Blindness fears of the sunbed addict who shunned goggles

[Rondette]

Blindness fears of the sunbed addict who shunned goggles | Mail Online


Another silly young girl who thought she was above all that 'health threat' nonsense....

Blindness fears of the sunbed addict who shunned goggles



By Alison Smith Squire
Last updated at 12:13 AM on 19th October 2009

• Comments (70)
• Add to My Stories

In ten years on the sunbed, Sam Laing never bothered with goggles because she did not want to leave white marks.
That decision could cost the 23-year-old her eyesight.
Because of prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light, she has developed growths in both eyes which will have to be removed through surgery to stop her going blind. She has been warned that the operation itself could damage her eyesight.


Fears: Sam Laing used sunbeds for ten years because she thought 'it was vital to look brown'

'It was such a devastating diagnosis,' said Miss Laing, a customer services manager from Sunderland.

'I was shocked because although I knew using sunbeds raised the risk of contracting skin cancer, I never knew it could cause something like this.'
Miss Laing, a self-confessed 'tanorexic', said she hates being pale and started using sunbeds in her early teens.

'By the time I was 19 it was so important to me to always look brown, I was going on them up to three times a week.
'Unfortunately I never wore goggles to protect my eyes because I didn't want to be left with white marks on my face.'
When she noticed redness and itching, both she and her GP thought it was just tired bloodshot eyes.

'But about three months ago the redness began spreading into the brown iris of my eye,' she said. 'Friends and family began asking me what the problem was, so I went to my local eye infirmary.'
The diagnosis was pterygium, a benign eye growth caused by ultraviolet light usually seen in men living near the Equator.
Protection: Goggles can protect your eyes from the UV light

Surgery will remove a growth from her left eye, which would otherwise spread across it, and she will probably need the same for one in the right.

'The most worrying thing is that even if the growths are successfully removed, they could return and I've been told I will have to wear dark glasses on sunny days in future.'
Miss Laing has finally given up using sunbeds.

'I just hope that what's happened to me serves as a warning to other sunbed users that they can be really dangerous,' she added.
As well as pterygium, UV exposure can also cause macular degeneration in older people, cataract and corneal sunburn, as well as skin cancer.

London eye surgeon Mr David O'Brart said: 'People might not realise that as well as being dangerous for your skin, too much UV light - whether from natural sunshine or a tanning bed - can be equally damaging to your eyes.
'Because the UV light emitted by sunbeds is more concentrated than natural sunshine, the more you use them, the more at risk you are of triggering such an eye problem. Anyone using sunbeds must wear eye protection.'

A spokesman for the Sunbed Association, which represents a fifth of the industry, said its members issue sunbed users with eye protection and advise them to wear it.
She said getting 'panda eyes' was no longer likely given the type of goggles provided, including disposable 'cups' designed to fit snugly over the lids.

'Operators have a responsibility to ensure people do not use sunbeds without eye protection. In addition, health-and-safety guidance displayed in our salons insists it must be worn.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1221277/Blindness-fears-sunbed-addict-shunned-goggles.html#ixzz0UO99RJN0

[Cali]

Oh my god. This woman really is a fucking idiot- I'm sorry, but she is. Seriously, even in the most ghetto tanning salons I've visited, they ALWAYS give you goggles and insist you wear them. And most beds have warning labels ALL OVER THEM detailing why you have to wear them.

So for being a complete moron and prizing a lack of 'white marks' she is now the prized owner of a pair of eyes that have a growth like this- probably not for the faint of heart:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...C_CC-BY%29.jpg

She's probably also set herself up for an awesome set of heinous, early-onset cataracts too.

[McJag]

Dumb.

[JuicyLucy]

They don't give you goggles to wear, they give you these sticker thingies that you put on your eyes. But seriously, goggles are like five bucks. Cheapo.

[Moongirl]

'People might not realise that as well as being dangerous for your skin, too much UV light - whether from natural sunshine or a tanning bed - can be equally damaging to your eyes.

Which is why your sunglasses have UV protection...

[Cali]

Originally Posted by JuicyLucy

They don't give you goggles to wear, they give you these sticker thingies that you put on your eyes. But seriously, goggles are like five bucks. Cheapo.

Seriously? In every salon here in the US, you are given a pair of these things:

[JuicyLucy]

Really? Out here we have to buy them or get stickers. On second thought, I think you have to pay like a dollar just for the stickers. It's pretty stupid but seriously, if you can afford tanning, you should be able to also afford lotion and goggles.

[Karistiona]

No sympathy, this idiot deserves everything she fucking gets. I seriously don't know why anyone still uses sunbeds, spray tans are far healthier.

[A*O]

'Unfortunately I never wore goggles to protect my eyes because I didn't want to be left with white marks on my face.'

So why does she plaster on all that klassy sparkly white eyeshadow?

[Lauren nyc]

They have messages posted all over tanning salons telling you to wear eye protection. It's unfortunate that she lost her eyesight, but I don't think that her priorities were straight.

[Lenny]

Bitch is stupid.
I only used a tanning bed once in my life and will never do it again. They didn't give me goggles, and I got the most horrible sunburn ever. I assume something was wrong with the damn thing because my back was fine but my front was so burned that I had to see a doctor. I had second degree burns and my stomach peeled TWICE. I couldn't stretch for about a year because it felt like the skin on my stomach was going to tear apart.
The staff at my gym (where I used the tanning bed) just said that something like that never happened before and gave me my 5€ back without even apologizing. I couldn't work for over a week and couldn't use the gym for a long time and I should have demanded compensation. It still makes me angry when I think about it.

[DolceVita]

I knew she'd be British. That's all!
Don't mess with your eyes as nothing can prepare you for the trauma of invasive eye tests , nevermind blindness.
Silly bint.