Artificial tanning is first step towards skin cancer

A new study has revealed that artificial tanning can lead to Melanoma. 

Melanoma is no longer showing up only in women who have had five or six decades of sun exposure during their lives. It is now the second most common cancer found in women ages 20 to 30 years old. In just the past decade, the number of young women in that age bracket who have been diagnosed with melanoma has increased eightfold. The numbers also increased four-fold for young men of the same age. 

Rogerio Neves, deputy director of the Penn State Hershey Melanoma and Skin Cancer Center, said that it was clearly not related only to regular exposure. Childhood sunburns and ultraviolet (UV) exposure in adulthood may also contribute to melanoma risk, but the rise in the use of indoors tanning beds is one of the main reasons behind this trend. 

Many gyms and fitness centers offer free, unlimited tanning as a perk of membership and market to high school and college students. Although many of the young users are introduced to tanning beds as a one-time thing they plan to do for prom, it can become addicting. 

The lamps used in tanning beds emit over 95 percent UVA rays and minimal UVB rays. The UVB rays that come from natural sunshine are what make you feel burned and red and cause you to seek shade and protection. Because they are present in such small quantities in the tanning beds, Neves says, people can stay in there frying and not feeling any bad sensations. 

UVA radiation is also more harmful than UVB in that it penetrates deeper into the skin and create more harmful mutations. There is no such thing as a healthy tan, added Neves, and so individuals who have darker skin because of their ethnic backgrounds must still use sunscreen and other precautions to avoid prolonged exposure outdoors. 

As if skin cancer weren't enough of a danger, artificial tanning can cause other problems such as cataracts, reactions with medications and early-onset aging of the skin which makes you look older than you really are.

Follow NEWS.am Medicine on Facebook and Twitter