Is Indoor Tanning Safe?

So you think you are safe because you got your great tan indoors instead of outside from the powerful sun rays.  You might want to reconsider.

Indoor tanning and tanning outside are both dangerous. Although indoor tanning devices operate on a timer, the exposure to UV rays can vary based on the age and type of light bulbs. Indoor tanning is designed to give you high levels of UV radiation in a short time. You can get a burn from tanning indoors, and even a tan indicates damage to your skin.

Indoor tanning exposes users to two types of ultraviolet (UV) rays, UV-A and UV-B, which damage the skin and can lead to cancer. Indoor tanning is particularly dangerous for younger users; people who begin indoor tanning during adolescence or early adulthood have a higher risk of getting melanoma, likely because of increased lifetime UV exposure. In fact, every time you tan you increase your risk of getting melanoma. Indoor tanning also can—

• Cause premature skin aging, like wrinkles and age spots.
• Change your skin texture.
• Increase the risk of potentially blinding eye diseases.

In the United States, indoor tanning is thought to cause about 419,000 cases of skin cancer every year. For comparison, smoking is thought to cause about 226,000 cases of lung cancer every year.

There is no such thing as a safe tan. Indoor tanning is just as dangerous, if not more, than tanning outside in the sun. In fact, indoor tanning injures thousands of people each year badly enough to go to the emergency department. Indoor tanning can cause sunburn and damage to your eyes that could lead to vision loss. Indoor tanning can also cause premature skin aging, including loss of elasticity, wrinkling, age spots, and changes in skin texture.

Protect yourself and your skin this summer and think twice before tanning - outdoors and indoors.

Source: cdc