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Sun Safety Week and Society's Obsession With Being Tan

By HERWriter
 
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It seems that most women and men feel the need to be tan in order to fit into society's definition of attractive. Of course, there are obvious detrimental effects of catching too many sun rays.

National Sun Safety Week, which takes place from June 1 to 7, according to http://www.sunsafetyalliance.org/, is a great way to get more information about the dangers of the sun.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has its own Web page dedicated to providing information on how to "protect your skin from the sun": http://www.healthfinder.gov/prevention/ViewTopic.aspx?topicID=44.

Here are tips on how to prevent skin cancer from the U.S. Dep't of Health and Human Services:

- The best way to prevent skin cancer is to protect your skin from the sun.
- Stay out of the sun between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
- Use sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher.
- Cover up with long sleeves and a hat.
- Check your skin regularly. This is called a skin self-exam.

Despite all the information and awareness, as a college student, I see so many men and women with fake tans, real tans and sunburns. I'm sure they know what they're doing - they just don't want to be labeled as "too white," which seems to be considered unattractive.

People need to be happy with their natural skin color and take care of their skin, not let it burn. Otherwise they might have a higher chance for skin cancer.

Add a Comment29 Comments

EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I hope all the vain people get what they truely deserve.

July 20, 2009 - 10:21am

Vitamin D deficiency is an underlying cause of many lethal cancers, such as lung cancer, ovarian and breast cancer, including Melanoma skin cancer. The amount of Vitamin D required for children was just DOUBLED by the Pediatric ASsociation to 400 iu's because of a reaccurrence of the vitamin deficiency disease of rickets. Remember, Vitamin doesn't come from milk, it was added by the government of England when they recognized that all the children forced to work in mines got rickets and instead of concluding that children shouldn't work in mines, they decided to fortify their milk instead. The optimum levels of Vitamin D, a hormone made in the skin by sun exposure, are often recommended up to 10,000 - 20,000 iu's for adults. Skin cancer is easily detected and can be treated early and is rarely fatal. Historically, the vast majority of all types of lethal cancer occurred in the northern portions of the USA...at least prior to the sunscreen and dermatological industries scare tactics that started in the 90's. It just became 'fashionable' to be a pale 'working woman' in the 80's instead of a tanned housewife. Feel free to 'search' Vitamin D deficiency or Vitamin D etc and read for yourself from a wide variety of qualitly sites. Judicious tanning during the hours of 11 am and 3 pm (ie 15 mins to an hour several times a week or more) are needed to stay healthy and prevent cancer. Not to mention, Vitamin D plays a critical role in the obesity epidemic...which in turn has created other epidemics of diabetes, heart disease and, again, lethal forms of cancer. The research is there, but...no one makes any money if you get some sun stay slim and healthy...but they do if you buy sunscreen and get cancer.

July 17, 2009 - 1:29pm
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

There's nothing wrong with a little bit of sun as long as you're aware of the dangers and protect yourself against them. I go to school where we get a few feet of snow every week in the winter and there's hardly no sunny days from October-April. People are depressed and tensions are high...even people who snow board and are super active in the winter still get cranky. I started going to the tanner once a week (just laying the bed or stand up for 10 minutes) and it made a world of difference. I'm not an advocate for tanning everyday or anything, but a little sun can make you feel a lot better. It's stupid for people to be afraid of going outside, wear sun screen and get out there!

July 16, 2009 - 11:49am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I see my five and six year old boys being educated differently about the dangers of too much sun than I was. Education is the only way forward.

July 8, 2009 - 10:55am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

I think the author needs some sun...

July 8, 2009 - 9:14am

I love the outdoors. I just go out protected from the sun. You might consider a trip outside your own mind-like maybe Australia where there is a huge hole in the ozone. Ask the country with the highest skin cancer rate in the world how they feel about sun protection.

July 5, 2009 - 8:10am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

You just wrote this to feel better about being pale. Go outside.

July 5, 2009 - 7:44am
EmpowHER Guest
Anonymous

As an American born to two immigrant Indian parents, I can only smile bitterly when I read about concepts like this. It must be rather nice to be able to tan at your leisure, knowing that your choice of skin color won't attract the attention of Homeland Security. Oh, also, it might be a tad bit inconvenient for you at some point down the

July 1, 2009 - 8:37pm

My Grandmother, born in the late 1800's, knew how bad the sun could be for your skin. When working on the farm with Dad and Grandpa, she always make me wear long sleeves and a hat. All the other girls went back to school in the fall with "great tans." I went back white as a ghost. Even with all the precautions, I have had one melanoma removed and 16 biopsies since! Imagine how bad it would have been without my Grandma's vigilance. By the way-she was 98 years old when she died in 1986-and her skin was beautiful and smooth. Go Granny with the sunbonnet!

June 30, 2009 - 12:30pm
(reply to hmhvalentine)

"Go Granny" indeed! It's great to hear how her prevention and protection from the sun paid off with healthy skin and a long life.

thanks for sharing!

June 30, 2009 - 2:29pm
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We value and respect our HERWriters' experiences, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice, although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.

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