Latest news with #sunbeds
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Woman who had skin cancer warns of sunbed danger
A woman from Kent has warned of the dangers of excessive sunbathing and sunbed use after she had surgery on her face for skin Verrall, 33, from Rochester, started using sunbeds when she was described herself as "pale-skinned and freckly", but said she would "lay in the sun whenever I could".Ms Verrall said: "We're all told about the dangers of sunbeds now, and having too much sun, but you never think it's going to happen to you." She said she used oil for sunbathing, adding: "I didn't use high-factor sunscreen or cover up when I was out." In 2022, her partner noticed a white patch on her said: "I thought it was just pigmentation, because it didn't look like a mole or what I took to be the usual signs of skin cancer. "Even the GP thought it was pigmentation. "But I wasn't happy because it just didn't look right so I pushed for some tests."A biopsy revealed she had basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of skin cancer which develops from cells found in the deepest part of the outer layer of the most people, this type of cancer does not can be removed by surgery and no further treatment is required. However, Ms Verrall's carcinoma needed a deep and lengthy incision to remove all traces of it. Around 3,100 people are diagnosed with skin cancer every year in the south-east of England, according to Cancer Research Verrall, who runs an industrial door company, said she is now passionate about urging people to look after their skin."What I went through was traumatising and I don't want other people to experience that," she Vincent, Cancer Research UK health information manager, said: "Getting sunburnt just once every two years can triple the risk of developing skin cancer, compared to never being burnt. "Even on a cloudy day, the sun can be strong enough to burn between mid-March and mid-October."
Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Tanning addict, 18, who uses sunbeds four times a week, reveals worrying signs of UV damage on her body - but admits she still can't kick the habit
A teenager who is addicted to sunbeds has revealed she's spotted worrying signs of UV damage on her body - but still can't stop tanning. Megan Blain, 18, who has used sunbeds almost every day for three years, has previously revealed how she's been abused online over her habit, which she uses to achieved a deep bronzed look. Some of the nastiest comments have compared her to a 'dirty 2p coin' - but she still visits the salon every day. Now, Megan, from Seaham, County Durham, has revealed she's found new moles on her body that she didn't seem to have before she began regularly tanning - and has warned other people against trying sunbeds. Her tanning addiction began when she was just 16 years old, in the hope of maintaining a tan that lasted all year round. She swapped fake tan products for sunbeds and even started injecting herself with tanning agents to achieve a deeper glow. Despite 'not knowing much about sunbeds' at first, she spent up to half an hour on the beds under the UV lights for over a year, often coated in baby oil to enhance the results. Megan has been compared to a 'dirty 2p coin' by trolls - but she insists she is trapped in a cycle of tanning and can't imagine stopping Speaking in a Truly video, she said: 'I started notcing moles on my back, my hands – I've got moles all over, but you do get moles off the sunbed. I didn't know if the moles were cancerous. 'I've got a mark on my stomach. I tried going to the doctor's but I freeze at the door.' In a stark warning to others who have considered using sunbeds, she said: 'The addiction's just getting worse. I wouldn't recommend going on sunbeds to anyone.' Previously, Megan explained she began using sunbeds because she liked how she looked with a tan. 'I'm a person that wears bright colours and liked how it made the colours pop,' she said. 'I started seeing results and how good it made me look and started going on more often.' However, her intense tanning regime has raised health alarms, prompting Megan to acknowledge her 'addition' and cut down her sunbed usage. The student admits tanning injections make her feel nauseous and she's even noticed a suspicious patch recently appear on her skin - but fear of cancer has not made her stop tanning yet. Megan said: 'I've noticed a patch on my skin which keeps changing size. I've tried to go to the doctors like five times but keep freezing at the door. 