tanning beds? | Arthritis Information

Share
 

do any of you use tanning beds to help with your pain from these diseases?   last week i was tired of feeling tired so i went and purchased some tanning minutes ( i remembered they had helped me years ago ).   i do not need the tan, i need the light and the warmth.  am i the only one who feels some relief from tanning, especially in the winter?  wonderwoman   p.s. i swear my bones are not creaking quite so bad.....

http://www.arthritispractitioner.com/article/7908

Why take the chance?  There are other ways of warming up.  I just had basal cell carcinoma removed from my nose with a flap graft.  There's absolutely no way I'd use a tanning bed or go outside without sunscreen.  Don't you have to go out in the cold and bad weather to get to the tanning studio?  That alone will make you cold and you can use lights in the house to fight SAD or tiredness.   Just something I wouldn't do based on the research that I've read.  LindyI totally agree with Lindy. Being a melanoma survivor, I'd also never use a tanning bed or go outside without sunscreen...

Hi wonderwoman!

Nope, I have never used a tanning bed to warm myself up or to help with my RA. I think I have only used a tanning bed like twice in my life. Only because I can sit out in the sun for 30 mins one day and have a nice tan. I tan really easily. I hardly ever burn. I just get browner and browner the more I stay out in the sun.
 
I hope you can find another way to keep warm and to help with the creakiness. How about visiting a hottub?
i would love a hottub!!!!!   heaven, that would be mighty close to heaven.I don't like artificial tanning. Did it a few times when I was taking tropical vacations in the winter so I could get a base. Makes me claustrophobic and I know it's not good for you at all. I do however throw caution to the wind in the summer. There is nothing I love better than stretching out and lying in the sun. I hope I come back as a cat. Sun, artificial or real, always makes me feel better too.  Sometimes, I wondered if it was the warmth, or if it was because of the extra vitamin D.  Don't you get D from the tanning bed lights too?Wonderwoman,
YES YES and YES. I do for my fibro and it helps. It also helps gets your vitamin D level up---which we are all usually sadly lacking because no one goes outside anymore. just be careful and don't go too much---as people have had skin cancer. everything in moderation.
I go once or twice a week and NEVER overexpose yourself. The lady I go to owns her own salon and is VERY responsible with how much time you should be in there. she knows I don't go for the tan results---just too feel better. my doc even said it was good for me. it helps with arthritis, fibro and again that pesky vitamin D.
ENJOY!!!!!   I like to just close my eyes and pretend I'm in the Bahamas!!!!   ha haI wouldn't use a tanning bed or go out w/o sunscreen.  I use to be out in the sun loads when I was younger... you should see the skin on my forearms now.  "Liver spots" everywhere!  Not pretty and I worry about cancer all the time.

[QUOTE=wysone]Wonderwoman,
YES YES and YES. I do for my fibro and it helps. It also helps gets your vitamin D level up---which we are all usually sadly lacking because no one goes outside anymore. just be careful and don't go too much---as people have had skin cancer. everything in moderation.
I go once or twice a week and NEVER overexpose yourself. The lady I go to owns her own salon and is VERY responsible with how much time you should be in there. she knows I don't go for the tan results---just too feel better. my doc even said it was good for me. it helps with arthritis, fibro and again that pesky vitamin D.
ENJOY!!!!!   I like to just close my eyes and pretend I'm in the Bahamas!!!!   ha ha[/QUOTE]
 
I know several people who post on the AF board who also use tanning beds.  I prefer to get my Vitamin D the natural way in the spring and summer, but during the winter months in Michigan I supplement.
thank you wysone!   i am not tanning for the tan.  i just make spots too now.   i am tanning for the help i need in the winter months.  we have had days of gray and i could not stand it any longer.  i dont even always take off all my clothes.  i cover my face.   i just want the warmth and the vitamin D!!!!   yippee    for alittle jump start....I ran across a study a few years back where they put some folks in a regular tanning bed and some in a "fake" tanning bed (just the warmth and light, no "tanning" rays) and had them rate how they felt afterwards.  The folks who were in the real tanning beds had a higher sense of wellbeing than those who were in the fake beds.

I used tanning beds a handful of times back in my youth, but my main sun exposure was as a child (all my summers were spent in the hot Arkansas sun, on the shores of Bull Shoals Lake).  Nowadays I don't spend much time outside, but I also don't wear sunscreen on a daily basis (even on my face).  If I'm going to be out in the sun for a while I'll put it on, but for day to day activities here in Chicagoland I just allow myself to get 15-30 minutes of sun exposure a day during my normal daily activities.  I do believe we need a certain amount of natural sunlight, though obviously too much of a good thing can certainly cause harm!

Copyright ArthritisInsight.com