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10-Year-Old Girl Burned by Tanning Bed
Filed under: In The News
A 10-year-old Welsh girl spent 16 minutes in a coin-operated tanning bed -- and wound up with burns over 70% of her body. Kelly Thompson has been advised to stay out of the sun for the next ten years because the burns have increased her risk of skin cancer substantially. Doctors also told her that if she had spent two more minutes in the tanning booth, she would have required skin grafts.
In some ways, Kelly's story is an anomaly: She was tanning in a coin-operated sunbed, rather than in a tanning salon. The unmanned tanning beds are not approved for use in the US, and in the UK they are not approved for anyone under age 16. The tanning booth Kelly was in had a sign warning that children under 16 should not tan, but since the coin-operated tanning beds are unsupervised, there was no one there to stop Kelly from paying up and climbing in.
Kelly's mother, Sharon Hannaford, 34, was horrified by her daughter's burns, and by the fact that she was able to use the tanning bed alone: "She was under age but there was no staff there to stop her using it and no one to give advice on using these potentially dangerous machines." She wants to see the unsupervised tanning beds banned.
Coin operated tanning beds are not available in the United States, and age regulations for tanning vary from state to state, but Kelly's mother has a point: Teens and tweens need guidance when it comes to tanning. In the US, 17 states are currently considering legislation to restrict tanning by minors; some states are looking at banning anyone under the age of 18 from tanning salons. The reason: Tanning beds have been linked to a rise in malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.
Tanning beds work by exposing the skin to ultraviolet rays, which stimulate the body to produce melanin to protect itself from burning. But UV rays also damage the skin at the cellular level, and for teens, the risk of harm is especially high because skin cells are already dividing at a higher rate than during adulthood. And a getting a tan isn't worth running the risk of skin cancer.
Does your teen -- or tween -- go to a tanning salon? Do you encourage this, or are you trying to talk her out of it?
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In some ways, Kelly's story is an anomaly: She was tanning in a coin-operated sunbed, rather than in a tanning salon. The unmanned tanning beds are not approved for use in the US, and in the UK they are not approved for anyone under age 16. The tanning booth Kelly was in had a sign warning that children under 16 should not tan, but since the coin-operated tanning beds are unsupervised, there was no one there to stop Kelly from paying up and climbing in.
Kelly's mother, Sharon Hannaford, 34, was horrified by her daughter's burns, and by the fact that she was able to use the tanning bed alone: "She was under age but there was no staff there to stop her using it and no one to give advice on using these potentially dangerous machines." She wants to see the unsupervised tanning beds banned.
Coin operated tanning beds are not available in the United States, and age regulations for tanning vary from state to state, but Kelly's mother has a point: Teens and tweens need guidance when it comes to tanning. In the US, 17 states are currently considering legislation to restrict tanning by minors; some states are looking at banning anyone under the age of 18 from tanning salons. The reason: Tanning beds have been linked to a rise in malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.
Tanning beds work by exposing the skin to ultraviolet rays, which stimulate the body to produce melanin to protect itself from burning. But UV rays also damage the skin at the cellular level, and for teens, the risk of harm is especially high because skin cells are already dividing at a higher rate than during adulthood. And a getting a tan isn't worth running the risk of skin cancer.
Does your teen -- or tween -- go to a tanning salon? Do you encourage this, or are you trying to talk her out of it?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 2)
5-04-2009 @ 3:54PM
Melissa said...Luckily, my daughter is only three, and she has skin like her dad and just tans naturally, even if you put sunblock on her....but I don't have that kind of skin and I went to a tanning bed, for the first time, about a year ago....I came out of it with first degree (only above the epidermis) burns, and I was only in there for 6 minutes! Never again, and never for my daughter!
Reply
5-06-2009 @ 4:17PM
Self Tanning Queen said...Thanks for posting this! I've spread this article to my readers as well. I'm a huge proponent of safe, self tanning and I hope that if we can spread the awareness, more people will stay away from unhealthy tanning!
Self Tanning Queen
www.selftanningqueen.com
5-09-2009 @ 12:25PM
willowreed said...tanning is not attractive.
pale and proud.
5-29-2009 @ 7:52PM
realistickchick said...are you serious?
wtf are you doing letting your child be in an area with "coined tanningbeds". even if shes an albino child&is absolutely miserable looking the way she does; did. would it have killed her to ask her moter to take her to the tanning bed? not that she needed it anyways,shes flippen 10years old. as young as she is, it really shouldnt be that hard to tan, just put on sunscreen or babyoil.something.
im ashamed.
wow. shes really just fucked up her life.
goodjob.:[
5-04-2009 @ 5:34PM
LS said...I may be out of line asking this, but.... where was her mother when this was happening? Where was ANY adult? Was she at the mall all by herself, at age 10?
Reply
5-05-2009 @ 8:50AM
Jo said...LS, you read my mind! Where were the parents or whoever was responsible for this child? I don't mean to judge, but clearly a 10 year old child does not belong roaming the mall by herself...sadly, she'll be paying for this incident for a long, long time to come. Some of the mother's anger that there was "no staff there to stop her from using it and no one to give advice..." needs to be directed to either herself or whoever was in charge of her daughter that day. It's a sad story and I hope the girl recovers and doesn't suffer skin cancer down the road...hopefully she'll be more closely monitored in the future as well.
