Is having a nice tan more important than your health? You might enjoy having a chocolate complexion but truth is tanning beds are a breeding grounds for bacteria. Dermatologist Mary Davis claims that many viruses and diseases such as staphylococcus, herpes and genital warts that cause HPV can survive the heat from the tanning beds.
“Our skin is covered with bacteria that can be easily transferred. Sweating cause bacteria and viruses to multiply and reproduce and tanning beds are the perfect breeding grounds. If you have a wound or a cut when you go tanning, you increase your chances of getting an infection”, explains Dr. Davis.
Staphylococcus, fecal bacteria, herpes and genital warts can be easily transferred from one person to another if the tanning bed is not cleaned properly.
“Theoretically speaking, ultraviolet light can kill bacteria, but the ultraviolet light from a tanning bed is not strong enough to destroy them”, explains Dr. Davis.