Do you know-A study has shown that 4.9 million people are diagnosed with skin cancers, every year. Still, why do teens have the craze of using tanning beds!!
But before that, let us start with skin cancer!
Skin cancer refers to cancer which starts in your skin. It may develop in any part of your skin but slowly starts spreading to the nearby tissues and organs as the disease spread.
But early detection is possible!!
Checking your skin for continuous changes can help detect skin cancer at an early stage. Early detection also can help prevent the chance of skin cancer.
Let us know more about it!
Firstly the main types mentioned…
Skin cancer has many types which cause greater and also lesser chances. They are:
Keratinocyte cancer
Melanoma cancer
Other lesser types of cancer…
- Merkel cell carcinoma
- Kaposi’s Sarcoma
- Cutaneous Lymphoma
- Skin adnexal tumors
- Other types of sarcomas
Well! These types of cancers account for only less than 1 percent of skin cancers!
How common is this!!
You might have a thinking that places with sunnier and hotter places are most familiar with skin cancers. But it is not necessarily the case. Even places with cold climate have more cases with skin cancers when diagnosed. So places don’t matter!
Risk factors!!
Some risk factors for skin cancer are controllable. But some aren’t controllable and it comes down to treatment. This means you cannot change them but you can prevent them. Like:
- Complexion
- History of sunburn
- Family history
- Health history
- Tobacco use
- History of skin cancer
- Geography
- Medication
And, lastly tanning beds! Teens under 18 are mostly fond of it.
It is of great attention to understand the use of tanning beds. But we do not have that in a high number. Also, there is no other way to explain but just making them beware about this.
Has there been any progress?
Yes, there has been by a survey done of the high school students. Between two years the frequency of tanning beds has declined to:
- 6% in 2009 to
- 3% in 2015
However, if we take a closer look then it has dropped from 37.4% to 15.2%. It is a good progress indeed!
But, not nearly enough to completely remove the use of tanning beds in the country. As there are a lot of young people who are still exposing to tanning beds on a regular basis.
A study found that…
Along with tanning beds causing a significant number of skin burns, even indoor tanning is a factor for causing skin cancer. Especially for teens!
A way to prevent it!!
Many countries had passed laws to avoid the use of indoor tanning or any sort of tanning beds for teens under the age of 18. But few countries stepped back and some countries have a good result by passing this law. So, laws and regulations do work out!
The ultimate ways to prevent skin cancer…
It is not necessary to completely ignore the sun to avoid skin cancer. But protection is important.
How?
- Avoid the sun when it is in peak
- Find shade wherever possible
- Apply sunscreen whenever you go outside
- Don’t forget to reapply sunscreen after every two hours
- Wear a hat
- Protect your eyes
- Do not stay long under the sun
- Avoid artificial UV rays
- Get checked by doing regular exams
Progress is being done, but it is not enough. Better education and better awareness are needed to make aware of every woman from the use of tanning beds. There has been a good mark on this but still a long way to go on this journey!
