Skin cancer is a terrible but not the only risk associated with the use of tanning salons. Dermatologists emphasize that microorganisms that cause herpes and other sexually transmitted diseases feel comfortable in these places.
Many of us are aware of the risks of using tanning beds, associated with the threat of skin cancer. However, US experts warn that this disease is not the only health hazard when visiting artificial tanning salons. Overwhelmed with the desire to have a year-round tanned skin, people face the risk of a variety of sexually transmitted infections, including herpes.
Genital herpes is a highly contagious disease; it is passed from person to person through personal contact. Usually, herpes is spread through sex. Once a person gets the virus, it can be reactivated many times, causing new outbreaks.
Alas, there is no drug that could completely rid people of the infection. Therefore, the victims of herpes get medications only to combat the disease symptoms at the time of relapse. Dermatologist Dr. Don Mary Davis from Mayo Clinic in Minnesota emphasizes that genital herpes virus and other bacteria feel well in solariums, despite the heat. According to her, staphylococci, causing skin infections, fecal bacteria, herpes virus and human papillomavirus can withstand the temperatures of a tanning salon.
They are stored on the walls of a tanning bed, from where then move to the human skin. The temperature that is created in the tanning salon is unable to destroy the infection, which means that it becomes even more powerful. It is especially dangerous when the visitor to a tanning salon is sweating because sweat is an excellent breeding ground for bacteria and viruses. Theoretically, UV kills bacteria, but it is not enough to kill them in tanning salons, as stressed by Professor Davis.
