By Leslie HackettStaff Writer
The sun is shining and Spring Break is just around the corner.
It’s time to unfold those bathing suits, dust off those flip-flopsand head to the nearest beach to work on that perfect tan.
The temperature in San Diego is already rising and people of allages are beginning to shed their winter clothes for the moreconventional summer apparel.
While warm weather and sun may seem innocent, there are healthrisks for students tanning in a bed or out in the sun.
According to the Web site melanoma.com, melanoma is a serioushealth risk that can be caused from too much exposure to the sun’sharmful rays. It is a form of skin cancer that accounts for only 4percent of all skin cancer cases, but is responsible for the mostskin cancer-related deaths.
Places on the body that are often the target of sunburn are thetops of the ears, the nose, the back and the backs of legs. Whensunscreen or clothing is not used to protect these areas, a sunburncan occur.
Some people assume that just because they are in the water, theyare protected from the sun. However, with the sun reflecting off thewater, swimmers can actually be exposed to more sun. And sunlight canpenetrate up to a foot of water.
For those people heading to warm climates for Spring Break, thereare small precautions that can be taken to protect skin from thesun’s harmful rays.
Gregg Lichtenstein, medical director at Student Health Services,said the most important thing to carry on vacation is sunscreen.While he says sunscreen won’t block all of the sun’s harmful rays, itis probably the best defense from the sun.
“Some people put on a T-shirt and think that they have someprotection, but you know from things like wet T-shirt contests thatyou can see through the shirt when it’s wet,” Lichtenstein said.”Basically, if you can see through it, then the ultraviolet light cango through it.”
Tanning beds are not a safe alternative to lying out in the sun,doctors say.
An article in Dermatology Times reported the estimated area ofexposed skin in a tanning unit is between two and 10 times greaterthan in the sunlight. Tanning beds have lights that reach nearlyevery part of the body from all directions at one time, whilesunlight shines only from above.
“I do not advise people to join a tanning salon,” Lichtensteinsaid.
He also added that tanning in general is not good for your skin.People primarily worry about skin cancer, but wrinkling and manyother benign conditions are influenced by ultraviolet exposure.
Patricia Pace, owner of All That Tan in La Mesa, said that she isvery honest with her customers and if she feels that they shouldn’tbe tanning, she will tell them.
Pace said that busy months for tanning in San Diego start beforeSpring Break and last until school starts again in September.
Many tanning salons give their clients a list of the medicines ordiseases that could affect people using tanning beds. Their No. 1concern is women who are pregnant.
Pace said about 65 percent of their customers are women. Averagetanners are usually between 19 and 30 years old.
