A BEAUTY lover has issued a stern warning after her extreme sunbed addiction left her in A&E.
Sunbed use has been linked to skin cancer and premature aging – but despite the dangers, recent data from Treatwell revealed that Brits love baking under harmful UV rays more than ever.
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Although sunbeds have been banned in some countries such as Australia and Brazil, research has shown that in 2023, sunbed and tanning booth bookings in the UK are up 8% on the previous year.
But one person who is here to raise awareness about the dangers of sunbeds is a woman named Kirst, who recently shared her horror story on TikTok.
The stunning blonde, who encouraged other beauty lovers not to “underestimate the power of sunbeds”, said at one point she became addicted to having tanned skin.
According to the young woman, she stayed on the sun lounger five days a week, baking for 15 minutes at a time “to maintain her tan”.
“All I ever wanted was to be naturally tanned,” she said in the video.
At the time, Kirst confessed, she never gave much thought to any potential, scarring consequences — despite how often others warned her.
It’s horrible how they’re still legal in this country, they’re so dangerous
Kirst
After all, she said, there are people who “live in hot countries, like Australia, Dubai, Thailand” and are always “close to the heat” – which makes their 15 minutes, five days a week, seem like nothing.
Kirst, who posts under the username @kirstmsavesalso strongly believed that covering her “sensitive areas” and always her “hair” made it impossible “for anything bad to happen.”
As time went by, the beautiful blonde developed an addiction to tanning and even took photos after each sun session – after all, it made her feel good about herself.
”I was literally obsessed, I finally started to feel confident because in my head having a tan was synonymous with confidence and happiness.”
However, one day Kirst’s life was turned upside down when she suddenly had a panic attack at work, “struggling to breathe” and had a mysterious lump on her body.
Looking back on the horrific day – which landed her in the emergency room – the young woman revealed she was convinced “it was going to be the end” for her “or something bad was going to happen”.
After long hours in the hospital and further tests at a breast clinic, Kirst received the terrible news that she had fibroadenoma, a solid lump in the breast.
Although fibroadenoma is not cancerous, experts have warned that it is possible for a person to develop breast cancer from a fibroadenoma – however, this is highly unlikely, Medical News Today reported.
The benign tumor that can develop in the breast tends to be more common in women and rare, but possible, in men.
Up to one in six – or 15 per cent – of women develop it at some point in their lives – however, there is still debate over whether sunbed use may have a link to the cause of the lump’s growth.
Although social media users insisted that fibroadenoma has nothing to do with sunbeds, Kirst stated that her doctor strongly believed it was the opposite.
“They can really increase your chance of getting any lumps,” she wrote in the comment, advising others to be “aware when using sunbeds.”
“It’s horrible how they’re still legal in this country, they’re so dangerous,” Kirst continued.
The deadly risks of sun loungers
According to International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)There is significant evidence to show that tanning bed use causes melanoma.
They noted that sunbeds increase the risk of skin cancer by up to 20% and also state that they have no positive health benefits.
Sharing her experience, Carol Cooper, Sun Doctor, said: “Let’s be clear about sunbeds. It’s not just “some” experts who say they’re bad for your skin. It’s almost all of them.
”In fact, anyone who has ever used a sun lounger is at least 20% more likely to develop malignant melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer.
“UV rays damage the DNA of skin cells, so they are more likely to develop into cancer. You don’t even need to burn for this to happen.
”Unfortunately, there is always a risk to using them, all I can say is if you don’t increase your minutes and don’t overdo them – but always be aware of the risks that come with them.”
Since then, Kirst’s story has taken over the platform, with dozens of people rushing to show support.
One of them said: “Fibroadenoma is not related to sunbeds, but perhaps it is worth the scare of not doing it 5 days a week.”
Another person joined the conversation, telling their story: “I used a sun lounger since I was 16 years old.
”Just had skin cancer removed from my back, now treating 50% of my body with chemo cream for sun damage.
”I wish I had never gone near a sun lounger. I hope you are well.”
Another wrote: “I wore them almost every day for weeks on end, it got so dark.
”I’m now seeing a skin cancer specialist because I have so many random lumps on my body, I haven’t used the beds in 2 months.”
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