Indoor tanning increases cancer risk

Educate your child about the dangers of going darker

As warmer weather approaches, teens head for the tanning booth — hoping to walk away a few shades darker. But, they may walk away with more than a change in skin tone.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, ultraviolet radiation is known to be the single largest environmental factor in the development of skin cancer. And, when someone lies in a tanning bed, the UV radiation levels can be up to 15 times greater than what one would be exposed to outdoors.

Annually, 28 million Americans are tanning indoors at approximately 25,000 tanning salons around the country. Each year, more than one million people are diagnosed with skin cancer and currently, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer at some point in their life.

"It's the small daily exposure to UV radiation that presents a higher risk of non-melanoma skin cancer," said Maurica Contreras, a clinical nurse specialist at Children's Medical Center Dallas. "Not only do tanning beds increase the risk for skin cancer and problems affecting the immune system — they can cause premature skin aging which can lead to sagging, wrinkles, loss of suppleness, yellowing and brown spots."

Tanning causes the skin to produce pigment to protect itself from UV radiation. Indoor tanners are especially at risk for burning because of the intense amount of UV radiation released from the tanning beds.

Learn about your child's skin type before they consider tanning. People with skin types I, II and III are at greatest risk for burns.

Type I — Pale, white skin: Always burns; never tans
Type II — White: Burns easily; tans minimally
Type III — White (average): Burns moderately; tans gradually to light brown
Type IV — Beige or lightly tanned: Burns minimally; always tans well to moderately brown
Type V — Dark brown or black: Never burns; deeply pigmented