One of my medical school instructors calls tanning beds “cancer beds.” I thought this cartoon was a great representation of that.When MJ and I were driving across the country, we were struck by the number of tanning salons that we spotted out in the middle of nowhere areas. In the states of Montana and Wyoming, they dotted the highways, sometimes as the only building off the road. It was strange to say the least.
Plus, sun tanning beds don’t even help you make Vitamin D (a vitamin normally made in our skin when exposed to sun). Tanning beds use UVB rays, rather than Vitamin D encouraging UVA rays from the real sun. And frankly, so much of our food (milk, cereal, etc.) contains Vitamin D, so you really shouldn’t use it as an excuse to get some rays. A better option is getting a spray tan. I have my reservations about dying skin, but cancer prevention wise, it’s a much better choice.
Or just rock your alabaster skin like me. (I’m quite ghostly.)
Skin cancer is the most common for of cancer in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, there are over 68,000 new cases of skin cancer per year and over 8,600 deaths per year. I have several friends who have had to have cancerous growths removed already. These mid-20s to early-30s friends are now paying for high school summers spent in the glorious sun…It’s not any fun.
Remember to:
- stay in the shade
- cover your skin with clothing
- wear a hat
- wear sun glasses – they protect the sensitive skin around the eyes and protect your eyes from corneal damage. This is extra important for light eyed people.
- wear your sunscreen (minimum 15 SPF)! Don’t forget to lather the tops of your ears, your forehead, back of your neck, and your nose. I am so happy that so many cosmetics now contain sunscreen – it’s making it a lot easier to protect my skin these days.
4 responses so far ↓
Boshena // August 4, 2009 at 6:28 am |
Skin cancer some people can ignore – after all not everybody will develop this. However, if you fry in the tanning beds you will get prematurely aged skin FOR SURE.
That is enough for me to never consider tanning beds and opt for a spray tan instead.
pauline // August 4, 2009 at 8:05 pm |
thanks for the post! great advice… even for the less than alabaster skinned!
John // August 5, 2009 at 6:00 pm |
Medical school? Really? Seems you are missing a lot of facts. The average tanning bed emits the some ration of UVA and UVB rays as the sun and therefore do aid in the development of Vitamin D.
Missing that basic fact makes me a bit leary of this entire article.
Perhaps some research on sites such as http://www.uvtalk.com can provide you with info not distorted by mainstream media?
Little Owl // August 5, 2009 at 7:22 pm |
Well, John, this is not an “article” this is a snipet of info on a personal blog. This is not a medical blog, it’s a personal blog where I write about topics of interest to me, which happens to include medical topics. In regard to your UVA/UVB comment, tanning beds primarily emit UVA. Since they do not primarily emit UVB, the do not primarily promote the production of vitamin D. Tanning beds are for cosmetic use only. And frankly, laying in a bed that emits a wavelength that is known to have strong links to cancer, is not my cup of tea.
Tanning is evidence of skin damage. Period. This is not information “distorted by the mainstream media.” This is information demonstrated through rigorous, peer review medical, microbiological and dermatological literature.
The website you promote, however, holds itself up as an informative one. Even it’s motto “Avoid sunburn, not sunshine” shows that we are in agreement that sunburns are not desirable. However, in looking through the site, there are a number of scientific discrepancies (such as in regard to p53) which is not surprising since the authors admit they are not doctors nor molecular biologists.