'I'm one of those people that will worry over anything so for me not to be worried about potentially having melanoma I noticed a few months ago and still abuse the sunbeds has made me realise this is an addiction. I just never think I'm dark enough.' She explained: 'I'm stuck in a cycle of abusing sunbeds and taking tanning injections which make me feel sick and sometimes unable to eat. I used to go on every day and now it's four times a week.' Megan says her extreme tan has attracted attention from strangers, with some comparing her to a 'burnt chip' or saying she looks like a 'cremated' version of herself. Yet despite the backlash online, she insists she never feels 'dark enough' and struggles to imagine a life without the tanning beds. She swapped fake tan products for sunbeds and even started injecting herself with tanning agents to achieve a deeper glow Despite 'not knowing much about sunbeds' at first, Megan spent up to half an hour on the beds under the UV lights for over a year, often coated in baby oil to enhance the results She said: 'Everywhere I go, I see people staring at me. When people say I'm dark, I actually find that hard to believe. I don't feel dark whatsoever - it's like I'm physically blind. 'I want to stop one day but I can't ever imagine myself not going on the sunbeds. I wouldn't recommend anyone to do this. You could end up addicted without even realising like me.' In a bid to regain control, Megan has reduced her sunbed usage to four times a week and is now using her platform on TikTok to warn 'the younger generation' about the dangers of sunbed addiction. She said: 'The younger generation seem to be using [sunbeds] more than the older generation which is concerning because If I got addicted without even realising it then the same could happen to other people.' On TikTok, Megan has become a target for trolls, who have joined forces to poke fun at the teenager's appearance. In regards to Megan's tanned skin colour, one person wrote: 'The chips that fell down from the oven.' Another said, 'You know when you get those really dirty 2p coins,' while a third commented, 'Did [the sunbeds] cremate you?' While her views on tanning have shifted, Megan admits that she still finds it hard to break free from the compulsion to hop under the UV lights. Megan has reduced her sunbed usage to four times a week and is now using her platform on TikTok to warn 'the younger generation' about the dangers of sunbed addiction She said: 'After two years, my views on sunbeds have changed. If I could go back in time, I would've never started. I just feel like I have to go on the sunbeds - it's not even a case of wanting to be tanned anymore.' 'I find it hard to turn the sunbed off once I'm on. I don't even like going on sunbeds, I dread it, but I feel like I physically have to go on.' Meanwhile, a tanning addict who used sunbeds almost daily for 15 years has said she feels 'lucky o be alive' after things took a turn for the worst. Fionnghuala Maguire, 35, from Belfast, started using sunbeds at the young age of 14 and never once applied SPF during her years of tanning - now she's warning others not to make the same mistake. She admits to using the machines routinely for more than 15 years - visiting salons as often as seven days a week at the peak of her addiction.
The Sun
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
I became addicted to tanning beds at 16, I take injections to boost it and now I'm covered in moles but can't stop
A YOUNG girl reveals she can't stop using sunbeds despite being told she looks like a dirty 2p coin. Megan Blain, who is just 19, said she first became obsessed with looking tanned at 14, but now wishes she had never started. 3 3 Speaking to Truly, she said: "I wish I didn't start now. "At 14 years old I started using fake tan. I was really white. "My mum got the sunbed out of the garage and I thought, you know what? I'll use the sunbed while she's at work. "I would calculate the exact amount of electric I've used and go top it up at the shop." Now, it has become a habit that Megan can't knock and has left her going on sunbeds four times a week for 15 minutes each time. But that's not enough for Megan, she also takes tanning injections five times a week to boost her colour. She revealed that her tan is so dark that she often gets laughed at on the street. "Loads of heads would turn in the street," she explained. "People look me up and down and laugh at it." Megan prefers to lie on the bottom of the sunbed as she claims the lighting is stronger so she can get more of a tan on her face. She said her tanning addiction has been going on for so long she has no idea what she looks like without one. And despite knowing