Kayla Young
Since the invention of tanning beds, numerous concerns have been raised about their safety. Common impacts include eye damage, skin cancer, premature wrinkles, and immune system suppression. And dermatologists maintain that tanning beds are just as bad as sun exposure.Â
While there is no direct link between tanning beds and infertility, there are some fertility concerns, especially for women of childbearing age, particularly during pregnancy. So do tanning beds affect fertility? At present no one can say for sure, but there are clear concerns.
We’ll discuss all that below.
Contents
What Are Tanning Beds?
Tanning is the process of darkening the skin by exposing it to the sun or using artificial methods such as beds, booths, and lamps.
Cosmetic tanning has grown in popularity since the 1940s, resulting in a massive increase in indoor cosmetic tanning. Lately that has been mitigated due to the rising popularity of safer spray tanning, self-tanners, and tanning waters, but UV tanning remains popular, and has at least some benefits.
A tanning bed, also known as a sunbed, is a machine that sorta simulates the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation to produce a “base” tan.
UV radiation from tanning beds, like UV radiation from sunlight, stimulates the skin to produce a pigment called melanin. Melanin absorbs UV light, darkening the skin.Â
According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, indoor tanning is practiced by approximately 7.8 million adults in the United States. Out of the 7.8 million, 52.5 percent begin tanning before the age of 21, while 32.7 percent begin before 18.
Can Tanning Beds Affect Your Ovaries?
Tanning bed ultraviolet radiation does not penetrate the body to any significant depth. Because of this, the ovaries should be at little or no risk. They may, however, cause endometriosis, which, if left untreated, can lead to infertility.
A U.S. Nurses’ Health Study involving 116,429 white premenopausal women between 25 and 42 was conducted from 1989 to 2015.Â
During the study, participants completed questionnaires detailing their medical history and exposure to risk factors for several chronic diseases every two years until June 2015.
Among the questions were their sunburn experiences, the number of moles on their legs, and the number of severe sunburns they underwent between 15 and 20.
Tanning bed ultraviolet radiation does not penetrate the body to any significant depth. Because of this, the ovaries should be at little or no risk.
In 2005, the researchers began tracking the participants’ use of tanning beds during their adolescent and early adult years. The study discovered that women aged 25 and 35 who used tanning beds six or more times a year had a 24% increased risk of being diagnosed with endometriosis.
The study discovered that women aged 25 and 35 who used tanning beds six or more times a year had a 24% increased risk of being diagnosed with endometriosis.Â
Those who used them six or more times a year as teenagers had a 19% increased risk. According to the research results, nearly seven out of every hundred women will develop endometriosis if they use tanning beds more than three times per year.
Can Tanning Reduce Sperm Count?
Sperm cannot survive the normal body temperature.
As a result, they are stored in the scrotum, which is specially adapted to store sperm at lower temperatures outside the body.
When men tan, the temperature of the sperm increases, killing them.Â
The UV rays may also slow down folic acid production, important for spermatogenesis. Therefore, tanning beds can reduce sperm count, potentially leading to a reduction to male infertility.
Is Tanning Safe for Pregnant Women?
The primary concern for pregnant women who use tanning beds is not that ultraviolet (UV) rays will harm the unborn fetus. Instead, the following issues are major tanning beds concerns during pregnancy:
- Prolonged exposure to the same skin tanning UV rays can cause folic acid deficiency, resulting in spina bifida (spinal gap) in the fetus.
- The hot tanning lights may become overheated, resulting in spinal malformations in the unborn child.
- If you are in your last trimester, lying flat on your back during tanning can exert excessive pressure on your lower back, reducing blood flow to your heart and the growing fetus.
This is not to say that pregnant women should avoid tanning beds entirely (though we would recommend it). At the very least, they should take the following precautions to avoid endangering their own and their newborns’ health:
- Use a vertical tanning bed or booth rather than a horizontal one.Â
- Use tanning bed pillows to relieve strained lower back muscles.
- Reduce the frequency and the amount of time on a tanning bed. Ten to fifteen minutes twice a week is more than enough.
- Always hydrate properly and use tanning bed lotion that replenishes moisture in the skin.
Conclusion
There is no such thing as a safe tanning method (but is anything really “safe”?).
Tanning beds are more dangerous than sunbathing, and certainly more dangerous than sunless tanning.
Regardless, it is critical to understand the general health risks of tanning beds, including the risk of infertility. This way, you’ll be able to take the necessary precautions to avoid overexposure to the potentially harmful UV rays of tanning beds and other risks.
