Tanning Booths

[Guest guest]

Tanning Booths

Despite some claims to the contrary tanning booths do not provide

you with a " safe tan " , the ultra violet rays (UV rays) the booths

emit do damage to your skin just like the sun. Tanning is the skins

way of protecting itself from UV rays whether those rays are

produced by the sun or by light bulbs. Overexposure to natural or

artificial UV rays can cause eye injury, premature aging of the

skin, rashes and inflammations, and can increase your chances of

developing skin cancer.

 

UVA rays are not safer than UVB rays as many tanning bed companies

claim. UVA and UVB rays both damage the skin they just do so in

different ways. UVB rays impact the surface of the skin while UVA

rays penetrate to deeper layers. Both burn, UVA rays only burn

deeper.

 

Regular, long-term exposure to UV rays, be they from the sun or from

artificial sources increases your risk of developing skin cancer.

 

Two types of skin cancer, basal cell and squamous cell, are

treatable if detected early enough but melanoma, another type of

skin cancer, can be fatal.

 

Because too much exposure to UV rays can damage the retina Food and

Drug Administration requires tanning salon owners to ask all

customers to wear protective eye wear. This is because studies have

proven that overexposure to UVA rays can burn the cornea, and that

in time this damage can actually change the structure of the lens

making it cloud and forming a cataract. Untreated cataracts can lead

to blindness.

 

Simply closing your eyes, wearing ordinary sunglasses, or covering

your eyes with a towel or cotton will not properly protect your

cornea from the type of UV radiation found in tanning booths.

 

Regular exposure to the UV rays found in tanning booths can increase

the type of damage done to your skin by ordinary sunlight. This is

because ultraviolet light thins the skin making it less able to heal

itself and the deeply penetrating UVA rays leave skin vulnerable

longer.

 

Unprotected exposure to UV rays also results in premature aging of

your skin. This means wrinkles and dark spots! Skin tans because it

has been damaged and damaged skin that is more likely to wrinkle and

sag than skin that has been protected. Skin that has suffered UV

damage in youth often appears dry, wrinkled, and leathery in middle

age.

 

Tanning booths do not dry up acne or help scars to heal and fade, in

fact tanning booths can make both conditions worse over time. The

drying effects of UV rays can cause your skin to overproduce oil

(sebum) and this can actually make you break out more as there is

now more oils on the skin waiting to clog your pores. As for scars,

exposure to UV light can make new wounds scar with a darker color

and can make old scars stand out even more.

 

While cellulite on tanned skin does appear less noticeable the UV

rays involved in tanning can actually make the problem worse with

time. By breaking down the skin and making it thinner and less

resilient tanning can make cellulite on untanned skin look worse - a

vicious circle!

 

Whether you tan in the sun or in tanning booths, studies have shown

that when combined with certain medicines, birth control pills,

cosmetics, and soaps UV rays can actually accelerate skin burns or

produce painful adverse skin reactions.

 

All sunscreens provide some level of protection against UVB rays but

no product screens out all UVA rays and UVA rays are the type of

rays found in tanning booths. Some may advertise UVA protection, but

there's no system yet for rating UVA protection and therefore no way

of being sure that you are actually being protected by your

sunscreen. Even with a high SPF sunscreen, there's no way to know

exactly how much UVA protection you're getting.

 

http://teenadvice.about.com/library/bl10thingstanningbooths.htm?

iam=momma_100_SKD & terms=The+Tan+Sheet%2C

[Guest guest]

Not so fast with blanket advice against tanning booths.

 

If you read Dr. Mercola's column, you will see that if the tanning bed

incorporates a state of the art electronic starter rather than the

cheaper magnetic type, they can be very beneficial when used with

desecration. The fact is that we make Vitamin D from UV exposure and

many forms of cancer, especially with darker skin people in northern

climates, can be attributed to low amounts of this essential vitamin.

 

The " Tanning Booths " post by JoAnn was obviously written by people who

are oblivious to this more recent advice which is backed by several

studies. There are many other benefits to having adequate amounts of

Vitamin D, but this one flies in the face of this common

misconception. You now have a powerful multi-million dollar sun block

industry behind this, so do not expect to hear much about it in the

mainstream press. Dr. Mercola, News Target, and others now recommend

1/2 per day minimum sun exposure in the winter months. Obviously, this

is difficult to achieve for many of us, so tanning beds can help fill

this bill.

 

The bottom line is use desecration, but some sun is certainly a

valuable health benefit and not something that you want to avoid at all

cost. Furthermore, sun screens and sun block should be avoided by

most of us except under extreme conditions.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

desecration - blasphemous behavior

or

discretion - the act of judging wisely

??

 

 

>

> The bottom line is use desecration, but some sun is certainly a

> valuable health benefit and not something that you want to avoid at all

> cost. Furthermore, sun screens and sun block should be avoided by

> most of us except under extreme conditions.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I hope you meant 'discretion' . . .????

 

 

, Jim Clark

<huuman60 wrote:

>

> Not so fast with blanket advice against tanning booths.

>

> If you read Dr. Mercola's column, you will see that if the tanning

bed

> incorporates a state of the art electronic starter rather than the

> cheaper magnetic type, they can be very beneficial when used with

> desecration. The fact is that we make Vitamin D from UV exposure

and

> many forms of cancer, especially with darker skin people in

northern

> climates, can be attributed to low amounts of this essential

vitamin.