the dangers she is putting her body through, she's unable to stop. 3 Can a £3 Gradual Tan Really Deliver a Sun-Kissed Glow without Streaks or Stained Sheets? She added: "Sometimes I'll cry after the sunbed because I know the damage I'm doing to my skin, but I feel like I'm too far gone. "I've got moles all over. I didn't know if the moles were cancerous." Megan says going on a sunbed is more of a compulsion, and that she doesn't even like doing them anymore. She also said she wished she had never started. "If I could speak to my 14-year-old self today, I'd say, don't change for anyone. You are who you are, you don't need to fit in with a crowd, just be yourself," she explained. People were quick to share their thoughts in the comments, with many hoping Megan gets the help she needs. One person wrote: "She seems like such a lovely character and I really wish her all the best for her journey to get away from the addiction." Another commented: "She is so lovely, I hope she gets help and avoids cancer." "That's what proper burnt toast looks like," penned a third. Risks of sunbeds THE promise of a constant glowing tan is too tempting for some people to deny. But while popping to the sunbed shop may seem harmless, people who use tanning beds should be aware of the risks. Approximately 10 per cent of the population of Northern Europe use sunbeds on a regular basis, the World Health Organization says. Some people use them for years on end, accumulating risk of serious disease. We are here to give you the lowdown on sunbeds and if they are safe to use. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), sunbeds are as dangerous as smoking. Like the sun, they give out harmful UV rays that damage the DNA in your skin cells. Over time, this may lead to malignant melanoma - the deadliest form of skin cancer - studies have shown. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), there is significant evidence to show that using tanning beds causes melanoma. They report that sunbeds increase the risk of skin cancer by up to 20 per cent, and also state that they have no positive benefits to our health. Cancer Research back this statistic, adding that " there is no such thing as a safe tan from UV radiation". One study found that sunbeds can almost double the risk of cancer compared to never using them - with women 83 per cent more likely to develop the disease. While some people think tanning beds are safer than sitting out in the midday sun, according to Cancer Research, the risk is still twice as high when compared to spending the same amount of time in the Mediterranean sun at lunch time. The Sunbed Association claim there is not enough evidence to link sunbed use with melanoma, adding: "It is over-exposure and burning that will increase a risk of skin cancer, not responsible UV exposure." But the WHO says: "The majority of tanning parlours provide inadequate advice to their customers. "The use of eye protection such as goggles or sunglasses should be mandatory. "However, as sunbed users aim to have an even tan, they often decide against protecting any part of their body." Referring to the link with skin cancer, the world health experts add: "Sunbeds for self-tanning purposes have been available for the last two decades and due to the long latency period for skin cancer and eye damage it has been difficult so far to demonstrate any long-term health effects. "Even though the causes of malignant melanoma are not fully understood, tumour development appears to be linked to occasional exposure to intense sunlight. "Sunbeds subject their users to intermittent high exposures of UVA and UVB radiation – this may provide the ideal setting for the development of malignant skin cancer. "However, the few epidemiological studies that have been carried out to date have not provided any consistent results." Despite the WHO's cautious stance on the skin cancer link, it discourages the use of sunbeds, quoting an expert who said the use of tanning parlours is like "an industrial-scale radiation exposure experiment". Regardless of skin cancer, sunbeds don't just have long-term health risks. Users have reported a range of short-term symptoms including itching, dryness and redness of skin, freckling and photosensitivity. Common outcomes in the longer term, especially in fair-skinned people, may involve blistering of the skin. " Sagging and wrinkling of the skin are an almost certain price to be paid by frequent sunbed users", the WHO says - not quite the outcome you hope for when going to the sunbed shop for a beautiful, youthful look. Meanwhile a fourth said: "Pale is beautiful though."
