With the fall season underway natural tanning is becoming out of season with the chilly weather. Those concerned with loosing that perfect glow may opt to artificial tanning such as tanning beds, but that isn’t the exactly safest option. Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, and using tanning beds can increase the risk of melanoma 60-70 percent.
Fanshawe’s Health and Wellness fair
Sasha Girden is a public health nurse at the London Middlesex Health Unit and recently attended Fanshawe’s Health and Wellness Fair to raise awareness of the dangers of tanning, both artificial and natural. She suggests staying away from tanning and opting to safer options.
“In terms of tanning, I would simply say don’t start. If you’re looking for a tanned look you might wanna opt for a spray tan you can apply or a lotion you can apply to your skin to have that look. I would also encourage you to really embrace the natural skin tone that you have and to really accept and love the skin you’re in.” says Girden.
When it comes to monitoring your own skin, Girden also says their are 5 factors to keep an eye for. “We encourage people to look for five different things in skin sports to see if you’re developing skin cancer. So those things would be anything from an asymmetrical skin spot, a skin spot with an irregular boarder, a skin spot with a different colour or colour variation within it, it’s diameter of anything approximately bigger than a pencil eraser and the evolution of it”
Skin cancer can be hereditary, from sun exposure, caused by chemicals and many other factors. If you are concerned about your wellbeing reach out to your health provide consult to get a check up.
Tips on avoiding skin cancer:
- Stay in shade (especially between 10am-4pm)
- Use sunscreen
- Don’t get burnt
- Cover skin up, wear wide brim hats
- Don’t use tanning beds
Skin cancer is the 3rd most common cancer in young woman aged 15-39. There is 3 main types of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and melanoma. Melanoma is the deadliest of the 3 and kills about 10, 000 people a year in the US. If melanoma is recognized and treated early enough it is most likely curable but if not it can be fatal, due to the cancer spreading to other organs.
Your life is far more important then the tone of your skin colour, so stay safe and love the skin your in.