Indoor Tanning and Prom Season

In the midst of a cold winter and prom coming up, many people are heading to the tanning salon to feel better and look better with a nice, brown tan. People use tanning beds because they like the feeling of the beds and like to look tan, and don’t understand the risks involved, or minimize them because they don’t want to give it up. Unfortunately, the reality is, to get tan, the ultraviolet rays must cause damage to your DNA.

  

Using a tanning bed, booth, or sunlamp to get tan is called "indoor tanning." Indoor tanning has been linked with skin cancers including melanoma (the deadliest type of skin cancer), squamous cell carcinoma, and cancers of the eye (ocular melanoma.) (CDC)

Indoor tanning exposes users to both UV-A and UV-B rays, which damage the skin and can lead to cancer.  Previous studies have linked indoor tanning with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Using a tanning bed is particularly dangerous for younger users; people who begin tanning younger than age 35 have a 75% higher risk of melanoma.   

A new study extends these findings to the more common but less serious skin cancers. Specifically, people who used tanning beds were 67% more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma and 29% more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma than people who never used them. Again, this risk was highest among people who started to tan before their 25th birthday.

Myths About Indoor Tanning

MYTH: “Tanning indoors is safer than tanning in the sun.”

FACT: Indoor tanning and sunbathing outside are both dangerous. Although beds operate on a timer, the exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays can vary based on the age and type of light bulbs. You can still get a burn from tanning beds, and even a tan indicates damage to your skin.

MYTH: “I can use a tanning bed to get a base tan, which will protect me from getting a sunburn.”

FACT: A tan is a response to injury: skin cells respond to damage from UV rays by producing more pigment. The best way to protect your skin from the sun is by using these tips for skin cancer prevention.

MYTH: “Indoor tanning is a safe way to get vitamin D, which prevents many health problems.”

FACT: Vitamin D is important for bone health, but studies showing links between vitamin D and other health conditions are inconsistent. Although it is important to get enough vitamin D, the safest way is through diet or supplements. Tanning harms your skin, and the amount of time spent tanning to get enough vitamin D varies from person to person.

Using tanning beds also increases the risk of wrinkles and eye damage, and changes skin texture.  This damage might not be visible for many years, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.  When I was in my twenties, several of us at the health center read about a way to see skin damage using a purple black light.  This “test” by no means replaces medical screening, but if you want to try it, wash your face and go into the bathroom, turn off the lights and turn the black light on next to your face.  I tried this at work and was ASTOUNDED at all the freckling and sun damage I could see that wasn’t visible from the surface.  Now, in my early 40s, it’s totally visible. 

It’s important to remember that skin cancer can happen at any age, it doesn’t just affect seniors after years of damage.  Skin cancers like melanoma are deadly, and need to be treated sooner rather than later.  If you find a spot that looks suspicious, please follow up with your physician.

Sources: CDC and WebMD