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3rd Trimester
roxychick2369
member
Anyone actually tanning?
roxychick2369
member
I used to go tanning twice a week (before pregnancy) it my was way of relaxing and relieving stress. I havnt gone during pregnancy but lately its as if im basically "craving" to go tan. I also used to smoke, so the combination of not smoking or tanning is making my stress levels high. Im well aware of everything about tanning (im not looking for lectures) im wondering if anyone pregnant is actually going tanning in a bed. Not lotions or spray tans, actual tanning. I want to go SOOO bad but i still cant decide.
Im aware of the risks:
1) to make sure you dont over heat and your body temp doesnt go over 102. (By law tanning beds cant go over 100 degrees, and every tanning bed ive ever been always have fans to help keep cool.)
2) that during pregnancy skin is extra sensitive, (there for i would never go the max time and start with just a few minutes)
3) that UV rays *could* break down folic acid, (i could take one flinstone vitamin along with normal prenatals)
4) and the normal tanning risks reguardless of being prego, premature aging and increased risk of skin cancer
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Anyone actually tanning?
In a tanning bed- absolutely not. Do they even let you get into a bed pg? Seems like something that wouldn't even be an option.
But I have gotten a summer glow from being outdoors. Lots of water and suntan lotion while swimming and hanging by the pool- that has given me a lovely tan (but keeping the bump fully covered- no desire to burn all that new skin).
Pregnancy # 6
4 missed chances
2 loving children
1 on the way
HAHAHA. Like I could even close the top of the tanning bed over myself!
But, no. It's summer anyway and I love getting out in the fresh air.
LOLOL! I didn't even think about that aspect of it.
I did two or three times in the first 20 weeks (it was January-April) when the weather was too cold to get outside. I suffer BIG time to depression and anxiety (especially in those first 20 weeks before we had our anatomy scan and saw that everything was normal---the depression stayed of course but the anxiety subsided) since DD passed away and my doctor actually recommended it to calm me down...just for a few minutes and simply because it was a lesser of the evils. But that's a special circumstance....I wouldn't run out and tell everyone that tanning is safe because my doctor said it was fine for me (it was just better than the alternatives for me)
Now that it is nice out though I get my good-vibes from the real sun. If you're craving the tanning bed you might just have a vitamin D deficiency and need some sunshine in your life. I would try that first and if that doesn't help talk to your doctor about it at your next appointment.
I used to tan several times a week until I got pregnant and then haven't (but I can't wait to start again) -- I also know the risks but I dont smoke and dont drink so I figure if I have 1 vice something has got to kill me sooner or later might as well be melanoma...
Some upscale salons have a "legs only" bed where you sit in a chair and it just does your legs, that seems like a nice option for summer...but we dont have one around here.
I know some of the bigger beds have LOTS of fans and don't get that hot...but I personally just dont want to risk it..NTM that at this point in the game 10 minutes on my back on plastic sounds like a terrible terrible idea considering the squish my vena cava on the U/S table and I nearly pass out...
As someone who has personally watched a loved one waste away from melanoma, I find this statement appalling. Fine, have a vice, but there is probably a better way to phrase it.
That said, OP, have you just tried laying out in the regular old sun? THat might curb your desire to lay in a tanning bed. I'm obviously not the best person to ask given my personal history, but a "natural" tan from being outside is 100 times more attractive than one you'd get in a tanning bed anyway. Tanning bed tans aren't that hard to spot.
Annelise 3.22.2007 Norah 10.24.2009 Amelia 8.7.2011
I live in DC and was close to 100 just about every day in July. And it's still too freaking hot to lay out in the sun. I can't believe that people would actually suggest sweating your ass off outside as a safe alternative to laying in an air conditioned tanning bed for 12 minutes.
My girlfriend tanned until she was 18 weeks and her son's healthy and the cutest little thing ever.
DS-11 years, DD-3 years, DS-born 9/15/10, DD-9/09/11
You're just giving birth now, you're not mother Earth now
the actual eff
wow, really?! maybe you phrased this wrong, but this might be the most ignorant statement i've seen on here.
As a former tanarexic, I am craving me some tanning bed time. I haven't given in so far though. Not just because of the the things listed above, but also fear it making any stretch marks I may have darker. I can not see any yet, but the last time I was prego, I had none (or so I thought) the entire pregnancy and then had a few show up afterwards.
I will say that I am spray tanning this week because I am in a wedding and need to even out a few tan lines.
During my first pregnancy I developed the lovely "mask of pregnancy". Ever since then, if I get sun on my face, I look like I have a 5 o'clock shadow. Even when I am not pregnant, the sun brings it back out. Even just going around town without sunscreen on is enough to bring it out! So, while I can actually come up with about a million reasons why this is a bad idea, I will appeal to your vanity. Trust me, you don't want to look like you have a beard.
Umm seriously! I agree, that's a very ignorant statement. My sisters friend just died at the age of 34 due to stage 4 melanoma. She left behind a husband and 7 year old daughter. She found out about it in her late 20's, and it's no joke. I know op wasn't looking for a lecture but after seeing what she went through it makes me sick to my stomach when i hear of people tanning and I can't keep my mouth closed about it.
