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Students informed about tanning risks Thursday in Sweeney Hall

By on February 11, 2010 10:14 pm in Student Life / 7 comments

 
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Dr. Doris Yang of Mid Michigan Physician Group told students gathered in the Sweeney Hall lobby Thursday that spray tanning is the way to go.

If you want to tan, she said, it’s important to consider the alternatives before opting for harmful Ultraviolet rays.

“It can be a simple lotion or spray that gives them the same result without the risks,” she said. “Skin cancer prevention should start as early as possible.”

Yang said the risk of sun tanning is long term and that skin damage due to sun exposure does not show until years later.

Her presentation, “Sunbathing & Tanning Beds: True Cancer Risks or Just Hype?” included an array of statistics about skin cancer. About 25 students attended.

Yang said some sun exposure is good for health, but just a small amount is needed to produce vitamin D. Excessive sun exposure leads to skin damage such as wrinkles, uneven skin tone and age spots.

Fewer than 33 percent of people in the United States regularly use sun protection, Yang said. She advises people to wear SPF 15 or higher even on cloudy days to prevent damage.

Grand Ledge freshman Sara Walker said the presentation helped her realize she should wear sunscreen more often.

“When I go out, I don’t re-apply sunscreen, and that’s not good,” Walker said. “I always knew that indoor tanning wasn’t safe. With outdoor tanning, you need to be more careful. I never really thought about it.”

Angie Dalton, Residence Life coordinator for Fitness Facilities and Wellness, said she thought the presentation was an educational experience for students.

“As I go around campus, I see students who are clearly tanning and they’re concerned about how they look now,” she said. “It’s important to show them the effects of their actions and how they’ll affect their health in the future.”

 

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  • Antonio

    Sunscreen is about the worst thing you can put on your skin. Not only does it block vitamin-D production, but it also causes DNA mutations in the skin cells when exposed to UVA light. It’s not complicated – anyone can look this up on chemical data sheets after referencing the ingredients on the sunscreen bottle.

    Humans evolved with the sun..but all of a sudden we’re told to put these chemicals all over our skin instead of doing what we’ve been doing in all of human history. Of course it’s not good to roast in the sun, but it’s not logical to think that putting this crap all over your skin is what’s good for it.

  • http://www.nobrainerdeals.com no brainer

    Antonio you make some good remarks but like anything in life people should use common sense. If they are going to be out in the sun a lot consider wearing a long sleeve or a hat instead bathing themselves with sun screen.

  • Truth

    Great point Antonio! The facts is that the benefits of tanning in moderation is the key to a long heathly life! Tanning beds are a great source of Vitamin D when you can’t get it outsdie. Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to play a role in almost every major disease, including: 17 varieties of cancer (including breast, prostate and colon), osteoporosis and osteopenia, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, infertility and PMS, Parkinson’s, depression, Alzheimer’s and chronic fatigue syndrome. Keep tanning in moderation, get your Vitamin D, and live a long and healthy life!!!

  • Bill Tiborn

    Sunburn is easy to take care of. Try a cosmetic product called Regen. It will stop the pain immediately and will prevent your skin from blistering and peeling. It is all natural too, will not even sting the eyes. Look at this:http://blog.oli-co.com/?p=561

  • http://www.TanningTruth.com Joseph Levy

    Telling people to wear checmical sunscreen on a cloudy day is misbranding a product whose only approved use is to prevent sunburn. Yet the cosmetic dermatology industry — whose advocacy groups accept millions of dollars directly from the manufacturers of chemical sunscreen annually — are willing to tell you to put chemicals on your body 365 days a year.

    Google “oxybenzone” – the main active ingredient in most chemical sunscreens today. Make up your own mind. This chemical should only be put on (and in) your body to prevent sunburn on occasions when sunburn is possible. But telling you to wear it daily increases sales for chemical sunscreen manufacturers and keeps the millions of dollars in endorsement money from SPF companies to dermatology front groups coming. But it’s a toxin that 97 percent of us now have in our urine, according to a Centers for Disease Control study. http://www.ewg.org/analysis/toxicsunscreen

    And ironically derms use UV light in phototherapy to treat cosmetic disorders such as psoriasis, which kills no one. Question: If UV is so dangerous, why can derms use it to treat a cosmetic disorder?

    Dermatology has its head in the dark when it comes to sun protection. Older men are more than twice as likely to get skin cancer as women, but none of dermatology’s public messaging is aimed at the group that is getting this disease. Instead it’s aimed at people who buy skin care products.

    Physician, heal thyself.

  • http://www.smarttan.com Don Hartman

    Please read the information on the following link and see what chemical sunscreen can do to you.

    http://www.skinbiology.com/toxicsunscreens.html

  • Angi Orlandella

    All living things on earth need sun light to live. I agree tanning in moderation is the key to providing your body with natural vitamin D and never ever burn. But for you to preech for everyone to wear chemical sunscreen daily on your body and your face is crazy. Young girls are starting as young as 12 or younger putting on make up on daily with chemical sunscreen in it, 6 month babies are smothered in it. Whats wrong with all of you! Why would you want to poison America???? The US goverment states that sunscreen does not prevent melanoma and research suggests it may actually increase skin cancer. Follow the money and see who is getting paid to tell you the lies. Cosmetic dermatoligists and may other organizations are paid billions of dollars to tell you to wear sunscreen because cosmetic & sunscreen companies can’t. Protect Americans and educate your self about the dangers of toxic sunscreen. 77% of america is vitamin d deficiant because of being scared ogf the sun and wearing sunscreen this is causing the epedemic. Find out the truth for your self research the dangers of toxic oxybenzone and the benefits of vitamin d production naturally. I am just a concerned Americann who does not get paid to tell you about this. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Now do your research…. and help otheres from poisoning them selves daily spread the word…..