every day and i tell them no! # times a week tops 20 mins. a day.
You can get cancer from anything these days and if you are very careful and with moderation and the use of good lotions you can have a safe tan and of course always get regular check-ups, too many people don't and that is why undetected cancer gets by unnoticed...
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