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Addicted to tanning: This could be you at age 26... Dead...

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ianp622

Member
When one part of the world sells tanning lotions, and another part of the world sells "fairness" creams, you know something's bullshit.
 

IceCold

Member
Never understood people who go weekly to tan. Actually, I don't understand the appeal of tanning to begin with... you're just killing yourself quicker.

I think there's two reasons:

1) People think they look better with a tan. I'm not talking Jersey Shore style, but a good tan does look good imo.

2) The feeling of tanning is quite soothing. I know for me, I love going at the beach, feel the heat of the sun for a bit and then jump in the cold water. Feels good.

This is especially true when you live in a country with long winters and where the summer is quite short. You don't see the sun much throughout the year so you tend to over compensate during the summer.
 

someday

Banned
it's pretty bad that the first lab missed that diagnosis, and definitely justifies some kind of settlement. from a pathology point of view, melanoma can be a really sneaky cancer to diagnose. rare under-diagnoses are an inevitability in the current state of affairs of pathology labs and medicine in general. unfortunately this one shortened or maybe even cost the patient her life.

the problem with melanoma though is that it behaves in sometimes mystifying ways, re-appearing 10 years later as a metastasis after an excision of a low stage tumor. i've seen it myself in residency as a pathologist and seen young people die of it a couple times in medical school. even with a low stage melanoma that was excised with a negative sentinel lymph node, there are still plenty of reports of people with metastases and death from melanoma. in her case she probably at least warranted a wide excision and lymph node biopsy after her original excision though.
Could you explain what you mean about misdiagnoses being inevitable from your first paragraph? I've heard a few stories about this happening but it often seems more of an issue at certain labs and not others.
 
Could you explain what you mean about misdiagnoses being inevitable from your first paragraph? I've heard a few stories about this happening but it often seems more of an issue at certain labs and not others.
even if your accuracy rate is 99.999% there are still going to be 0.001% misdiagnoses. ideally they will be inconsequential but eventually there will be some that are serious like in this case.

in all practices and industries it's not that accidents can happen, it's that they will happen, and people need to have the proper systems set up to correct them and limit them as much as possible. a busier lab practice is likely to have more mistakes simply because there is a greater volume of material to go through. dermatopathology labs are among the busiest specialist labs because of the volume of biopsies that dermatologists take.
 

cloudwalking

300chf ain't shit to me
scary. i was stupid enough to try tanning beds when i was a teenager because i was convinced my very (very, very) pale skin was ugly. somehow thought it was a good idea despite the fact that skin cancer runs in my family.

glad i grew out of that phase. i'm not ashamed of my skin colour anymore... in fact, twilight made being pale look cool. yeah i could totally run with the cullens.
 
Sad, man.

Cancer is a bastard. Still, had she done some basic things (like wearing SPF30), and if her melanoma hadn't been misdiagnosed as a 16 year-old, there is no thread and no sad story here.

The premise that tanning as a whole is a bad thing is silly. Your body needs sunshine; it's just that too much with out protection can be dangerous. So get a tan, but wear appropriate levels of sun screen and watch the amount of time you're exposed. Don't use this as your excuse to be ghostly.
 

Y2Kev

TLG Fan Caretaker Est. 2009
I see what JB means. I mean, not burning your skin, but sitting in the sun feels nice. I like being warm. I usually use SPF 45. Once I fell asleep halfway under the umbrella and my legs got all burned, lol.
 

toxicgonzo

Taxes?! Isn't this the line for Metallica?
My friends look at me like I'm crazy for putting on sunscreen when we're out in the sun for a while.

No, morons, I'm protecting myself from the sun.

Of course, I lived in the tropics most my life so understandably I am at higher risk.
 

Alebrije

Member
tanningoverload.jpg
 

whitehawk

Banned
*Watches video*

Shit, I've had 1 major sunburn before I was 18. I was out in the sun in Florida for 1 hour without any suncreen. On the flight home my skin was super sensitive and I was sick to my stomach.
 

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
As a brown man, I do not understand the white obsession with tanning. Seriously guys, being brown ain't all it's cracked up to being.
 
*Watches video*

Shit, I've had 1 major sunburn before I was 18. I was out in the sun in Florida for 1 hour without any suncreen. On the flight home my skin was super sensitive and I was sick to my stomach.

damn. my white brothers and sisters must have it rough. I can't imagine going out in the sun down here in SoFla for just an hour and being burned.

In fact, I've never had sunburn despite playing multiple outside sports, doing lawn chores back in HS, golfing regularly, etc.


As a brown man, I do not understand the white obsession with tanning. Seriously guys, being brown ain't all it's cracked up to being.
You don't have to lie to them to make them feel better.
 

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
Sad, man.

Cancer is a bastard. Still, had she done some basic things (like wearing SPF30), and if her melanoma hadn't been misdiagnosed as a 16 year-old, there is no thread and no sad story here.

