Friday, December 12, 2008

What Causes the White Spots From Tanning?

Many people find that if they use a tanning bed, they develop white spots. What exactly causes these white spots, and are they serious? Should you be worried about skin cancer?

Fortunately, for most people, these white spots are nothing serious. However, if they spread, you should go to see a dermatologist to confirm what they are.

Usually the spots are caused by pigment (or lack thereof), pressure points, fungus, or a reaction to your medication.

If you never developed these white spots previously and are taking a new or different medication, you should refrain from tanning and contact your doctor. Some medications do not react well to sunlight, especially UV rays from a tanning bed.

One of the primary causes of white spots are the tanning bed itself. Sometimes, the lights are spaced incorrectly, resulting in an uneven tan. If you own the bed, you may be stuck, if you are going to a tanning salon, you can change salons.

Another problem is pressure points. Most people will lie in a bed in one position for the 15 to 30 minutes they are tanning. As a result, they will develop pressure points where their body is in contact with the tanning bed. This results in reduced blood flow to these areas, causing the UV rays to be absorbed differently than the surrounding area. This causes a white spot.

Because they are lying still for long periods in a bed compared to being outdoors in the natural sunlight, more people tend to get white spots from tanning in a bed.

Again, for most people, this is not a serious condition. You can cut back on the amount of tanning, or rotate every few minutes when you use a bed, or apply a sunless stain over the spots to cover them.

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