Tanning Risk Eludes Young Women
August 29, 2011
It’s interesting to note that tanned skin’s popularity is a relatively recent phenomenon. Ancient Greek and Roman women not only stayed out of the sun, but they whitened their faces with cosmetics, and women powdered their faces during the days of Queen Elizabeth I. It wasn’t until fashion icon Coco Chanel returned from a vacation with a tan during the 1920s that tanned skin became fashionable. Today, we know that this fashion can exact a high price from its devotees, as one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in his or her lifetime. This risk is shared rather disproportionately by young women who profess to know the dangers of tanning yet persist in doing so. Tans are hardly healthy.
P.S. According to a recent survey of young women, 32 percent of the respondents admitted to visiting a tanning salon, and 25 percent who did so soaked up the UV rays of a tanning bed once a week, on average.
Skin “Barnacles”
August 22, 2011
As much as the dark, unsightly skin growths known as “seborrheic keratoses” may seem to be melanoma (the most serious type of skin cancer) to the untrained eye, they are actually very common and benign. These growths with irregular shapes often start out as small yellow or tan bumps, gradually turning into raised brown or black growths. These characteristics lead seborrheic keratoses to be classically described as if they had been stuck on the skin much the way a barnacle is attached to a ship hull (hence, the irreverent name “skin barnacles”). If these skin growths are treated, it is usually for cosmetic purposes. In most cases, they are frozen off in much the same way that warts are.
P.S. While sun exposure does not seem to be a cause of seborrheic keratoses, they have a tendency to be inherited.
The Villages Office