The premise that tanning as a whole is a bad thing is silly. Your body needs sunshine; it's just that too much with out protection can be dangerous. So get a tan, but wear appropriate levels of sun screen and watch the amount of time you're exposed. Don't use this as your excuse to be ghostly.

Your body needs sunlight but the point at which you're tanning your skin is too much. You're putting yourself at risk.

Sucks being pale as shit.
 
There's a social perception that white skin is something that needs to be fixed. To be darkened. This belief is probably partially racist in nature.

Stop tanning. White is beautiful.
 
There's a social perception that white skin is something that needs to be fixed. To be darkened. This belief is probably partially racist in nature.

Stop tanning. White is beautiful.

say that in public



anyway, light people want to be dark, dark people want to be light, that's how it is
 

BocoDragon

or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I don't even understand why a tanned look is supposed to be an improvement. Talk about throwing your life away over an arbitrary physical difference.

anyway, light people want to be dark, dark people want to be light, that's how it is
Asia disagrees with you.
 
"Up until then, Glenna had never accepted that she might not get well," says Colleen. "Hearing about this other person blew her out of the water. She came home that night, crawled into bed with us, and sobbed."
Find out what to do if you screw up and get a sunburn.
wow
 
Banning salons should be closed and banned. Not only can it cause cancer, excessive exposure to sun will dry your skin and make you appear way older than you are.

I had bad case of acne when I was young, I also instinctively avoided sun. Later on when I went on anti-acne medications my doctor told me if I didn't stay out of the sun the spots created by acne would be impossible to remove without laser therapy for the skin.

There's a social perception that white skin is something that needs to be fixed. To be darkened. This belief is probably partially racist in nature.

Stop tanning. White is beautiful.

Funny thing is, in Asia the opposite is true - their whitening cosmetics are out of this planet. Nobody goes tanning there unless you are going for ganguro style.
 

cloudwalking

300chf ain't shit to me
*Watches video*

Shit, I've had 1 major sunburn before I was 18. I was out in the sun in Florida for 1 hour without any suncreen. On the flight home my skin was super sensitive and I was sick to my stomach.

i've had sun poisoning twice, also for only being in the sun unprotected for about an hour... really stupid of me, but i paid for it. oh god, the pain and the nausea. wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.
 

suzu

Member
It's stupid how a lot of people think there is something "wrong or sickly" with me because I'm naturally pale. lol. It gets even more annoying when it's hot and I'm wearing shorts.
 
Everyone gets sun burned. If you have moles just take note if they ever change or get bigger. 99% of moles are fine.

I don't think any of them have ever changed, but I'm still pretty freaked. There's one on my leg that is slightly raised and I'm most concerned about that one. I'm definitely mentioning this to my doctor.

Does anybody know if general family care doctors usually know anything about this kind of stuff, or should I just go ahead and look for a dermatologist?
 
There's a social perception that white skin is something that needs to be fixed. To be darkened. This belief is probably partially racist in nature.

Stop tanning. White is beautiful.

what about being so pale that people tell you constantly that you look sick?

it's one of the worst things that people can say to me, makes me feel like shit. i DON'T want to hear that i look sick :/ i can't help being born in a country where i sometimes dont see the sun for weeks.

edit: also these comments about my paleness come only from other white people.
 

Diablos

Member
I don't tan, my skin just turns red and peels if I get too much sun.

I'm not a ginger, but my skin would make you think otherwise.

Also, tanning beds are dumb.
 

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
Just goes to show, that you should only tan just enough so that the rest of your skin matches the darker shade of your dick. Any more than that, and you're increasing your risk for cancer.


Serious answer: People with pale skin should especially not be nuking themselves like that. The flip side to this story is that there are also a lot of people with vitamin D deficiency because they don't get enough sun. Particularly darker skinned people who live in northern regions. The lesson here, as in most things in life: moderation, and common sense.
 

someday

Banned
even if your accuracy rate is 99.999% there are still going to be 0.001% misdiagnoses. ideally they will be inconsequential but eventually there will be some that are serious like in this case.

in all practices and industries it's not that accidents can happen, it's that they will happen, and people need to have the proper systems set up to correct them and limit them as much as possible. a busier lab practice is likely to have more mistakes simply because there is a greater volume of material to go through. dermatopathology labs are among the busiest specialist labs because of the volume of biopsies that dermatologists take.

Thanks for the explanation. Makes total sense when put that way.
 
I don't think any of them have ever changed, but I'm still pretty freaked. There's one on my leg that is slightly raised and I'm most concerned about that one. I'm definitely mentioning this to my doctor.

Does anybody know if general family care doctors usually know anything about this kind of stuff, or should I just go ahead and look for a dermatologist?
Most general practitioners can biopsy a lesion, but dermatologists can look at every lesion you have and probably are more experienced in knowing which ones to biopsy and which ones can be left alone. I'm not sure if you need a referral to see a dermatologist anyways.

