Are Tanning Beds Safe?

If you are anticipating using a tanning bed, or are already a patron of the practice, you need to be fully informed about their safety. The medical profession is divided as to whether you are embarking on a wise decision.

You have no doubt heard that the body needs vitamin D and that one the best sources is the sun. Vitamin D is said to help prevent depression, heart disease, stroke and osteoporosis. In the winter months, you likely find you don’t have the opportunity to enjoy the warmth of the sun’s rays on your skin so you may turn to tanning beds to get it.

Initially, the sun and tanning beds seem similar because both have two types of ultraviolet light rays, UVA and UVB. Of the two it’s the UVB rays that give us the healthy benefits of sunshine. Some medical professionals suggest that tanning salons maximize their UVA rays, up to 95 percent, because that’s what gives patrons the golden brown skin colour that they wish without any risk of a sun burn. But with this concentration of UVA, you are actually not absorbing the Vitamin D that you are trying to get.

However, the tanning salon industry is quick to dispel what they call myths about safety. Studies have indicated that amongst patrons of their salons, 81 percent are less likely to sunburn indoors or outside than non-tanners. They claim that the salons educated their users as to safe, moderate exposure and that tanning is okay, stating instead that sunburns are what need to be avoided. They point out that total abstinence from the sun is very impractical as people have to be out in the sunshine at least a portion of the time.

If you are unsure about the verdict of whether tanning beds are safe or not, you might consider other alternatives to getting your Vitamin D. In September 2007, trials involving more than 57,000 people over the age of 50 found that people who took at least 500 international units (IU) of vitamin D daily had a lower risk of death compared with those given a placebo. Researchers said it was not clear how the supplements lowered risks of mortality, but suggested that Vitamin D may block cancer cell proliferation or improve blood vessel and immune system functions.

The Canadian Cancer Society has stated that based on current research adults should consider increasing their daily dosage of vitamin D to 1,000 IU daily during the fall and winter months, in consultation with a health-care provider. More information about this study is available at www.cbc.ca/news/background/health/vitamin-d.HTML.

And if it’s a suntan you are wishing for, consider self-tanning products, or sunless tanning lotions, which work by temporarily dying the top layer of the skin. The color slowly fades, usually disappearing within a week unless the lotion has been reapplied. So it’s a healthier alternative to both the sun’s rays and a tanning bed, because the suntan has caused damage to the skin and self-tanners do not. These skin products have improved since they first came on the market and now they give a wonderfully natural color.

If you are sun worshipper, by all means continue to enjoy the outdoors, but remember to keep your exposure to less than 20 minutes at a time, and try to stay indoors during the hottest part of the day, between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. And purchase the highest SPF sunscreen that you can, wearing it at all times. With some wise choices, you can continue to enjoy the sun and be safe and healthy too.