The Darker Side of Tanning
These days, tanning is taken very lightly. It is portrayed as a beauty enhancement. No one ever states the dangerous side affects. The tanning industry has grown immensely in the last decade. Right along with the growing industry the rate of skin cancer is also increasing. Young teenage are tanning more and more everyday and they are never truly told the future side affects that they might encounter. Let me give you a little idea of what consequences you might face later on in the future if you should decide to tan in a tanning bed. I'll call this..............
If you are one of the millions of Americans that wishes for a year-round tan, you might choose to climb into a tanning bed where you are surrounded by UV light from above and below your body.
Many older models of tanning beds use short-wave ultraviolet rays (UVB), while the newer models use the long-wave rays (UVA) proven to be less harmful than UVB, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
While salons claim UVA rays are safe, experts suspect they may provide a link to malignant melanoma. The UVA rays penetrate deeper, weakening the skin's connective tissue. Over-exposure to these long-wave rays also cause premature aging in the skin, giving it a wrinkled, leathery appearance, and can impair the immune system. Research also shows that over-exposure to UVA can damage your eyes. The retina becomes damaged and the lens of your eyes become clouded, causing cataracts.
A tan is often mistaken as a sign of good health. In reality, a suntan is an indication of the skin's response to recent skin damage. This pigment is designed to act as a shield which, when present, serves to slightly decrease skin damage from further UV light exposure.
Skin aging and cancer are delayed effects that don't usually show up for many years after the exposure. Unfortunately, since the damage is not immediately visible, young people are often unaware of the dangers of tanning. Physicians and scientists are especially concerned that cases of skin cancer will continue to increase as people who are now in their teens and twenties reach middle age.
Melanoma is a non-communicable disease and according to the Melanoma Institute of Australia, is a malignant skin cancer that affects thousands of individuals. It is a prevalent and serious non-communicable disease, making it an important issue in Australia. Both a biomedical perspective and sociological perspective must be considered to enable health practitioners to have a deep understanding about melanoma, and thus allow them to develop efficient and effective treatment and prevention methods.
Individuals lying in tanning beds should consider an alternative to ensure a decrease in the chances of skin cancer and becoming addicted to the tanning bed. Tanning beds may cause you to look tan now, but the chances of skin cancer, becoming addicted, and damaging your body could potentially affect you for the rest of your life. Do not let tanning determine who you are, decide whether the benefit is worth the risk. Think before you tan.
Artificial tanning has become a sub-culture for youths across the nation. Those who do not go tanning are a minority and those who do tan ignore the health risks posted in every tanning booth and bed in the state of Massachusetts. However, for Jim Rice, a middler chemical engineering major at Northeastern University, the health risks of tanning transformed into a frightening reality.
Well-known magazines often have broad headlines that show off celebrities sporting bronzed skin, and these articles often throw around the words “healthy” and “glowy” in a positive context. With this influence subjected upon the general public, indoor tanning has become a popular recreation of American men and women alike. As this new trend continues to rise, medical researchers are beginning to pay close attention to the health effects of indoor tanning, especially when referring to tanning beds, respectively. Through many recent case findings and studies, scientists have linked the use of tanning beds to many dermal health problems including types of skin cancers that are deadly. Despite the fact that tanning beds are detrimental to the dermal health of its victims, the use of tanning beds is on the rise and growing.
With UV tanning you can do it anytime of the year or for a specific event. The health benefits for UV tanning is that you can get vitamin D, which is an important part in your bone and muscular health. It also improves your mood and it improves your appearance. When you tan with UV lights it can help prevent you from getting the sunburn you would normally get when you go outdoor tanning. Since you don’t get much sun in the winter, UV tanning can help with being vitamin D deficient. When UV lights, lasers or lamps are mixed with medication it can help with ...
Over all, skin cancer is known to be a very common and dangerous cancer among the U.S.. Although there is no superior or particular cause known for it, it can be reduced by reducing radiation exposure from the sun and also tanning booths and beds. If not attempting to prevent it by staying out of the sun, and seeking not seeking shade and so forth, protection such as longer clothing garments that better cover the body as well as hats and sunglasses can help to eliminate direct exposure and reduce some of the damages that may occur. Certain amounts of sun light are healthy for the body as it provides vitamin- D which the body needs to maintain a healthy life style, though it is crucial not be over exposed as reverse side affects may occur, causing more harm than good.
