Tag: Detrimental Effect

Tanning Bed Safety-No Rules Of Any Kind Of Tanning

No matter how much information we see about the possible dangers of too much time in the sun, there are those people who love the way they look with a tan. Some of them will even use artificial light during the off season to keep that golden glow all year long. At the minimum, follow some simple tanning bed safety guidelines if you are going to go to a tanning parlor.

We have known for many years that too much exposure to the sun can have a long term detrimental effect on our overall health and the health of our skin. While the damage may not show up for decades we can develop skin cancer and premature aging to name just two.

In order to decrease these risks in the future use these tanning bed safety rules (as well as any rules that the individual tanning parlor may have in place):

1. Limit the amount of time you spend in a bed when you are first starting out. A good salon will make it part of their policy to limit how much time you can spend when you first start out.

They will force you to increase your time incrementally over a few weeks. It may be frustrating to be able to go for only two or three minutes at a time when first starting but it is the safest way to go.

While all exposure to UV rays can be damaging to your skin, and could lead to future skin cancer, the more often you burn your skin the more likely you are for long term damage.

Avoiding getting burned is one of the best ways to make the whole process “safer”.

2. Make sure you use the eye protection provided (or bring your own). Also, keep your eyes closed. The eye protection is only your first line of defense, your eye lids are your second line of defense. Use both.

Your skin is not the only thing that is vulnerable to too many UV rays. Your eyes are too. If you don’t protect them you may find that skin cancer is the least of your concerns.

3. Allow a minimum of 24 hours between tanning sessions. Again, a well run tanning parlor will make that part of their rules and won’t let you tan more frequently.

This may seem unnecessary but your skin can actually keep tanning for a long time even after you are out of the sun. Until you know how much exposure you really got and how your skin will react you need to allow yourself plenty of time in between visits.

4. Wear sunscreen even in the tanning booth. I know this may seem counter intuitive, but you can still get a tan even while wearing sunscreen, you are just cutting down the amount of these harmful rays that are making it through to your skin and thus minimizing the damage.

5. Make sure the beds are kept clean and sanitary. You don’t want to get more than a tan when you visit your local tanning parlor.

Tanning bed safety guidelines like these are the best way to keep yourself as safe as possible when doing something that isn’t that safe. Don’t compound your risk, follow these rules.

Panic Attacks: Between Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia

For most people, dealing with life stressors job changes, moving, pregnancy, birth of a child, death of a loved one etc. do not result to anxiety and panic attacks. However, to those who are vulnerable to emotional stress, such situations may lead to panic attacks even if these events happened way back in their life. The reason for this is still not fully understood but it is believed that one major cause of panic attacks is extended period of stress (not by a few days of tension but by several months of constant worrying and unprocessed emotions).

The chances of having an attack are even greater when a panic-prone person receives unnecessary stress such as additional tasks at work or additional responsibility at home. Instead of performing normally under regular circumstance, the additional load can put more pressure that can lead to more stress which can be a catalyst for an attack.

What is panic disorder?

It is commonly believed that panic attacks happen out of the blue, without any reason. It can happen to anyone at any point in their life. Many people experience one episode of panic attack. However, others go on to suffer from panic disorder. Panic disorder is characterized by several episodes of panic attacks related to past traumatic experiences, existing stress (mentioned above) or something else.

Many attacks last for not more than 30 minutes but the effects of panic disorder can leave lasting effects. People suffering from panic disorder experience emotional stress and excessive fear due to the memory of past attacks. This negative memory has a negative impact to self-confidence and self-esteem, which can lead to the disruption of everyday activities and normal living. While the causes of panic disorder vary from person to person, all conditions lead to these symptoms:

Anticipatory anxiety or the fear of having future attacks. This can have a detrimental effect to the sufferer since they cannot relax and they always feel anxious and tensed in between attacks.

Phobic avoidance is characterized by avoiding situations or events in the belief that the situation may cause panic attack. Phobic avoidance can also be avoiding places where help is unavailable during emergency situation.

What is agoraphobia?

Agoraphobia is traditionally believed to involve fear of open spaces or public places. Literally means “fear of the marketplace,” agoraphobia is now believed to be a result of panic attacks.

People diagnosed with agoraphobia show different symptoms. But common to all agoraphobics is avoidance either being in public places or being alone. This is actually a character of phobic avoidance (one distinct symptom of panic disorder). The difference, however, is that the effects of agoraphobia can significantly limit the person’s normal activities. Thus, what sets agoraphobia apart from panic disorder is the amount of activities that the person avoids.

People with panic disorder stay generally active, although there are specific situations that they tend to avoid. On the other hand, agoraphobics limit their activities because of fearful thoughts. These fearful thoughts can be very damaging the person’s life as well as his relationship to others.

Either way, both conditions are the result of panic attacks. Hence, it is always best to know the things you can do in order to prevent panic attacks from recurring and worsening. On the first sign of attack, seek for professional help.

Panic Attacks: Between Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia

For most people, dealing with life stressors job changes, moving, pregnancy, birth of a child, death of a loved one etc. do not result to anxiety and panic attacks. However, to those who are vulnerable to emotional stress, such situations may lead to panic attacks even if these events happened way back in their life. The reason for this is still not fully understood but it is believed that one major cause of panic attacks is extended period of stress (not by a few days of tension but by several months of constant worrying and unprocessed emotions).

The chances of having an attack are even greater when a panic-prone person receives unnecessary stress such as additional tasks at work or additional responsibility at home. Instead of performing normally under regular circumstance, the additional load can put more pressure that can lead to more stress which can be a catalyst for an attack.

What is panic disorder?

It is commonly believed that panic attacks happen out of the blue, without any reason. It can happen to anyone at any point in their life. Many people experience one episode of panic attack. However, others go on to suffer from panic disorder. Panic disorder is characterized by several episodes of panic attacks related to past traumatic experiences, existing stress (mentioned above) or something else.

Many attacks last for not more than 30 minutes but the effects of panic disorder can leave lasting effects. People suffering from panic disorder experience emotional stress and excessive fear due to the memory of past attacks. This negative memory has a negative impact to self-confidence and self-esteem, which can lead to the disruption of everyday activities and normal living. While the causes of panic disorder vary from person to person, all conditions lead to these symptoms:

Anticipatory anxiety or the fear of having future attacks. This can have a detrimental effect to the sufferer since they cannot relax and they always feel anxious and tensed in between attacks.

Phobic avoidance is characterized by avoiding situations or events in the belief that the situation may cause panic attack. Phobic avoidance can also be avoiding places where help is unavailable during emergency situation.

What is agoraphobia?

Agoraphobia is traditionally believed to involve fear of open spaces or public places. Literally means “fear of the marketplace,” agoraphobia is now believed to be a result of panic attacks.

People diagnosed with agoraphobia show different symptoms. But common to all agoraphobics is avoidance either being in public places or being alone. This is actually a character of phobic avoidance (one distinct symptom of panic disorder). The difference, however, is that the effects of agoraphobia can significantly limit the person’s normal activities. Thus, what sets agoraphobia apart from panic disorder is the amount of activities that the person avoids.

People with panic disorder stay generally active, although there are specific situations that they tend to avoid. On the other hand, agoraphobics limit their activities because of fearful thoughts. These fearful thoughts can be very damaging the person’s life as well as his relationship to others.

Either way, both conditions are the result of panic attacks. Hence, it is always best to know the things you can do in order to prevent panic attacks from recurring and worsening. On the first sign of attack, seek for professional help.