Nichole Sims started using a tanning bed at 15 because she said everyone around her was doing it, especially before events like homecoming dances and prom. Eight years later, she was diagnosed with melanoma — a potentially life-threatening skin cancer.
Risks of Tanning Beds
Experts are concerned about a resurgence in the popularity of tanning among young adults as social media has helped tanning in general make a comeback. A video of a girl sharing her “tanning secrets” and showing off a bikini tan line has racked up more than 11 million views, while people in the comments joke, “The earth probably won’t last long anyway, I’d rather go out tan than pale.”
More than 100,000 new melanomas will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2026, and about 8,500 people are expected to die from melanoma, according to the American Cancer Society. Even more worrisome, some influencers are encouraging the use of tanning beds.
Dr. Pedram Gerami and his team at Northwestern University’s medical school sought to find out what was happening at a cellular level with tanning bed users. They had nearly three times the risk of developing melanoma as those who did not use tanning beds.
Prevention and Education
Sherry Pagoto, a psychologist and professor at University of Connecticut, suggests that parents can emphasize how excess sun exposure can cause skin to look leathery or wrinkly, and take their teen to a dermatologist to take a UV photo that shows the skin damage that isn’t yet visible to the naked eye.
Pagoto also said it’s essential for parents to model safe behavior, as many teen girls acquire their tanning habits from their mothers. Making sunscreen easily accessible around the house and buying self-tanner for your teen can be a gentle way to nudge them away from unsafe tanning.
Original reporting: NBC Connecticut — read the source article.
