Are Tanning Beds A Fast Track to Skin Cancer?
As it turns out, tanning beds pose a greater cancer risk than previously believed. The World Health Organization (WHO) this month elevated tanning beds to its highest cancer risk category – "carcinogenic to humans." Tanning beds' classification had previously been, "probably carcinogenic to humans."
The WHO’s decision was based on a comprehensive review of current research, which shows tanning bed use raises the risk of melanoma of the skin by 75 percent when use starts before the age of 30. The WHO also found a link between tanning bed use and risk of melanoma of the eye.
Melanoma accounts for less than 5 percent of skin cancer cases but causes a large majority of skin cancer deaths. The American Cancer Society recommends people avoid tanning beds altogether.
“This new report confirms and extends the prior recommendation that the use of tanning beds is dangerous to your health, and should be avoided," says Len Lichtenfeld, MD, deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.
"Young women in particular are the heaviest users of tanning beds, and, as noted in the report, are at the greatest risk of causing harm to themselves," said Lichtenfeld.
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The pain and risk was all for *naught*.
You also did not suffer a third degree burn. A third degree is a deep tissue burn that destroys nerve endings. (Second degree causes blisters on the skin and first degree is the most common superficial burn). Your credibility is all for naught.
Lynette
Thank you for this share. I also suffered bad burns from tanning beds. I wish I hadn't been so vain and ignorant about tanning beds. I'm not saying everyone else uses them out of vanity or ignorance but for me, if I'm being honest, that was the case. But this was many years and I suppose, as Maya Angelou says - when you know better, you do better!
I was getting a pedicure last week and the woman beside me was asked by the technician if her swollen foot was a problem to work on. She said no and explained to him that she had skin cancer (and has it no longer) and pointed to the scarring by her foot and mentioned that she had intermittent swelling of the same as a result of the cancer (or the treatment, I'm not sure which).
She was very pleasant and seemed very open to talking about it so the researcher in me asked her if she had a family history. She said no, that her oncologists had said it was likely due to too much sun exposure. I asked if she used the sun or tanning beds and she said she used both - a lot. And now has very limited natural sun exposure (just enough to gain the health benefits) and has never set foot in a tanning salon again.
Scary stuff.
Thanks for sharing this. I have never been able to lay in a tanning bed (mentally, I truly believe it will cause horrible damage to my skin) I have a friend who always stands in the spray machine-- which I think is a lot safer than the tanning beds or sitting out in the sun without protection. I can only hope that they get rid of these tanning beds once and for all-- they do nothing but harm the skin and leave people looking burnt instead of healthy.
Thanks for your comments Susan and Rosa. For anyone who would like to learn how to use self-tanning products without streaks or unnatural dark spots, there are two how-to videos on youtube at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB3fN9uL3pY AND http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OOMz_t2O. Enjoy.