Despite the preponderance of research to show that tanning bed use is unsafe there are still many individuals who ignore the risks. To complicate this issue are the myths perpetuated about tanning beds primarily by marketers from the tanning bed industry. In this post we are going to discuss the inaccuracies of these myths one by one. We are going to provide the facts you need in order to make an informed decision about tanning. Whether or not you use a tanning bed is your personal choice. But it is important for you to know the risks beforehand. All we are trying to do here is to educate the public about the dangers of tanning in order to prevent another needless death to melanoma skin cancer.
The American Academy of Dermatology cites an alarming statistic that one American dies of melanoma every hour. This doesn’t need to be. Let’s change this statistic through education and awareness. The following are some of the most prevalent tanning bed myths. Learn the real truth about the dangers and risks of using tanning beds.
Myth #1: Using tanning beds in moderation is safe.
When it comes to tanning whether it is tanning in the sun or at a tanning salon, there is no such thing as a safe or healthy tan when you have been exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Tans from a tanning bed or from the sun are evidence of UV radiation damage. Each time you tan you are accumulating sun damage which can cause wrinkles, sagging skin, and skin cancer. And here is the statistic you need to know. Both the American Cancer Society and the Skin Cancer Foundation tell us that the first exposure to tanning beds in youth increases melanoma risk by 75 percent.
Myth #2: Teens and twenty somethings don’t need to worry about skin cancer as it is an “old person’s disease.”
The truth is that skin cancer can happen to anyone regardless of age and especially young women who use tanning beds. In a previous post entitled, Personal Stories of Tanning Bed Users Diagnosed with Melanoma, most of my examples are from stories of young women in their early twenties who have been diagnosed with melanoma. In fact, the American Cancer Society reports that the annual incidence of invasive cutaneous melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, increased among Caucasian women in the United States aged 15 to 39 by 50 percent between 1980 and 2004. Melanoma is now considered to be the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old and the second most common form of cancer for adolescents and young adults 15-29 years old. What was once considered a cancer which happened to people in their senior years is now common among young adults.
Myth #3: Tanning at a tanning salon is safer than tanning in the sun.
While the tanning industry has been telling us all these years that tanning booths are safer than getting a sun tan, they are dead wrong. According to the Dermadoctor website, a twenty minute session at your favorite tanning salon is equivalent to spending a full day at the beach. Tanning beds have been reclassified as "carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. You are putting yourself more at risk for not only potentially deadly skin cancers but also for eye damage such as melanoma of the eye. Tanning beds are definitely not considered safe by most medical experts.
