We’ve all heard that tanning beds can lead to skin cancer, and as if that wasn’t scary enough, there’s now another reason to stay pale. According to the Mayo Clinic’s associate professor of dermatology, Dawn Marie Davies, using a tanning bed may increase your risk of catching genital herpes. Ew. Try explaining that one to your gyno, or better yet, your parents.
The highly contagious sexually transmitted infection spreads from one person to another through skin-to-skin contact, but it can live outside the body for an extended period of time. So if the chick ahead of you has it, you might be in trouble.
Think the heat of the tanning bed will kill the virus? No such luck. In fact, if a bacteria or virus is exposed to some antiseptic but not enough to kill it, or some light but not enough to kill it, it can grow stronger. Davies says, “In my practice, I’ve seen acquired bacterial infections, warts, and herpes infections from tanning beds.”
Herpes isn’t even the worse thing that can happen. A staph infection could be chilling in that tanning bed and something like that could be deadly.
Let’s all agree on this – pale is way sexier than an STD.
Get Ready To Cringe: Find Out What STD You Can Catch From Tanning Beds
