Woman who avoided sunlight to prevent tanning breaks bone while turning in bed
In an unusual and alarming case, a 48-year-old woman from Chengdu, Sichuan province, China, suffered a bone fracture simply by turning over in her sleep, an injury doctors linked to years of excessive sun avoidance, reported the South China Morning Post.
The case came to light after Dr. Long Shuang, an attending physician at the emergency department of XinDu Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, shared details of the incident. According to Dr. Long, the woman had avoided sunlight since childhood, never wore short sleeves outdoors, and was meticulous about sun protection to maintain fair skin.
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This extreme lifestyle eventually led to a critical deficiency in vitamin D, which plays a vital role in calcium absorption and maintaining bone strength. Medical tests upon her admission confirmed that the woman had developed severe osteoporosis, making her bones so fragile that even the slightest movement caused a fracture.
While it is not known whether her family ever raised concerns about her sun-avoidance habits, the injury served as a stark wake-up call to the hidden dangers of extreme sun protection.
The incident has reignited a national conversation around China's growing trend of aggressive sun shielding, particularly among women, reported the outlet. It is increasingly common to see people using wide-brimmed visors, long gloves, face masks, and UV-resistant clothing to guard against sun exposure.
This cultural shift has drawn criticism from health professionals. Jiang Xiaobing, Chief Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon at The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, warned about the unintended consequences of such practices in an online video.
'It is now common to see people fully covered from head to toe for sun protection – this is indeed unhealthy. All the bones in our body regenerate every 10 years, but from age 30, we begin to lose bone mass at a rate of 0.5 to 1 per cent per year. Low calcium intake, lack of sun exposure, and vitamin D deficiency all hinder calcium absorption. A sedentary lifestyle, smoking, and excessive drinking also compromise bone health.'
'We need to ensure adequate calcium intake, exercise regularly, and limit smoking and drinking. For instance, no more than two cans of beer per day if the alcohol content is five per cent. Menopausal women, in particular, should be exceptionally cautious,' he advised.
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