Melanoma skin cancer has multiple causes. The biggest and newest cause of melanoma skin cancer is a result of tanning in salon tanning beds. As said by Zoe D. Draelos, MD, FAAD, consulting professor, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC “What they may not realize is that no matter whether you tan or burn, a tan from the sun or tanning beds damages the skin and may cause wrinkles, age spots, and skin cancer.” Now more than ever every day routines consist of going to the tanning salon. Adults are beginning to take their children to start tanning at young ages exposing them to the UV radiation that causes melanoma.
Indoor tanning is becoming a very popular “hobby”, but most people do not know, or do not care, about its dangerous side effects. Studies show that people who use tanning booths have a much higher chance of being diagnosed with skin cancer. If someone were to start tanning indoors before they turn 30 or 25, the risk of them getting Melanoma peaks, and if they start tanning before they turn 20 or 25, they are much more likely to get basal and squamous cancer.
...udy done by the American Academy of Dermatology, 59 percent of tanners were unaware of all the threats that accompany using a tanning bed (Cassidy 2). Cassidy also states that this lack of awareness is partially due to the tanning salons not advertising all information about skin cancer (2). Many salons offer tanning lotions, which are much different than sunscreen lotions. While they may not advertise it as sunscreen, not all customers know the difference. Tanning lotion amplifies UV rays, causing one to absorb more rays more quickly. The lotion contains no sunscreen and does not protect the user from the radiation. Of course, such information is not presented when the salon may try to sell you the product. The unfortunate side effect of such misinformation is that people may contract serious diseases without knowing that those illnesses could have been prevented.
UV radiation causes significant damage to human skin, in the form of sunburns, aging, skin cancer, and nonmelanoma tumors. Human skin damage is primarily a result of tanning. The
Indoor Tanning beds are controversial and not without risk. The positives and negitives should be told straight up when going to a tanning salon. The risk of developing melanoma skin cancer from over exposure to UVA and UVB radiation has been proven and well documented by the medical field and research. There are a few benefits of using indoor tanning beds such as a positive mood boost, healing of some types of skin disorders and in the production of vitamin D. One must be educated about the use of indoor tanning before deciding to indulge and weigh the risks and benefits before making the decision to go tanning long term.
Skin Cancer is caused by hereditary factors, overexposure to the sun, and weak immune systems. (“Skin Cancer” infotrac.com) One reason people tend to get skin cancer is when someone in your family has passed their genes down to you, known as hereditary. Normally hereditary is one of the causes in the development of melanoma. For all types of skin cancers, overexposure of the skin to UV radiation in sunlight is the most frequently blamed source of skin cancer. “Research suggests that sunburns received early in one’s childhood can lead to skin cancer later in life” (“Skin Cancer” infotrac.com). For example, when someone gets sunburned, you usually don’t know till ten to twenty years after and that’s why people don’t get skin cancer till they reach their twenties.
The word melanoma comes from the Greek words, melas (black) and -oma (tumour). It is a very serious cancer that most often occurs in the skin and less frequently in the eye or in the lining of the nose, mouth, or genitals. Melanoma begins in melanocytes, cells that make a pigment called melanin. Both light- and dark-skinned people have melanin, which gives colour to the skin, hair, and parts of the eye.
Colorism is a form of discrimination based on the color of someone’s skin tone. Colorism has the greatest impact on the African American culture and community. It is sad that we have to face discrimination within our own ethnic group, Along with every other ethnic group in the United States. Colorism has been passed down generation after generation. It is dated all the way back to the slavery dates. The idea of light skin being better than dark skin has been deeply rooted in our culture. We see colorism in our everyday life on social network, in our workplace, school, and relationship. We don’t even recognize it because we are unfamiliar of the word colorism and its meaning. So we ignore the fact that people are being treated different in their own race because of the shade of their skin. People are taught colorism growing up informally and don’t realize the effect it has on our culture, because we see it as normal and we were brainwashed to think that. Colorism is an issue amongst African Americans that is slowly tearing down the culture as it has been for centuries and still is today.
Probably the most commonly used word by your dermatologist, your beautician, your pharmacist or just the girl next door, and for a good reason. The sun’s damaging UV rays can single-handedly destroy your skin over time and in some cases even cause irreparable damage. It will burn your skin, dry it out, destroy collagen fibers and predispose you to cancer. Whether it’s a scorching sun or not, whether you are outdoors or not, sunscreen is an everyday must-wear. You have a choice.