There is overwhelming evidence that tanning bed side effects are damaging to the skin. The whole object of tanning is to look better. However the side effects of tanning are so damaging to the skin that the results can be older looking skin or even death. Some of the most devastating results of the tanning bed side effects include:
* Malignant melanoma – This is a skin cancer that is developed in the skin cells that give the skin its pigmentation. This form of melanoma has increased more rapidly over the last 4 decades than any other form of cancer. In the United States, this type of cancer is responsible for over 80 percent of deaths linked to skin cancer
* Basal cell carcinoma – This is the most common form of skin cancer. This cancer presents as shiny pink or a red lump on the skin surface. These little cancers can appear on the face, scalp, nose or ears.
*Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common type of skin cancer. This cancer presents as pink lumps on the skin. The skin area may look scaly and then becomes a sore. These pink lumps become ulcerated and easily bleed. These pink lumps are found on the face, neck, lips, ears, hands, shoulders, arms and legs.
The effects of the UV radiation from the sun or the UV radiation of tanning beds are the same. Ultra violet radiation causes all three types of skin cancer. Why UV rays cause cancer is well known. Why people continue to use tanning beds when the effects are documented is a subject worthy of discussion.
Beautiful golden tanned skin is almost a fashion accessory.
Individuals will go to any length to be in fashion. Even at the expense of their health, fashion conscious people go into to tanning salons by the millions, knowing that their very lives may be at risk.
It is an interesting observation that people tan to look young and glamorous but the long term effects of exposure to the ultraviolet rays will damage DNA and also damages the skin to the point that wrinkles occur more readily in people who are frequent sun bathers and users of tanning booths
It is always a good idea if people insist on going out into the sunlight or into tanning booths to wear some protective eye wear. Eye damage is another critical effect of using tanning beds. The ultraviolet rays can produce cataracts. Long term exposure to the sun’s rays or exposure in a tanning booth can lead to blindness.
Also UV exposure compounds another problem a with tissue growth on the white parts of the eyes. Medical studies linked the extended exposure of the eyes to UV rays to patients with damaged retinas and macula degeneration.
The damage to the body’s DNA may be the second most devastating effects of tanning beds. This damage can lead to a form of mutations. The body’s defense mechanisms are hampered by extended exposure to UV radiation. The basic cellular structure of the body is compromised which leaves the body with no defense against cancer.
The really bad news is that tanning beds emit more UV radiation than the sun. So the UV rays are more damaging to the body in a shorter span of time. The rays from a tanning
bed is UVA rays rather than the UV rays that come from the sun. Even thought these
rays do not burn the skin like the sun, they go deeper into the skin surface and cause more damage.