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Tanning is a great way to get a fast tan and beautiful color, but at what cost? If you partake in unsafe tanning practices, you will be adversely affecting your health. Ask anyone who has suffered from the negative effects of such tanning, and they will tell you that it simply wasn’t worth what they got in return. Skin cancer is a very serious issue, and you increase your risk of developing one of the three types of skin cancer each time you tan. It is a myth that only individuals who tan on a daily basis will contract skin cancer. You significantly increase your risk of skin cancer from the first time you use a tanning booth or bed. If you are one of those individuals who thinks skin cancer won’t happen to you because you are healthy, then you need to think again. Each year hundreds of thousands of people in the United States are diagnosed with one of the forms of skin cancer. While there are treatments to cure the cancer, they are only effective if the cancer is caught in the early stages. In addition, not everyone responds well to the treatment. Death is a possibility because skin cancer spreads rapidly. Research has shown unsafe tanning practices can result in genetic damage to your skin cells. This is evident with the coloration changes in the pigment cells. This can result in the skin looking older with various brown spots, moles, and spider veins. Unsafe tanning can also result in valuable cells being killed, resulting in irritations and inflammations of the skin. You can severely damage your eyes if you don’t wear quality eye protection while tanning. It has to remain securely in place as well as be designed to fit your face. You don’t want any of the UV light to get in around the edges of the eye protection. It is a good idea to keep your eyes closed during the process as well. Eye damage due to unsafe tanning can affect individuals in a variety of ways. First, it can affect your night vision. This means that you are at a higher risk of being involved in an accident after dark. For some individuals, it can affect their ability to operate a vehicle in the night time hours at all. You can cause damage to your retina and your cornea that require surgery. Sometimes the damage will repair itself you stop exposing your eyes to the UV lights. However, it can be very painful while you are recovering. In some cases you may require surgery to repair the damage to your retina or cornea. Unsafe tanning has also been linked to the development of cataracts. This type of eye damage requires surgery. With any eye damage, you run the risk that your eyes won’t heal on their own or respond to treatment or surgery. The end result could be extremely poor vision or even complete blindness. If you take prescription medications, they are to improve your health or to control health concerns including high blood pressure and seizures. Unsafe tanning can result in the medications not being as effective as they should be. Therefore, you are more susceptible to the medical ailment. Make sure you discuss tanning with your doctor if you take any prescription medications. If you are given an antibiotic, you should avoid tanning until the entire course of the medication has been taken. Choosing to follow unsafe tanning practices can result in problems for your health wise. It is important that you tan safely. This includes following all the directions for the equipment, keeping your skin moisturized, wearing proper eye protection, and talking with your doctor and dermatologist. There are risks for anyone who chooses to tan and you have to make an informed decision about continuing with the process of tanning.
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