5-08-2009 @ 3:46PM
Decsunflower said...that is EXACTLY what I was thinking, where was her mother?? This is not anyones fault except the mother, and partially the daughter. The daughter at 10 would not know the devastating effects the tanning bed would do, however she most likely saw the sign and knew it was wrong to do it.
5-09-2009 @ 12:34PM
willowreed said...Not out of line at all. England is very liberal.
5-04-2009 @ 6:21PM
sherir said...It doesn't take a burn to get cancer. A tan is evidence of solar radiation damage. Everyone, everywhere needs to stop the stupidity!
Reply
5-04-2009 @ 7:58PM
Herbal Remedies said...Spaces in which the life of his son work in a dominant father, is incredible that the girl to enter a tanning bed, burns, and no one realizes the extent to which comes the responsibility of parents. However parents should review their methods of control in how they do their work.
Herbal Remedies
http://www.naturals-products.com
Reply
5-04-2009 @ 9:37PM
Jenn said...Nobody belongs in those stupid things, child or adult. A tan is evidence of damage to the skin, I still don't understand why it's considered glamorous to go and purposefully damage yourself.
Reply
5-04-2009 @ 10:31PM
LS said...Same reason tattoos, piercings, anorexia, etc., are "glamorous".... ALL are forms of purposeful damage, and all are glamorous. The stars do it, society glamorizes the stars, and there you go. Doesn't make it right, but it's there.
5-05-2009 @ 12:55AM
Karen said...I go to a tanning bed for about two months a year. I do tan easily, but now that I'm not out in the sun as much, I enjoy getting a bit of sun before summer.
However, the benefits for me are more than the nice color. I feel MUCH better after going. I enjoy being in the bed. I find it very relaxing. I feel better afterwards. I have more energy. And truthfully, it is almost like a high and once I start going, I crave more.
Reply
5-05-2009 @ 2:25AM
andy worthington said...I would urge anyone to think twice about using these beds.
I help to run a research fund for the Malignant Melanoma team at the Christie cancer centre in Manchester.
Malignant Melanoma is the most agressive form of skin cancer and is the fastest rising incidence of cancer amongst young people, as someone has already said that tanned look isn't an indication of health it's an indication of skin damage. I have a friend who passed away of the disease last year aged 30 and a niece who is currently in recovery from it who is only 29. Please don't think "it won't happen to me", the instances of young people succumbing to the disease we have come into contact with since starting the research fund is heartbreaking.
We are trying to raise £250,000 to bring a trial treatment from the US to this country and have made good progress towards this end in the 12 months since we set up.
Our website is www.factor50.org.uk for anyone who wishes to help in any way with our fundraising.
Thanks,
Andy Worthington
5-05-2009 @ 9:15AM
MStewart said...Why do people tan? To get color... Why don't people enjoy the color they are in? It kills me people who tan.. I had a coworker make a remake to a guy who had just gotten back from South America on vacation.. "Man You're Black you better not get in the sun anymore people won't know who you are" Hmmm interesting I thought.. she turned around to me and looked as if she needed to explain.. I told her no need .. I was born with my tan so no matter what people will know who I am.. Keep baking
Reply
5-05-2009 @ 10:58AM
Kelly said...Why is it so hard for people to be happy about the color that God made them? If your white you want to be darker and if your black you want to be lighter. It's like we all want to be right in the middle. Is it media, or what? Somehow we have come to the conclusion that we would all look better if we looked just alike. What happened to variety is the spice of life. Anyway, I guess when we are a bunch of Barbie's walking around we'll be satisfied.
Reply
5-07-2009 @ 10:31AM
Gordon said...Why is it necessary for kids to use tanning beds? The only reason adults might use them would be to look sexier.
The parents of this girl in Wales who allowed this, if they knew about it, should be made to go for counseling.
Reply
5-07-2009 @ 2:57PM
Ashleigh said...The women in my family used to worship the sun all year long, whether in the tanning bed, by the pool or in a lounge chair in the back yard. Then, in 2003, my dad passed away from malignant melanoma at the age of 49. Since then, my sister and I avoid unnecessary sun exposure. That's not to say that we completely hide ourselves form the sun. If we happen to be participating in outdoor activities such as gardening, playing on the beach or in the pool, or watching a sporting event, we take the proper precautions and wear sunscreen. We both do get a little sun each summer, but you'll never find either of us in a tanning bed or purposefully lying in the sun for the sole purpose of getting a tan. Its just not worth it.
Although, I will admit, I did use a tanning bed a few times before my honeymoon to Costa Rica out of fear of getting really scorched if I went down there with lily-white skin.
So, everybody, protect your skin! Melanoma is a nasty, aggressive disease that took my dad within 2 years of his diagnosis!
Reply
5-08-2009 @ 3:44PM
amym said...anyone who tans is asking for cancer. what does it matter if your skin is darker??? think of your futures...skin cancer is no joke.
Reply
5-23-2009 @ 2:02AM
Melanie said...I don't understand why everyone is coming down so hard on the mother? Of course she looks bad because her daughter was burned, but come on...her daughter is 10. 10 years old is no longer a baby. What were you doing when you were 10? I was looking after myself, I could cook and clean, and was left unsupervised often.
As for the comment the parents need counseling??? Come on man! Everyone is so quick to judge, when really they don't know the whole story behind where the mother was at that time.
Fact of the matter is, who cares where the parents were...there are coin operated tanning beds and obviously there shouldn't be.
Reply