Daily Mail
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Moment Brits get revenge on 'selfish' Zante holidaymakers for reserving sunbeds - by 'hiding' their towels and flinging them up trees
British summer workers got revenge on 'selfish' Zante holidaymakers who reserved their sunbeds by 'hiding' their towels and flinging them up trees. Waitress Millie Newsham, 20, was on her way back to her hotel room at 6am after a night out with friends last week when they noticed towels had been placed on sunbeds to reserve them. Footage shows the group dragging towels off the loungers, chucking and scattering them around the poolside. The Brits can be seen flinging the towels onto railings and a tree. Millie, from Blackpool, has been in Zante since mid-June and is working there for the summer but says her friends have become increasingly frustrated at tourists who try to claim their spot on the poolside. The British waitress said reserving sunbeds was 'selfish' and not the done thing on the Greek party island. 'We live at the hotel because we're working here and a load of tourists are staying here now. 'They came and put their towels by the pool. 'Nobody does it. You just don't because we're in Zante. 'We've all had a little bit to drink and then we started hiding their towels around the hotel and everything. 'I don't think that you should reserve sunbeds because obviously here nobody gets up until about three in the afternoon so there's literally no point. 'It's quite selfish because half of these people they're not even getting up. Then the people that are getting up then don't have a lounger. It's so annoying. 'It's so annoying. Obviously this is our home right now. 'We've scared them off. They haven't done it since.' She said she has heard people around her hotel speaking about her video, which has since gone viral on social media. Millie said: 'I've heard people talking about the TikTok. 'A couple of girls I was sat next to at the pool, I've never spoken to them and they were like, 'I've seen this TikTok, it was at this hotel and people were moving the towels.' 'I was just laughing. I wasn't expecting it to go viral. Every time I go on there's like another thousand likes on it. 'Some people were agreeing with it. Some people think you shouldn't touch other people's stuff but it's a towel. The clip left TikTok users divided in the comments, with some understanding the frustration and others defending reserving a sunbed. One user said: 'They want to have their cake and eat it - if you're not prepared to wake up earlier, do not expect to get a sunbed if you have to have a more budget holiday, it's first come first serve.' Another commented: 'Why don't you just sit on one with no towel?' 'No way are people defending the odd balls that claim sun beds', a third said. Sunbed wars have been raging across Europe over recent years - a trend that sees tourists compete for prime sunbathing spots at hotel pools and on beaches, often armed with towels and blankets to 'reserve' their place before returning hours later. The peak season practice has spiralled in popular hotspots frequented by Brits, such as Spain, Greece and Turkey, with staff at hotels clamping down on 'sunbed hoggers' by hiring bouncers and introducing parking ticket-style systems.
Vogue Arabia
21-06-2025
- Health
- Vogue Arabia
What You Need to Know About the Rise in Skin Cancer
"The back is one very notable example because obviously, we can't see what's going on," says Khan. "The other is between the toes, the scalp, behind the ears, under the breasts, the genital area, and the buttocks." Banwell echoes this, particularly for those with darker skin tones. "Those with darker skin tones should look out for darker spots that bleed, grow, appear darker or lighter, or change in any way," he says. "Even though those with fairer skin are more prone, it does not mean that those with darker skin tones won't be affected." Old misconceptions, new dangers "One of the biggest misconceptions is that sunbeds are a 'safer' way to get a 'base tan'. This is not the case whatsoever," says Banwell. "We know that skin cancer is caused by exposure to the Solar Constant — i.e. the combination of ultraviolet radiation (UV-A and UV-B), infrared (IR) and visible light from the sun. Intense exposure via sunbed use also dramatically increases the risk of skin cancer formation (between 30–70%), and thus avoidance of sunbeds is mandatory." Another common myth? That sunscreen isn't necessary in winter or cloudy weather. "You should be wearing sunscreen throughout the year," Banwell insists. And age isn't a get-out clause. "Skin cancer can affect those at any age," he adds. "Repeated sun exposure without protection can really increase your risk." How often should you check your skin? "I think the golden rule," says Khan, "is that anything that is present for two months or more, whether it's just a reddish lesion which doesn't heal, or whether it's a pigmented lesion which is undergoing any change, these are the things that people need to be aware of.' For those with a personal or family history, vigilance is essential. "We need to have our moles checked or check ourselves at least once a month," Khan says. "Dermatologist visits can be every three to six months, and we can use mole mapping to establish whether lesions are changing," Khan adds. Genetic mutations like CDKN2A may also require screening, he notes, adding that "Once one has had a family history or a melanoma oneself, this is no longer about just prevention. It is a medical necessity." What's new in detection and treatment? Artificial intelligence is already transforming early diagnosis. "It has evaluated many thousands of lesions and can now detect melanoma and other cancers with almost the same accuracy as a dermatologist," says Khan. Tools like MoleScope and Reflectance Confocal Microscopy (RCM) allow virtual biopsies and high-resolution skin imaging. "This is a real breakthrough," he adds.
