teensandtanning



		On this page The truth about tanning What we DO know about tanning A fellow teen's take on tanning How to get a tan safely Other websites to visit

			The truth about tanning It is only recently that tan bodies have come to be associated with health, but the truth is TANNING DOES NOT MAKE YOU HEALTHY. Physical activity often occurs outside therefore active people are often more tan than inactive people. However, the tan is not a necessary result of outdoor, physical activity, and outdoor athletes typically take sun protection very seriously. Unfortunately, children, and teens in particular, have come to admire the tan more than the physical strength of many celebrities. As a result, many teens and young adults are turning to UV tanning salons to artificially achieve a tan body. Some UV tanning salons even claim to offer a safer alternative to the sun. These claims are false. What we DO know about tanning Skin tans because UV rays have penetrated the upper layers of the epidermis. All types of UV radiation are damaging to the skin and cause premature wrinkling, sagging and yellow and brownish discolorations. If you need a physical example of how the sun effects flesh, just think of how a grape turns into a raisin. A "base tan" does not provide protection from future sunburns. A "base tan" does expose you to dangerous UV radiation which causes all the harm mentioned on this and other pages throughout this site. Exposure to UV rays can lead to skin cancer. Treatment can be painful and result in scarring. Skin cancer can be fatal. You do not need to tan to get Vitamin D. Any active person will receive enough Vitamin D while doing normal every day activities and eating a balanced diet. Many drugs and cosmetics, including some prescription drugs for depression and acne can increase a person's sensitivity to UV rays and can cause a severe sunburn with painful and permanent effects on the skin. The increased levels of UV radiation in tanning salons can cause inflammation in the unprotected eye and can cause permanent eye damage. Recent studies have indicated that the use of tanning salons can even be addictive. A fellow teen's take on tanning The following article appeared in The Redwood Bark, the student newspaper for Redwood High School in Marin County, California. It is reprinted here with the author's permission. Beautiful and deadly addiction: Tanning lures teenagers By Emma Rothschild Wintertime brings trips to Tahoe, cups of hot cocoa, and teenagers flocking to tanning salons. The harmful effects of tanning are common knowledge, but though doctors preach, parents warn, and magazines inform, we continue to lie in the tanning beds and lie to ourselves. Nicotine, crack, chocolate. A new addiction has been added to the list: tanning. Several recent studies show that the endorphins produced from UV radiation exposure can cause tanning to be addictive. “You get endorphins from tanning either outside or in the tanning bed. Wanting to tan becomes physically addictive,” said Dr. Renee Howard of Dermatology Consultants of Marin in Terra Linda. “People get addicted to tanning—that is how tanning salons make their money.” According to a study performed by Wake Forest University School of Medicine, the sense of relaxation, rather than change in appearance, is the main reason that people continue to tan. “Lying in a cozy bed with relaxing music mellows you out after a hard, cold, winter school day,” said Danielle Mageline, junior. “It’s warm, and if you’re depressed, it’s a good lift and reminds you of summer.” Lily Talakoub, Resident Dermatologist at University of California, San Francisco agrees with these recent findings. “Endorphins are elevated with people who use tanning beds. In a certain study, they gave people something to block the production of endorphins and those people didn’t feel as great of a need to tan as those who didn’t receive the block,” Talakoub said. According to a study conducted by The University of Texas Medical Branch, individuals who chronically and repetitively expose themselves to UV light may have a novel type of substance-related disorder caused by UV light. Many people continue to tan because the symptoms of this disorder don’t surface until later in life. “Most teens don’t realize how serious skin cancer can be because it doesn’t have an immediate detrimental effect,” Talakoub said. Howard shares this opinion. “You get more and more damage over time and eventually people will get skin cancer, normally between ages 50 and 70,” she said. “The skin damage is building up underneath the surface, but you don’t really see or feel the damage. When you get older, the skin cancer starts coming out and it’s too late to stop it.” While people suffer later in life, roughly 80 percent of a person’s lifetime sun exposure occurs before the age of 18, according to the American Cancer Society. In 2004, a California law was passed to prohibit children under 14 years of age from using tanning beds, as well as to require parental permission for children ages 14 to 18 years of age. Mageline disagrees with these new restrictions. “After sixteen, teens are driving themselves around and making all kinds of decisions. Requiring parental permission to tan is like asking your mom if you can go to the beach,” she said. “There are possible risks for pretty much anything you do. People just need to be smart about it and not overuse the beds.” Talakoub argues that teenagers lack the capacity to make safe choices about tanning. “I don’t think anybody should be tanning, period, but especially those under 18 should not be able to tan without parental consent because they don’t realize the harmful effects that tanning can have on them,” Talakoub said. How to get a tan safely If you must get a tan look, you can obtain one safely without exposing yourself to UV rays. Department stores and supermarkets sell self-tanning lotions and sprays which can be applied in the privacy of your own home. Tanning salons (often those which offer UV tanning beds which should be avoided) do offer spray-tanning booths in which the tanning product is applied to your skin using many mechanical spray-heads. One popular spray-on tanning booth system is called Mystic Tan. Remember, if you do visit a tanning salon, avoid any of their services which use UV rays. Other websites to visit Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria, SunSmart Website: Solariums. This page discusses the dangers of solariums (which is the name used by tanning salons in Australia), including the stories of a few young women who frequently used tanning beds and developed skin cancer. American Cancer Society: What You Should Know About Ultraviolet Exposure. For more information on the risks of UV exposure, visit this page from the American Cancer Society. ARE YOU CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO HAVE A SKIN CANCER REMOVED? Visit...http://www.skinsite.com/info_why_do_i_need_surgery.htm American Academy of Dermatology Public Service Announcements Hooked on Tanner's High? (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,190127,00.html) An article about tanning addiction. The Case Against Indoor Tanning (http://www.skincancer.org/content/view/36/11/)

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