Melanoma can occur anywhere, including in the eye and in the anus. Not surprisingly, survival is poor in those two locations because of delay in diagnosis.

Asymmetry, irregular borders, uneven coloration, and diameter greater than 6 mm are used in screening for melanoma.
 

someday

Banned
I don't think any of them have ever changed, but I'm still pretty freaked. There's one on my leg that is slightly raised and I'm most concerned about that one. I'm definitely mentioning this to my doctor.

Does anybody know if general family care doctors usually know anything about this kind of stuff, or should I just go ahead and look for a dermatologist?

I'd think you'd be better off seeing a dermatologist than your regular doc. They specialize in this stuff and would have the tools to deal with a suspicious mole right there. They also have a mapping process, I think, that they can use as a baseline for any future checkups. My best friend goes through this stuff cause she's blond hair/blue eyes and spent a lot of time in the sun growing up. She's had some suspicious ones removed but so far has been lucky.
 
People with dark skin, up to and including people of African origin do also get sunburn and skin cancer. This notion of "I don't need sunscreen" or "Black don't crack" is actually why a larger proportion of people with dark skin end up with melanoma later on in life than people with lighter skin. Because they are of the belief that they cannot and will not burn, when that is horrifically untrue. Everyone should wear sunscreen during the summer and especially if you live in the tropics.

As for this whole tanning business, I find it rarely looks good on people as they tend to overdo it. Not too mention the skin peeling afterwards, just nasty. Luckily I land square in the middle between extreme pale and extreme dark, so I stay a warm brown all year round. People are always insecure about themselves and comparing themselves to others, we all do that. So it makes sense to me that if the majority is light, you'd want to darken yourself to stand out. And if the majority is dark, you'd want to lighten yourself to stand out.

There's a social perception that white skin is something that needs to be fixed. To be darkened. This belief is probably partially racist in nature.

Stop tanning. White is beautiful.

I don't think that's racist really. If that were the case, people with darker skin would be treated better.

say that in public



anyway, light people want to be dark, dark people want to be light, that's how it is
Not at you directly. But why would that be a problem? Is someone not allowed to be proud of their skin colour? There is a clear distinction between let's say...a super pale man who says he loves his skin and is married to a black woman and someone saying that they're proud of their skin and that it's superior. There is nothing wrong with what he said. It's only when it crosses over into the realm of "I'm better" that commentary like that should be trampled on. There is obviously some historical context to all of this though, but I think a slow movement away from analyzing every word someone says would be for the betterment of all humanity. Should no caucasian ever say that they are proud of the contributions of other caucasians or the cultures that they originated from? If we're to say that only minorities can be "proud" whatever that means, society will not move forward at all. Yes, LGBT, womens, disability and minority groups do get a special mention. Because their *are* minorities and their interests must never be put to the majority(Specifically here as caucasian males) but to say that a caucasian male should or could never be proud of who he is simply because of the actions of others is...unfair?
 

Wilsongt

Member
At my university, when the pool at the fitness center opens, there are a ton of people around it. The water is as calm as glass, but the entire pool area is full of people getting tans.

As someone who has a skin condition where I hide it all the time out of embarrassment, it makes me upset and sad that people my age and under would abuse their skin in the way they do...
 

Sent

Member
At my university, when the pool at the fitness center opens, there are a ton of people around it. The water is as calm as glass, but the entire pool area is full of people getting tans.

As someone who has a skin condition where I hide it all the time out of embarrassment, it makes me upset and sad that people my age and under would abuse their skin in the way they do...

People sun by the pool/beach all the time. It's not really an issue.
 
I had a suspicious mole removed last year but they ran a check on it and it was okay. Now I have an ugly scar instead.

There's a girl at work who is around 25. I don't know her original skin color but she's VERY tanned. Can't be healthy. She'd be a lot prettier if pale too.
 
I had a suspicious mole removed last year but they ran a check on it and it was okay. Now I have an ugly scar instead.

There's a girl at work who is around 25. I don't know her original skin color but she's VERY tanned. Can't be healthy. She'd be a lot prettier if pale too.

I hate when moles start to get suspicious.
 

TheNatural

My Member!
Is there any way to get tanned without UV rays? Or is any form of tanning = risk for skin cancer? I've always wondered.
 

Lissar

Reluctant Member
Maybe bad tans do but a good tan makes you look healthier and active whereas being pale makes you look like you stay in your house and sickly.

Awww man, I hate it when people say that. I love being outdoors in the sun but my skin is such that if I'm even 10 minutes out there I burn, not brown but bright red. I can't help that. I have to slather myself in sunblock if I'm going to be outside for very long or even a bit in direct sunlight.
 
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