Are you tanning?

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Replies

  • jlahorn
    jlahorn Posts: 377 Member
    Most people know that tanning leads to skin cancer (I really, really don't understand why anybody ever deliberately tans or starts smoking - no matter how much minor pleasure they give you, how are these things worth getting cancer? Cannot wrap my head around it.), but I don't think many people know that even one sunburn can trigger vitiligo if you are genetically predisposed.

    I had one bad sunburn in my early 20s that kicked off what is now a lifelong immune disorder that makes my skin horribly patchy and discolored all over my body. It requires me to stay out of the sun as much as possible, lest I look even worse and increase my risk of skin cancer even further. Great fun.
  • whovian67
    whovian67 Posts: 608 Member
    Nope. Just getting collateral damage un while driving around all day and going to the river every other weekend. Used to high pressure tan back in the weight lifting days .. but had a biospy scare than made me rethink that drink.. 14 days of waiting for results was not fun either.
  • IHateThinkingOfAUsername
    IHateThinkingOfAUsername Posts: 568 Member
    I burn way too easy and wear the highest SPF I can when I go outside. It annoys me when I get caught out though and end up with ridiculous tan lines when the burn eventually fades to tan. On the whole I celebrate the English Rose look. (Prefer this description to white and pasty!) Not so much for the skin cancer thing (although my father did die of that) but for the haggardness your skin can become.
  • May_Rose
    May_Rose Posts: 119 Member
    I tan about once a week just to maintain some color. Other than that, I get sun when I'm jogging or at an outdoor bbq or something. I work inside everyday, so I pretty much take whatever vitamin d I can get. It takes a lot for me to burn, so I only use spf if I'm going to be outside for more than a few hours.
  • rueruechika
    rueruechika Posts: 86 Member
    Nope.... it's called auto-tan!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,992 Member
    Most people know that tanning leads to skin cancer
    Actually it "increases risk" and not necessarily "leads" to skin cancer. If that were true, then the leading cause of death would be skin cancer for labor workers who do construction, agriculture, fishing, or any daily job out in the sun.
    Also genetics and "type" of skin heritage directly affects risk of skin cancer. People with lighter hair and lighter colored eyes will carry the most risk vs someone who is naturally brown/dark skin with brown eyes and black hair.
    No condoning that people should go out and tan though.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • tabicatinthehat
    tabicatinthehat Posts: 329 Member
    I recently started tanning indoors. I'm loving my new skin color! AND it stops me from burning outdoors. I haven't had a single sunburn since I started a couple month ago and I used to burn EVERY time I was in the sun for more than 5 minutes.
  • Xalifer
    Xalifer Posts: 392 Member
    Nope,
  • DenDweller
    DenDweller Posts: 1,438 Member
    Actually it "increases risk" and not necessarily "leads" to skin cancer. If that were true, then the leading cause of death would be skin cancer for labor workers who do construction, agriculture, fishing, or any daily job out in the sun.
    Also genetics and "type" of skin heritage directly affects risk of skin cancer. People with lighter hair and lighter colored eyes will carry the most risk vs someone who is naturally brown/dark skin with brown eyes and black hair.
    No condoning that people should go out and tan though.

    Is this clarification also possibly misleading for some enthusiasts?

    The same can be said of any exposure-based health issue. It's an alteration of a probability function. The problem with this is probability functions are non-zero for even a single exposure.

    That means you can have all the positive traits in the world, walk outside one day unprotected exposed to the sun, be a real unlucky *kitten*, and viola, you have skin cancer.

    No one should hang his or her hat on an excuse that sounds like, "It only increases risk." (Not saying you said that directly, but it's not a stretch to imagine some could interpret it that way.)
  • margannmks
    margannmks Posts: 424 Member
    Growing up in florida, pre sunscreen days, ive had some awful burns and i tanned alot till i was about 35. I do the sunblock now if im out fishing all day and havent had sun on my face in years. I do tanning bed at beginning of summer to get some color then use self tanners,sally hanson leg makeup type stuff cause i have veins. I just had my first cancer screening at 53 and was really shocked that i had nothing even remotely suspicious. Im blonde and blue eyed, so hopefully i dodged the bullet, and ive always had oily skin so im not wrinkly either.
  • tiptoethruthetulips
    tiptoethruthetulips Posts: 3,371 Member
    I have no interest in having leather skin, pre-mature aging or skin cancer. I don't know why tanning beds haven't been banned.

    They have been banned in most states (if not all) in Australia.

    You can read about the increased risk of cancer here:
    http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/solariums
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,992 Member
    Actually it "increases risk" and not necessarily "leads" to skin cancer. If that were true, then the leading cause of death would be skin cancer for labor workers who do construction, agriculture, fishing, or any daily job out in the sun.
    Also genetics and "type" of skin heritage directly affects risk of skin cancer. People with lighter hair and lighter colored eyes will carry the most risk vs someone who is naturally brown/dark skin with brown eyes and black hair.
    No condoning that people should go out and tan though.

    Is this clarification also possibly misleading for some enthusiasts?

    The same can be said of any exposure-based health issue. It's an alteration of a probability function. The problem with this is probability functions are non-zero for even a single exposure.

    That means you can have all the positive traits in the world, walk outside one day unprotected exposed to the sun, be a real unlucky *kitten*, and viola, you have skin cancer.

    No one should hang his or her hat on an excuse that sounds like, "It only increases risk." (Not saying you said that directly, but it's not a stretch to imagine some could interpret it that way.)
    My point was to refute that it "leads" to skin cancer. That's like saying driving "leads" to car accidents. Lots and lots of people drive everyday and don't get into accidents, however risk is definitely increased vs one who doesn't drive at all. Right precautions help to reduce risk, but doesn't exempt anyone from getting into an accident.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

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