California Health and Wellness Articles
sponsored by
|
Safety And The Tanning Bed
Many people feel a nice tan makes them look and feel better. There are three main ways to get a tan - sunbathing in natural sunlight, applying fake tan, and using a tanning bed. Where a tanning bed scores is in not needing good weather; not many of us feel like laying scantily clad in the open air during winter! A tanning bed also makes it easy to limit your exposure very precisely, which means you can keep down the time you spend receiving the UV that both sunlight and sun beds contain. If you choose to use a bed with artificial light to get your tan then you need to know how to do it as safely as possible. It is not true, as some advertisements claim, that tanning beds are a 100% safe alternative to sun bathing, so you need to know what you are doing. Claims about the safety of tanning beds stem from the type of artificial light that they use. The Ultra Violet (UV) lights used in sun beds are said to be healthier than sunlight. However, although there is an element of truth in this, other important factors are left out. There are 2 types of ultra violet light that are also contained in the sunlight outside, UV-A and UV-B. Today sun beds use UV-A rays, but the first tanning machines used the more harmful UV-B rays which allowed the skin to burn easily. UV-A lights mean that skin doesn't often burn, but if this is viewed as an excuse to spend hours on the bed it is still not safe. Watch out for any suggestion that the beds are so safe that tanning goggles are unnecessary. Even UVa light is damaging to our eyes, so you should insist on goggles every time. You cannot substitute for the goggles by closing your eyes, using standard sunglasses, or by placing rounds of cotton wool over your eyelids. Tanning centers are required by the Food and Drug Administration to use goggles, so you are best advised not to use one that does not insist on this. The next thing to think about is the idea of a year-round tan. Is this something you really want? If you live in a country with seasons, it is sometimes nice that you reflect the seasons a little bit - paler in the winter, slightly more tanned in the summer. Okay, if you are desperate for a year round tan, well it's your body, but you should be aware that even tanning beds have a premature aging effect on skin. It is something to think about. If you have kids then you need to be especially cautious on their behalf. When a child's skin is burned the skin is more deeply effected, according to scientific research. This research was based on UVb studies, yet those in the know strongly advise care when using sun beds. At the end of the day, you might decide that it is not worth the risk simply so a child can have a bit of a tan. For some people it is important that they seek medical advice before using a tanning station. Diabetics, lupus sufferers or people who tend to get cold sores may find that sun beds aggravate these conditions. Certain medicines - tranquilizers, antihistamines and some birth control pills - can make your skin sensitive to the rays from a tanning machine. The wisest advice for anyone just starting out with an artificial tanning machine is to have a chat with your physician. Some people are happy enough to use a tanning machine because they want a tan. So just be aware of the potential hazards and follow a few guidelines - don't get burnt and wear goggles for instance - and enjoy your tan.
Copyright 2005 Anndrea Jenkin. All rights reserved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anndrea Jenkin is the manager of UVA Tanning Bed Inc which is a huge resource for tanning bed details on the Internet. For questions and comments please visit her archive of articles : http://www.uvatanningbed.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ |