Winter depression

BlackLabbie

They also weaken BC pills.

Tanning beds do *not* weaken birth control pills. Where did you get this information? I've been tanning for years (most people think my dayghters and I are sisters - look at my profile pics), have been in the business and have never heard such a claim. As I mentioned in a previous post, tanning (in general) should be done in moderation. Personally, I prefer to use a tanning vs the natural sun (although I love the beach), it's a more controlled environment and less chance of burning.

Dr. Holick is a well known dermatologist who has conducted extensive studies in relation to tanning and the effects it has on the human body. Google his name and you will see. Tanning will remain a controversial topic, you must decide for yourself. Personally, I feel healthier when I'm not pasty white......

Sunshinegirl

BlackLabbie

They also weaken BC pills.

Tanning beds do *not* weaken birth control pills. Where did you get this information?

I honestly can't remember because I heard it so long ago. It probably isn't true, but, it's one of the many reasons I've stayed away from tanning beds.

Sunshinegirl

Personally, I feel healthier when I'm not pasty white......

Personally, I feel healthier when I'm my own natural color.......

BlackLabbie

Maybe I'm naive, but, am I missing something? What exactly is "winter depression"?

It's a real medical condition called SAD for Seasonal Affective Disorder:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195

I just watched something on TV the other day (Dr. Oz on Oprah maybe?) about Vit D deficiency and the Dr's are recommending 15 min's a day in the sun now.

cakana

It's a real medical condition called SAD for Seasonal Affective Disorder:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/seasonal-affective-disorder/DS00195

I've never heard of this before! I truly feel bed for people who are effected.

BlackLabbie

I've never heard of this before! I truly feel bed for people who are effected.

A good friend of mine who moved to Oregon from Texas really had a hard time adjusting.  She did get the lights and they did help her.  Her Dad died of melenoma so tanning beds weren't an option in her mind.

I, for some reason, have a very negative feeling towards tanning beds. I guess I always think of that actor, George Hamilton? I get too much sun most of the time and no one would mistake me for someone young enough to be my daughter.  I was stupid in my youth and very much wish I had used sunscreen but the dangers weren't as well known or publicized way back in the age of dinosaurs.

BlackLabbie

There has to be something (other than tanning beds and drugs) to shake that depressed feeling! I live right on the the beach, have my entire life, I'm a total beach bum....I miss the summer months too. But hey- you have to make the best of what you've got, right?

Maybe I'm naive, but, am I missing something? What exactly is "winter depression"?

Google S.A.D.  "Missing" is a long ways from not being able to work normally or function normally.

I think the problem is that anytime someone says "tanning bed" everyone assumes that means baking yourself orange and wrinkled.  Many Dr's prescribe tanning for a variety of things.  A certain level of sun exposure is HEALTHY.  For those that live in places where the sun literally does not shine but maybe one day every 3 weeks, tanning for ten minutes with sun screen, clothing over your white parts, and eye googles is not going to give you cancer, and if it does then going out in the sun would give you cancer too.  Maybe it sounds ludacris but maybe you can walk your dog for 45 minutes and don't even realize that you are in sunlight/daylight when someone else is not.  I have plenty of moles all over my body and my grandma has had skin cancer for decades so I'm not stupid.  I go to the Dr and we check them at least once a year.  The suscpicious ones are carefully monitored and ALWAYS covered.

I'm sure that used safely and in moderation as you and sunshine girl do it is safe.  I was just saying that I have a negative feeling, not that I have any experience with them or that I know much about them. :)  Anything can be dangerous if abused or used incorrectly.

Liesje

A certain level of sun exposure is HEALTHY. 

I completely agree that a certain level of sun exposure is healthy. Do I consider fluorescent lamps in a tanning bed sun? Nope. To each her own though.

Liesje

so I'm not stupid.

Nobody is calling you stupid. Not at all.

Like a said before, you do what you want and what you feel comfortable doing.
Personally, I'm not at all comfortable with tanning beds, and I don't have a need to use them, so I don't.

BlackLabbie

Like a said before, you do what you want and what you feel comfortable doing.
Personally, I'm not at all comfortable with tanning beds, and I don't have a need to use them, so I don't.

Well I don't WANT to have to pay money to use a tanning bed, just like I don't WANT to spend money on other prescription drugs, Dr visits, etc.  SAD is not about wanting to be in the sun or have a nice tan.  Just like some Dr's prescribe smoking marijuana, doesn't mean that person wants to get high and be a pothead.

I wish it was as easy as just not wanting to do it...

BlackLabbie

Do I consider fluorescent lamps in a tanning bed sun?

Tanning lamps are not fluorescent, they are UV. Typically a combination of UVA & UVB, high pressure beds are 100% UVA. UVA is the tanning ray and UVB is the burning ray. In natural sunlight there is also UVC. Back in the early 1980's when tanning came to the usa from Germany where it originated (does Wolff ring a bell?? Most people would come into my salon and ask if we had "Wolff" beds. Wolff is not the brand name of a bed, it is the name of the man who invented the tanning lamp). Anyway, they actually recommend 15 minutes of exposure per day for vitamin D absorption. IMO that can be subjective depending on the time of day, what hemisphere you are in, etc. That is why I say "moderation." Burning is what causes skin cancer. Typically many burns over a period of time. Most people who develop skin cancer will tell you about the years they spent growing up on the beach as a kid or the years they spent outdoors mowing lawns or participating in sports, etc....

And *most* dermatologists will scold you (trust me, been there) if you show any signs of being in the sun. They only want you to hear their beliefs and IMO, that's not fair. When I go to the derm, I nip it in the bud before they can even go down that road.....they don't like it, but I enjoy tanning. It's my time to relax and it makes me feel good. I also use self tanners, which nowadays aren't orange, like QT of the olden days. Even the spray tans look pretty good.

Anyway, on a lighter note, I read somewhere that sex helps with depression and sex with a tan and no tan lines, well that's just great.............. :)

When I moved to MS from the North, the third time with sun poisening....after chatting with a neighbor for a few minutes at the mail box....my doctor told me to either keep my yankee hide totally covered and IN the house or go to a tanning bed and get a base to protect myself from burning.

I literally could not go outside, even in light weight "covering" clothing without burning right through the clothes, and I couldn't wear anything heavier in that heat.

I really enjoy tanning.  It's relaxing and I too feel healthier when I'm not pasty.  I havent tanned in a couple of years and I miss it.  I will say, I've aged greatly in the past few years, however, that is mostly stress related, and some of it is not having as much fat in my face and elsewhere that kept me looking a bit younger.  I have never burned when I tanned, without tanning, I do burn.

Yes, I do think tanning is a viable option for SAD, however, do it carefully and with particlar attention to protecting your face, and don't overdo.

I don't do tanning beds and was surprised to hear of a dermatolgist that suggested it and so was curious to see what I could find. MInd you, I also do not worry about too much sun exposure, but I'm really not out in the sun a whole heck of a lot and usually just have my arms and legs exposed.......don't worry about wearing a hat either. In fact, I guess some times, maybe I'm not out in it enough as I've had to take Vitamin D before.
Most people that I know, though, who go to tanning beds, have quite the tans, which to me is a bit scary as far as skin cancer.
Anyway, I googled his name as suggested..... found out that he was given a grant by the tanning industry to study the effects of sunlight. But from all I've read, his interest is the amount of vitamin D that one needs. And many of his statements mention that he does not agree with tanning, he only agrees with a necessary amount of sunlight and that necessary amount being only a few minutes at a time......twas what I found.
 "Dr. Holick made clear in an interview last week that he does not promote tanning; he advises people to expose themselves to sunlight daily for a short period (typically, a few minutes, depending on skin type and the time of year)."


The quotes follow the link to the page I got them from.

http://www.doctoryourself.com/holick.html


DY NEWS: Exactly how much vitamin D, and how much sun, do we need?

 HOLICK: Vitamin D deficiency is less than 400 IU per day along with no sun exposure. If you take 400 IU daily, you would still have an inadequate amount of vitamin D. Humans need 1,000 IU each day, or to be exposed to sunlight. Five to ten minutes, arms and legs, three times a week, is adequate.

DY NEWS: And in the summer, should we tan?

 
HOLICK: I do not believe in tanning.

Good to know.

But keep in mind (not you but in general), SAD is not the same as a vitamin deficiency.  As far as I know vitamin D is not used to treat SAD.

I refused to go near a tanning bed for 24 years and can't remember the last time I went so I'm not hear as a poster girl defending tanning. 

I just don't want anyone making light of something that is basically synonymous with clinical depression.  For someone who struggles with a daily routine and might feel hopeless for so long, consider it could be a bit insensitive to hear that tanning is always associated with orange people that get skin cancer and they should just get over it and cheer up.  SAD is like PTSD - a lot of people suffer at different levels.  Some people experience horrible things and never get PTSD while someone else might get it from something that might not seem that bad.  Whatever anyone else thinks, it doesn't change that person's symptoms.

Liesje

I just don't want anyone making light of something that is basically synonymous with clinical depression.  For someone who struggles with a daily routine and might feel hopeless for so long, consider it could be a bit insensitive to hear that tanning is always associated with orange people that get skin cancer and they should just get over it and cheer up.

I apologize if you feel like I was being insensitive, if I was insensitve, toward people who suffer from SAD.

Like I stated earlier, I didn't know what "winter depression"/"SAD" was. But, now I know. And I truly feel for people who suffer from it.

If tanning makes ones symptoms dissolve, then by all means. I'm not trying to be the poster girl against tanning beds. It was all just my personal POV.