Sunbathing in Solarium – Healthy or Not ?
It seems that the easiest way to gain beautiful tan is through sunbathing is solarium. It is one of the most polemical methods of improving the external appearance, however, it is still one of the most used.
What is tan?
Tan is the first response of the body’s protection system against UV rays. Then the skin generate more pigment which absorbs the radiation of the sun, and that process represents a barrier to their deeper entrance.
We we talk about tanning, it involves two distant stages: immediate pigmentation and delayed pigmentation. The first type of pigmentation is caused by UVA radiation and involve photo-oxidation of preformed melanin. The second type, delayed pigmentation, occurs 2 days after exposure to UVA or UVB radiation. It is associated with the production of new melanin.
There are three types of ultraviolet rays:
* UVA (long wave-length ) are responsible for immediate tanning. They have carcinogenic potential in case of constant exposure.
* UVB (medium wave length) are somewhat filtered by the ozone layer and produce late tan (sustainable). At extended and unprotected exposure cause burns and involve the risk of skin cancer.
* UVC (short wave length) are for the most part filtered by the ozone layer.
What is tanning?
The solarium is an instrument that diffuse concentrated UVA and in smaller amounts UVB. After several sessions, the skin gets the desired shade of tan, but the speed of that depends on skin colour and how quickly it reacts to ultraviolet rays.
Even if the exposure is controlled, it is not completely without any risk.
Some side effects can occur. They may include:
* Itchy irritation – there can be some eczema that occur, their source is not an unhygienic solarium but a reaction of your skin
* Burns – similar to sunburns, they appear because of exposure to UV rays for long term
* Dehydration of the skin – before every visit to solarium, use a protection cream with UV factor of 30-40 depending on skin color and after solarium use a hydrating cream
* Eye Injuries (if special goggles are not used), its not a joke, your eyesight can be affected for a long term or possibly forever.
* Skin cancer – the number of moles can rise, if you see this, contact immediately a dermatologist, some of them can be a sign of skin cancer and a simple visit to a doctor can determine their nature in few minutes under a UV lamp.
People who first visit a solarium early in adolescence period or who have frequent or long sessions have a 70% higher risk of developing malignant melanoma.
What are the contraindications to use the solarium?
– History of skin cancer
– Individuals with very white skin, especially those with speckles around
– People with large tattooed areas can lose the color quality of the ink
– People with many pigmented moles have a higher risk of developing skin cancer
– Allergy to the sun
– Some diseases that are aggravated by exposure to the sun (lupus erythematosus, cardiovascular disease)
– Treatment with photosensitising medicines(NSAIDs – ibuprofen, some anti-hypertensive, some oral and some antifungal agents)
– Pregnancy – the permission is strictly necessary.