>

> The " Tanning Booths " post by JoAnn was obviously written by people

who

> are oblivious to this more recent advice which is backed by several

> studies. There are many other benefits to having adequate amounts

of

> Vitamin D, but this one flies in the face of this common

> misconception. You now have a powerful multi-million dollar sun

block

> industry behind this, so do not expect to hear much about it in the

> mainstream press. Dr. Mercola, News Target, and others now

recommend

> 1/2 per day minimum sun exposure in the winter months. Obviously,

this

> is difficult to achieve for many of us, so tanning beds can help

fill

> this bill.

>

> The bottom line is use desecration, but some sun is certainly a

> valuable health benefit and not something that you want to avoid at

all

> cost. Furthermore, sun screens and sun block should be avoided

by

> most of us except under extreme conditions.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

, Jim Clark

<huuman60 wrote:

>

> Not so fast with blanket advice against tanning booths.

>

> If you read Dr. Mercola's column, you will see that if the

tanning bed

> incorporates a state of the art electronic starter rather than the

> cheaper magnetic type, they can be very beneficial when used with

> desecration. The fact is that we make Vitamin D from UV exposure

and

> many forms of cancer, especially with darker skin people in

northern

> climates, can be attributed to low amounts of this essential

vitamin.

>

> The " Tanning Booths " post by JoAnn was obviously written by people

who

> are oblivious to this more recent advice which is backed by

several

> studies. There are many other benefits to having adequate amounts

of

> Vitamin D, but this one flies in the face of this common

> misconception. You now have a powerful multi-million dollar sun

block

> industry behind this, so do not expect to hear much about it in

the

> mainstream press. Dr. Mercola, News Target, and others now

recommend

> 1/2 per day minimum sun exposure in the winter months.

Obviously, this

> is difficult to achieve for many of us, so tanning beds can help

fill

> this bill.

>

> The bottom line is use desecration, but some sun is certainly a

> valuable health benefit and not something that you want to avoid

at all

> cost. Furthermore, sun screens and sun block should be avoided

by

> most of us except under extreme conditions.

 

 

Moderator's Note:

Research by whom?? " Allopathic Medicine " ?? Vitamin D is not created from the

artificial rays in " tanning beds!! " . It is created in our body (actually the

outer layer of the skin) from natural 'sunlight' emanating from our actual SUN!

I question the validity of information derived from commercial sites. I prefer

to

do my research from alternative sites which do not have such obvious profit

motives.

JG

[Guest guest]

Discreenation: The act of sunbathing without protective gear! :-)

 

Tina wrote:

>

> desecration - blasphemous behavior

> or

> discretion - the act of judging wisely

> ??

>

[Guest guest]

Actually, yes, tanning beds can help with Vitamin D production. I am a

colon cancer survivor and even my doc (once the cancer was gone) told me I

could use the tanning beds. However, what is more concerning, to me, is the

tanning lotions that the tanning salons want you to use. They are full of

chemicals!!

 

 

Tanning is associated with optimal vitamin D status (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin

D concentration) and higher bone mineral density

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 6, 1645-1649, December

2004

 

Background: Vitamin D is made in the skin on exposure to solar radiation,

and it is necessary to optimal skeletal health. Subjects who use a tanning

bed that emits ultraviolet B radiation (290-315 nm) are likely to have

higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations than do subjects who do

not regularly use a tanning bed. Objective: The first objective of this

study was to ascertain whether subjects who regularly use a tanning bed have

higher 25(OH)D concentrations than do subjects who do not use a tanning bed.

The second objective was to ascertain whether higher 25(OH)D concentrations

correlated positively with bone mineral density. Design: This

cross-sectional analysis examined 50 subjects who used a tanning bed at

least once a week and 106 control subjects. Each subject gave a blood

specimen for measurement of serum 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone

concentrations. Each subject underwent bone mineral density testing of the

hip and spine. Results: Subjects who used a tanning bed had serum 25(OH)D

concentrations 90% higher than those of control subjects. Subjects who used

a tanning bed had parathyroid hormone concentrations 18% lower than those of

control subjects. Tanners had significantly higher BMD and z scores at the

total hip than did nontanners. Conclusion: The regular use of a tanning bed

that emits vitamin D-producing ultraviolet radiation is associated with

higher 25(OH)D concentrations and thus may have a benefit for the skeleton.

 

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/80/6/1645

 

___

 

Moderator's Note:

Research by whom?? " Allopathic Medicine " ?? Vitamin D is not created from

the artificial rays in " tanning beds!! " . It is created in our body (actually

the outer layer of the skin) from natural 'sunlight' emanating from our

actual SUN! I question the validity of information derived from commercial

sites. I prefer to

do my research from alternative sites which do not have such obvious profit

motives.

JG

[Guest guest]

I have never used a tanning bed and probably never will. I was

repeating what Dr. Mercola's and others have said. Read Dr. Mercola's

site. He makes a great case for this and even covers it on a video. He

says that Vitamin D is created as a result of using tanning beds just as

it is stimulated by sun rays. I really doubt that anyone actually

" knows " the mechanism for this, just as we don't fully understand

photosynthesis. If you prefer to disagree with him, it is your

choice. It seems to make perfect sense to me that we generally need and

benefit from sunlight and if we for some reason cannot get that an

artificial source works.