Many patients ask me this question and I thought many people would benefit from my writing down my thought on the matter.

In theory, a tanning bed can be safe, but the practical reality is that most all commercial tanning beds are accidents waiting to happen.

There are two problems with them relating to two different types of radiation.

The first one is X-rays which are emitted by the ends of both bulbs. This occurs with any fluorescent bulb. The X-rays can be shielded with a piece of lead tape wrapped around the last inch of the bulb.

The second is EMF emitted by the magnetic ballast used for most all of the tanning beds. It is these magnetic ballasts that give the tanning bed the hum that you here.

The EMF decreases by one over the square root of the distance from the bulb. In simpler terms it drops off very rapidly the further you are away from the ballast, but in a tanning bed one is only several inches away from the magnetic ballast.

This problem also has a solution, in that one can remove the magnetic ballast and replace it with a very quiet and much more efficient electronic ballast. Nearly any handy electrical person can install the replacement and most electrical supply stores carry them.

So one can actually construct a "safe" tanning bed, but I don't know anyone who actually has done this.

There really is a huge market here for an entrepreneur who understands health and can market a "safe" tanning bed.

So, what are the options if you want to protect yourself prior to the summer sun or going on a vacation?

The key is to limit your initial exposure and never, never get sunburned.

The sun's most intense rays are emitted one hour on either side of 12:00 (non-Daylight Savings Time). So stay out of the sun from 11 to 1 and increase your exposure gradually.

I am not a fan of sun screens as some experts believe that the sun screen chemicals themselves actually contribute to increased risk of skin cancer as well.

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