tanning bed

[joanthompson]

Is ok to go to the tanning bed with hepatitis c

[goldenrule]

are you treating? if not then i would say yes, however if you are treating the drugs make your skin extra sensitive to ultraviolet rays. I went tanning 2 weeks after finishing tx, and i got sun poisoning

[JodyLynn]

I get in my tanning bed for 20 mins about once or sometimes twice a week, i have to this treatments make me look like a ghost lol....hasnt hurt me so far.

[Andiamo1]

It isn't ok to use a tanning bed if you are in great health.  I have spent much of my life in the sun and spend time with lots of other people who also sail as much as me.  You should see the condition of our skin!  Many have skin cancer and one died from melanoma.

So if a tan is worth your life and you don't mind looking 10 years older than you are by the time you are 40 - go for it.

I know this is an aggressive and negative post, but  I feel strongly about this.

[PSP-n-Me]

I asked about being in the sun once I started tx - and my Hep Nurse said it all depends on the person, she said most people are okay with it but some can really damage themselves - I figured - well I am sun worshiper, always have been so I said heck I will try it...I was at the beach for a day and spent about 1 hour in the direct sunlight on my boat...BIG MISTAKE!!  I thought I had skin cancer - I was a mess...as a result of it I got these weird looking things on my skin, some one in here called them skin tags - Interferon and sun and tanning beds are not wise...IMHO

[GoofyDad]

you don't mind looking 10 years older than you are by the time you are 40

Being an outdoors kinda-guy -- I suffer from a bit of the Granny Clampett look myself.

[Willy50]

The skin is considered the bodies largest organ.  If you damage it while you have low WBC or RBC due to treating you may also put yourself at increased risk for infection.

Many drugs heighten the effects of the sun and it is often reported that TX has made people more prone to sunburning.  Many aspects of healing also may occur more slowly while on treatment.

I'd simply be very careful or error on the side of safety.

best,
Willy

[Willy50]

IF you are NOT on treatment then there is nothing about having HCV that makes it any different than for other non-infected folks.  Some of us get too much sun but a little exposure to the sun within reason is good for you, IMHO.

[JodyLynn]

Well heres how i see it, i think i look ok for being almost 50 lol.....however i do cover my face and neck, all my damage is from when i was a teen i lived in the sun did lots of drugs smoked 2 pks a day up untill 10 years ago. For everything my body has been through i look pretty damn good...hell im lucky to even be alive lol. I have hep c and they think ive had it 30 years so i dont feel a little sun is gonna hurt....thats like telling someone dying of lung cancer to stop smoking.

[merlino]

I too made a very big mistake like PSP-N-Me. I wasn't even trying to tan and I FRIED. I am of Italian decent, have olive skin and never burned my entire life until tx. I blistered and was misreable for quite a while. Please be very careful. while on tx. Our bodies react differently.

[nygirl7]

Once I had a decent amount of treatment meds in me I went in one day and burnedWORSE than any burn I'd ever had in my life - and I only went in for half the time!

Right there next to the bed in big letters was the list of drugs not to be on in order to tan and INTRON was right up there on the list.  Being Italian as well I'd never burned before in my life but I sure did burn and blister and peel.  It was horrible.

Now - post treatment - I finally realize how BAD the sun is for anyone and this summer I used tanning mist instead of the sun.  Enough wrinkles. I have a feeling in another ten years I'm going to look like a raisin or something.

Plus - I did have a malignant growth that had to be cut off my back.  I had 75 stitches and the scar is about five inches long. All from a growth the size of a DIME tops!  It's very serious stuff once you get one - I just am greatful it wasn't on my face!

[charm27]

Under NO circumstances would I tan in the sun or tanning bed.

Especially with the INF & Riba. Thats a NO NO.

Same reason why we are not permitted to dye our hair.

[honey11]

Yes,,,if not on tx,,,tanning bed should have no effect just because you have hep.  I tried it also while on tx because was tired of looking ghostie but same thing,,,,I had a reaction and didn't go back.  I have to agree with Andiamo,,,,what looks pretty as a tan when you are younger can really make your skin look ugly as you get older.  I have a couple of friends that always are tanning and it is catching up with them,,,,skin is looking leathery as they age and also getting lots of sun spots on their skin.  I have been doing same as NY and started getting familiar with sunless tanning products and honestly never thought I would do that but I have found a nice combination now that looks good and no one would even know.