You girls are having babies now that are relying on you and you should want to take care of your body as much as you can so you can continue being there for them as long as possible. There are certain diseases and illnesses that are very much out of our control, but skin cancer is one that you can help to prevent, so why wouldn't you?
THIS BLOG ENTRY should make you think twice..........
This EXACTLY!
No way. I wouldn't risk overheating the baby. If you feel stressed, how about a different way of relaxing--get a massage or a pedicure.
Also, my friend's husband just had a major scare & a few big surgeries because 1 funny looking mole on his back turned out to be melanoma (& when they scanned him, they found it in multiple locations). They have a 3 yr old & 6 yr old. It's important to take care of yourself while you're carrying, but also important to do what you can to stick around after they're born.
I'm not quite sure how tanning in a tanning bed is worse than sitting in 100+ heat with a heat index over 120 degrees. For me, at the moment I'd say a 5 minutes in a well ventilated tanning bed is probably less likely to get me overheated, which is the main concern (outside of Melanoma) of tanning while pregnant.
I really doubt OP was trying to be offensive to anyone who has lost someone to Melanoma, cancer in any form is sad, but just as smoking, drinking, or eating an unhealthy diet are your choice, it is her choice to tan. Honestly I'd rather see her tanning than smoking, drinking or eating unhealthy, those have much more serious and long term side effects IMHO on a baby/child over the course of their childhood.
That said, I'm not tanning in a tanning bed while pregnant, even though my doc has in the past encouraged me to tan (pre-pregnancy) for my skin issues. I've always done so in the winter months to help manage it. Even then I covered my face, and only went once in awhile.
I don't think anyone is saying to go outside when it's THAT hot. Also, there's a huge difference between lying out in a lounge chair in that high of temps and floating in the pool. Our a/c cannot keep up at all if the temp is much over 90, so I go to the pool and stay in the shade when I'm not in the water. Unlike a tanning bed, I am sipping water the entire time and the only times I am in direct sunlight, I am underwater or dripping wet. Despite the fans and a/c in tanning beds, I am always dripping sweat after the first few minutes and I do not normally sweat at all.
And please don't try to say that girls who tan at least once or twice a week go in the tanning bed for only 5 minutes. If you are ONLY tanning for skin problems (that's why I have done it, also), I'll buy it, but girls who tan weekly just for color are usually going 10-15 minutes or more each time.
I think you got your answer already but if you're still considering stepping in a tanning booth please consider doing the following first:
*ask your doctor. should be an obvious thing to do but clearly some people dont think to do this
*consider sitting outside. Its summetime FFS
*reconsider saying prophetic things like "it might as well be melanoma that kills me". If you devalue your life so much then that's one thing but your responsible for a baby now and you might want to start making better decisions now
mrsclark - you disgust me....re your "stmt"
as someone who found out they have melanoma late january (also discovering a 3 month pregnancy) I say no...but to each their own, I'm not here to lecture anyone. we live in florida - avoing the sun is impossible.
Yeah, lurking here, but DH just dodged a bullet with melanoma and after two surgeries is now cancer free. I'm awfully grateful that my LO doesn't have to grow up without her father. I hope you wise up and make choices that won't leave your child without a mother.
Honestly, people? You're about to be parents! Your child needs you alive and healthy.
I don't get it.
Seriously! What's the big freaking deal about having to be tan? Or to hide tan lines? I have far better things to worry about while pregnant than being tan...save the money and don't go to the bed, and be healthier. Yea, it might be hot outside, so be smart about going out in the sun. Limit your time outside exposed, drink lots and lots of extra water, spray down with a water bottle (or get in a pool if you can). Seriously....what's the big freaking deal about being tan? In the grand scheme of life, it really doesn't matter at all.
Those who don't go tanning, are going to look FAR better as they age and look younger when they are in older age.
I have a friend who died from skin cancer at age 29.
I highly doubt your kids would feel better about losing their mother before the age of 5 because "well something was going to kill her sooner or later!"
But hey, at least you'll look great before you die! And isn't that what's truly important?
Ditto - what an ignorant statement, I'm incredibly appalled! I know someone who found out in February they had Stage 4 melanoma, no symptoms what-so-ever, they had NO clue, and he passed away 2 weeks ago from it - 5 months total since the day he found out and he's gone - with no warning. He left behind a wife and twin 5-year old boys. Melanoma is NO joke, so maybe you should think before you speak and educate yourself on melanoma before you joke about getting it one day because "something is gonna end up killing you, why not that".
I don't get why you would have to tan at all........ JMO........ also, can you seriously be "addicted" to tanning?
I've known girls who have tanned despite having suspicious moles removed. One had some cream that makes the mole go away somehow and continued to tan with a bandaid over the area while treating it. These are the same girls who tan weekly but complain about the max time limits when they are preparing for a special event and want to look "nice". So... yeah, I think you can be.